3. Things Change Or Do They?
In 1983 Return of the Jedi arrived and the George Lucas who was talking twelve films and a long term Star Wars plan, changed his approach a little. Lucas started talking about ending the Saga with just three episodes.
"I look upon the three Star Wars films as chapters in one book," he told Time magazine in a May 1983. "Now the book is finished, and I have put it on the shelf." However in May 1987, Lucas confirmed that he would eventually continue the saga, starting with Episodes I to III. (Which of course happened about ten years later). He also went on to say that Episodes VII to IX were still confirmed as part of
"nine films floating around there somewhere Then in 1994, Lucas once again confirmed his original intentions when he wrote in the foreword of the special edition of Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster,
"As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell three trilogies. Now, I'm not saying that Lucas had all nine (or more stories) ready to go in 1977 but he certainly seems to have had a long term plan for new trilogies every 10-20 years or so. He knew in 1997 that Dads would take their kids to re-experience Star Wars in cinemas and due to that success the prequel trilogy was a go. Since then Star Wars has soared. From gaming to toy lines, from TV shows to, well, everything the brand has touched. Lucas may not have believed the staggered return to the franchise would work over a forty year period but by the end of 2005 it seemed like a money spinning no-brainer. So why exactly did Uncle George seem to have a change of heart?