As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, George Lucas has revealed that he planned to direct three more Star Wars movies before deciding to retire from filmmaking after completing work on Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in 2005.
The filmmaker discussed his career in a new interview with Norah O'Donnell for CBS Sunday Morning, with much of the conversation focusing on the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.
The $1.5 billion museum houses 1,200 pieces of art from Lucas' private collection, including paintings, photography, sculpture, as well as original props, costumes and vehicles from the Star Wars movies. The 300,000-square-foot facility features 35 galleries across a 13-acre campus.
During the interview, Lucas explained that his decision to retire from directing wasn't quite as simple as choosing to leave filmmaking behind. He still had three more Star Wars movies he wanted to make—Episodes 7, 8, and 9—but ultimately decided that his museum was the priority.
"Well, I’m 82, so there is a limit to — when I did this, I decided to retire from making movies, which was a big deal because I had three more 'Star Wars' to make," Lucas confirmed. "But I realised that I was running out of time, and I did want to make this museum, and I’d spent a lot of time developing digital technology for the movie business."
Lucas closed out his directing career with the Star Wars prequel trilogy, beginning with The Phantom Menace in 1999 and followed by Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. As with the original trilogy, he also wrote and executive produced the three movies.
Seven years after Revenge of the Sith was released, Lucasfilm sold Lucasfilm to Disney for approximately $4 billion in 2012, with the filmmaker having no direct involvement in the subsequent sequel trilogy. He did provide the studio with outlines for where the story should go next, but the decision was ultimately made to disregard those.
The Star Wars franchise has continued to expand since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and without Lucas' involvement. The Galaxy Far, Far Away has become a major part of Disney+ thanks to shows including The Mandalorian, Andor and The Acolyte, alongside several other projects.
Following the divisive sequel trilogy's conclusion in 2019, Star Wars returned to theaters this year with The Mandalorian and Grogu. Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, is set to continue the franchise's big-screen return next summer.
You can watch the full interview with Lucas in the player below.