10 Failed Star Wars Movies (And Why They Didn't Happen)

8. George Lucas' Sequel Trilogy

George Lucas Mickey Mouse
Disney

The Movie

In 1978, it was reported that Lucas was planning a dozen Star Wars movies in total. In subsequent interviews, this would be dropped down to nine, but either way, it was clear that he was one day planning on making some direct followups to his original trilogy.

Had Lucas actually got to make Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, he was reportedly planning to explore Luke's life as a Jedi, while also introducing Luke's sister (who, in this iteration, would not be Leia) in the middle chapter.

Some of his more up-to-date plans included Darth Maul being the main villain (along with his apprentice, Darth Talon), Leia being the main character, and Luke attempting to kick-start a new generation of Jedi. Interestingly, Lucas was also planning to kill Luke in Episode VIII - which is exactly what happened in the Episode VIII we ended up getting.

Why It Didn't Happen

In the early 2010s, Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed interest in acquiring Lucasfilm. Lucas was hesitant at first, but ultimately, he relented, and though he did hand over his outlines for the sequel trilogy, Iger stressed that Disney would have final say over the direction of the franchise.

And that's exactly what happened. Under no obligation to use Lucas' treatments, Disney forged its own sequel trilogy path - a decision that reportedly left Lucas feeling "betrayed."

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!