George Lucas may have sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney nearly a decade ago, but his love for the iconic franchise is far from gone.
The legendary director, 80, who pocketed a staggering $4 billion from the 2012 sale of Lucasfilm to the House of Mouse, was recently spotted in St. Barts sporting a casual t-shirt featuring a Stormtrooper.
The character first appeared in the original Star Wars in 1977, a game-changer that helped cement Lucas as a cinematic legend.
George completed his laid-back holiday look with a white bucket hat and matching shorts as he basked in the sun on the tropical island.
At the time of the monumental Lucasfilm sale—also including his company’s Industrial Light & Magic and the rights to Indiana Jones—Lucas compared parting with Star Wars to losing a family member.
‘These are my kids, I loved them. I created them,’ he told CBS at the time.
George Lucas may have sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney nearly a decade ago, but his love for the iconic franchise is far from gone as he was seen in St. Barts with Star Wars gear
The legendary director, 80, who pocketed a staggering $4 billion from the 2012 sale of Lucasfilm to the House of Mouse, was recently spotted in St. Barts sporting a casual t-shirt featuring the classic Stormtrooper
However, after selling the Star Wars rights to Disney, Lucas didn’t hold back in expressing his dissatisfaction with The Force Awakens, the first film in the franchise following the sale.
In a 2015 interview with Empire Magazine, Lucas admitted he wasn’t happy with the film, stating that Disney ‘wanted to make a retro movie’ and didn’t follow his planned direction for the series.
He also mentioned that he felt the film was too similar to the original trilogy, saying, ‘They wanted to make a movie for the fans… They decided they didn’t want to use the stories I created.’
He did somewhat backtrack on his initial criticism of The Force Awakens after the film’s release.
In later interviews, he acknowledged that while he had concerns about the direction of the film, he ultimately appreciated the work done by J.J. Abrams and the team at Disney.
He even praised the movie’s success, though he still expressed that it wasn’t quite what he would have done.
Meanwhile, last May, George held a huge birthday bash to celebrate turning 80 years old, with some of the biggest stars in the world showing up.
He invited dozens of A-list friends to celebrate on Saturday at Skywalker Ranch.
At the time of the monumental Lucasfilm sale—also including his company’s Industrial Light & Magic and the rights to Indiana Jones—Lucas compared parting with Star Wars to losing a family member; (seen in December)
However, after selling the Star Wars rights to Disney, Lucas didn’t hold back in expressing his dissatisfaction with The Force Awakens, the first film in the franchise following the sale; (with Jake Lloyd for Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – 1999)
Lucas on set of 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Steve Martin served as the MC for the evening, with performances throughout the night by artists like Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, Don Henley and H.E.R.
The guest list also included Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Robert De Niro, Glenn Close, Queen Latifah, Kerry Washington, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Don Henley, Jon Batiste, Swizz Beatz, Jon Favreau, and Warwick Davis.
Lucas has owned Skywalker Ranch since 1978, located in a secluded area in Marin County, California north of the Bay Area.
Mellody Hobson, who Lucas has been married to since 2013, was said to be, ‘an exceptional host’ by sources, who was, ‘warmly greeting everyone at the party.’
