Why George Lucas Retired After Selling Star Wars

George Lucas made headlines in 2012 when he sold Lucasfilm to the House of Mouse for $4 billion. Since then, Disney has made tons of money off of Star Wars, without Lucas' help and expertise. The filmmaker has largely retired since then, seemingly enjoying his massive fortune (Forbes named the Star Wars icon one of the richest celebs of 2024). But why did Lucas retire after selling the galaxy far, far away? In a chat with French outlet Brut during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, he revealed that the advent of new technology and viewer behavior made him think twice about the future of motion pictures. 

"Streaming is really powerful, and it's great, it's really upped the movie business because the theatrical movie business ... we could see the problems, and it was not good," he said. The filmmaker continued by saying that he saw the writing on the wall and knew that companies like Netflix would change the direction of the industry. "And that's when Netflix took off, and at that point, I said, 'I don't know what this is gonna be, there's gonna be a giant transition in the business, I don't know that much about it,' and I sold the company, and I retired."

Lucas pretty much secured his financial future and allowed Star Wars and Indiana Jones to find life in an unprecedented era. While the maverick creative is no longer actively involved with his marquee franchise, Star Wars has reached new heights thanks in part to the rise of streaming. 

While Disney-era Star Wars has received its share of criticism, it's fair to say that we're living in the golden era of the franchise, at least in terms of output. Once Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they quickly released a slew of films, including "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One." While the series has seen some theatrical duds — "Solo: A Star Wars Story" notably bombed at the box office, a first for the franchise — it has largely succeed on streaming. Feeling the heat from Netflix, the media conglomerate debuted its own streaming service in the form of Disney+ in late 2019. 

The launch of Disney+ included "The Mandalorian," which marked a brand-new era for Star Wars. The show has proven to be so popular that a Mandalorian & Grogu live-action movie is coming soon. Since those early Disney+ days, the galaxy far, far away has gone on to dominate streaming with programs like the acclaimed "Andor" and "The Acolyte." Even some of Lucas' beloved characters have received a second life on streaming thanks to projects like "Ahsoka" and "The Book of Boba Fett." In fact, Lucas is particularly fond of one Disney-era Star Wars show that might even surprise some fans. 

Even though some projects are better than others, a lot of Star Wars is better than no Star Wars at all. Following the release of 2005's "Revenge of the Sith," Lucas wasn't doing much with the billion-dollar franchise. Now, a brand new generation of storytellers have the opportunity to breathe life into the ever-expanding saga. 

Now that George Lucas is done with Star Wars, what the heck is he doing with his billions of dollars? Despite spearheading several major franchises and working in conjunction with studios, he's always been an independent filmmaker. His early films, like "THX 1138" and "American Graffiti," were prominent indie hits in an era when directors were choosing to take on more daring projects. Even the first Star Wars was an independent film to an extent, with Lucas keeping the rights to his future billion-dollar franchise. 

These days, Lucas doesn't seem interested in producing or directing his own motion pictures. One would think that he'd continue to make independent films with his years of experience. Instead, his efforts are focused on making the world a bit better. In 2012, it was reported that the former Star Wars boss would use his chunk of change to fund educational efforts. He previously founded the George Lucas Educational Foundation in the early '90s, which has now been rebranded as Edutopia. And in 2021, he donated a small fortune to New York University's Tisch School of Arts. 

In addition to helping the next generation of students, Lucas is still interested in storytelling — just not the way you'd expect. In 2025, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open in Los Angeles, which seeks to educate patrons about the power of movies and other visual art forms.