Return of the Jedi!

Variety report that Lucas has hired screenwriter John Ridley to work on the script based on Lucas' initial story of a group of young pilots.

George Lucas really serious about returning to the director's chair? And for a movie that's not Star Wars? It's been 34 years since his last non-Star Wars movie which was the really cool American Graffiti. A couple of times since he wrapped on Revenge of the Sith, he has talked about his interest in possibly directing a movie about the Red Tails, a World War II action/adventure based on the Tuskegee Airmen. Well today we get a little closer to this becoming a reality. Variety report that Lucas has hired screenwriter John Ridley to work on the script based on Lucas' initial story of a group of young pilots who overcame racism to become a distinguished group of fliers who were the first African-American pilots in U.S. military history. Ridley previously came up with the story of Three Kings but what really got the scribe the gig was his draft for L.A. Riots which he has just turned in for Spike Lee. Of course we shouldn't get carried away here. Lucas has hinted before that he would return to the director's chair but at the moment the only facts are that LucasFilm are financing the film and that he has hired a screenwriter. There's no mention in Variety's article of Lucas directing and you really have to wonder whether he has the passion to do it. Or even the balls to do the movie. The only thing Lucas has to gain by filming this story is to re-gain his reputation with is probably now the lowest it has ever been with movie fans. Is it enough to bring him back to direct something?

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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.