10 Star Wars Scenes George Lucas Hated

Grumbling and dissatisfaction in a galaxy far, far away.

by Andrew Pollard
Darth Vader Eyebrows
Lucasfilm

It's now approaching ten years since George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for a staggering $4.05 billion, with that deal first announced on 30 October 2012.

In the time since that sale, there have been five Star Wars films released, plus two live-action TV shows, four new animated series, the return of The Clone Wars, and countless other ventures to a galaxy far, far away in various mediums. Added to that, there are also a slew of other Star Wars projects in development over at the House of Mouse.

For Lucas, he clearly has a whole lot of love for the Star Wars IP, with that first film back in 1977 skyrocketing the filmmaker to superstardom and helping to change the very face of cinema. It's not been entirely all sunshines and rainbows for George during his time crafting the Star Wars realm, mind, for there are certain moments and sequences that the California native has clearly not been happy with.

Whether it's mild disappointment or outright hatred, then, here are ten such Star Wars scenes that George Lucas absolutely was not satisfied with.

10. Killing Off Darth Maul - Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Darth Vader Eyebrows
Lucasfilm

Did George Lucas regret killing off Darth Maul at the time? Not at all. In hindsight, the filmmaker clearly had some major regrets at the decision.

Of course, Maul was sliced in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the climax of The Phantom Menace. Despite being the greatest part of Episode I, this Sith was now off the chessboard as the franchise moved forward.

In the years since The Phantom Menace's 1999 release, Maul has famously risen from the dead, with him first resurfacing in The Clone Wars in 2008. And why was this Dathomirian Zabrak brought back from his apparent grave? That's because George Lucas realised what a great character he was and so wanted him back in the game.

As The Clone Wars co-creator Dave Filoni explained in the Star Wars Age of Republic: Villains book, Lucas told him that he wanted Darth Maul to be a part of this animated series. When Filoni asked how Maul survived the slice 'n' dice attack of Kenobi, George just told him to "figure it out". From there, Maul would make his return at the end of The Clone Wars' third season.

Going even further, Lucas wanted to position Darth Maul as the main villain of his planned movie sequel trilogy. That was before The Beard sold Lucasfilm to Disney, and thus plans clearly significantly changed by the time Episodes VII, VIII and IX hit the silver screen.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.