20 Things You Somehow Missed In Apocalypse Now

20. Forget Star Wars - George Lucas Was Going To Direct Apocalypse Now

It's hard to imagine what a Vietnam War film would look like with the director of Star Wars at the helm. That was almost the case with Apocalypse Now, as Lucas was originally slated to direct the film. Lucas was among those who encouraged screenwriter John Milius to write a screenplay about the war. Milius was working as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola at the time, and Coppola offered Milius $15,000 to write the screenplay, which his film company American Zoetrope would produce, with Lucas directing.

The film spent years in pre-production, during which Lucas directed a flop in THX 1138, and a massive hit in American Graffiti. By the time Coppola wanted to make Apocalypse Now, Lucas was wrapped up in creating the first Star Wars film. Milius wasn't interested in directing, so Coppola decided to direct it himself.

If Lucas had directed Apocalypse Now, what would it have looked like? Would Colonel Kurtz have revealed himself to be Captain Willard's father? Probably not. According to Coppola, the vision Lucas had involved shooting the film in Northern California on 16mm film in a documentary style.