George Lucas Likes One Disney-Era Star Wars Project More Than You Likely Think

Since 2012, the "Star Wars" franchise and Lucasfilm at large have been tended to by Disney, with the galaxy far, far away expanding significantly under the studio's watchful eye. Movies, books, video games, comics, and more have popped up consistently, taking George Lucas' creation in new directions. While not all of Disney's "Star Wars" endeavors have proven massive hits, a large portion of them have done well critically and financially. In fact, there's one Disney+ series that even Lucas himself shared that he was a fan of.

Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo visited the "Full of Sith" podcast on May 8, where he revealed that Lucas was a big fan of "Obi-Wan Kenobi." "I've heard tell it's one of his favorite things that's come out of 'Star Wars,'" Hidalgo said. He also mentioned that Lucas, who stopped making "Star Wars" movies after 2005's "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, put his full support behind the project when it was just getting started. Hidalgo recalled, "Early on there was a conversation had with George over what his thoughts were, and whether or not, honestly, he bought the whole concept, and he was one hundred percent supportive."

Hidalgo also explained why Lucas was so on board with "Obi-Wan Kenobi" becoming a reality.

As mentioned, "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" — arguably the best of the prequel films – was the final "Star Wars" movie George Lucas directed. In their time, the three films in the prequel trilogy were severely torn apart by most critics and "Star Wars" fans alike. Only with the passage of time have they been properly celebrated, and it's also helped that those who were children when they were released have since reached adulthood. This love for the prequels made it such a big deal for fans when it was announced that "Obi-Wan Kenobi" would bring back Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who respectively play the titular Jedi and Anakin Skywalker.

Their return, as well as several nods and moments highlighting the "Star Wars" prequels, makes "Obi-Wan Kenobi" something of a love letter to those films — a fact that seems to not have gone unnoticed by Lucas. "He recognizes so much of what he did in the prequels basically brought forward and celebrated it," Pablo Hidalgo said of Lucas' appreciation for the Deborah Chow-directed series. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean a second "Obi-Wan Kenobi" season is coming, especially after a recent Disney announcement.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" may not be a perfect show, nor is it unanimously considered the best "Star Wars" Disney+ series. At the same time, it does an excellent job of carrying on the legacy of the prequel trilogy and paying homage to the castings, concepts, and story beats created by George Lucas decades ago. If it can earn his respect, surely it can earn that of any "Star Wars" fan too.