George Lucas sports Star Wars tee in St. Barts despite selling rights to Disney in 2012
George Lucas may have sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney almost a decade ago, but his love for the iconic franchise is far from gone.
The legendary director, 80, who made a whopping $4 billion in 2012 from the sale of Lucasfilm to House of Mouse, was recently spotted in St. Barts wearing a casual T-shirt with a Stormtrooper on it.
The character first appeared in the original Star Wars in 1977, a game changer that helped Lucas become a screen legend.
George completed his relaxed holiday look with a white bucket hat and matching shorts as he basked in the sun on the tropical island.
At the time of Lucasfilm’s monumental sale – including his company’s Industrial Light & Magic and the rights to Indiana Jones – Lucas likened saying goodbye to Star Wars to losing a family member.
‘These are my children, I loved them. I made them,” he told CBS at the time.
George Lucas may have sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney almost a decade ago, but his love for the iconic franchise is far from gone when he was spotted in St. Barts wearing Star Wars gear.
The legendary director, 80, who made a whopping $4 billion in 2012 from the sale of Lucasfilm to House of Mouse, was recently spotted in St. Barts wearing a casual T-shirt with the classic Stormtrooper on it.
However, after Lucas sold the Star Wars rights to Disney, he didn’t hesitate to express his dissatisfaction with The Force Awakens, the first film in the franchise after the sale.
In a 2015 interview with Empire magazine, Lucas admitted that he was not happy with the film, stating that Disney “wanted to make a retro movie” and did not follow his planned direction for the series.
He also said that he felt the film was too similar to the original trilogy, saying, “They wanted to make a movie for the fans… They decided they didn’t want to use the stories I had done.”
He somewhat backtracked on his initial criticism of The Force Awakens after the film’s release.
In later interviews, he acknowledged that while he had concerns about the film’s direction, he ultimately appreciated the work of JJ Abrams and the team at Disney.
He even praised the film’s success, although he still said it wasn’t quite what he would have done.
Meanwhile, George held a huge birthday party last May to celebrate turning 80, with some of the world’s biggest stars in attendance.
He invited dozens of A-list friends to celebrate at Skywalker Ranch on Saturday.
At the time of Lucasfilm’s monumental sale – including his company’s Industrial Light & Magic and the rights to Indiana Jones – Lucas likened saying goodbye to Star Wars to losing a family member; (seen in December)
However, after Lucas sold the Star Wars rights to Disney, he did not hesitate to express his dissatisfaction with The Force Awakens, the first film in the franchise after the sale; (with Jake Lloyd for Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – 1999)
Lucas on the set of 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Steve Martin served as MC for the evening, with performances throughout the evening from artists including Alicia Keys, Jon Batiste, Don Henley and HER
The guest list also included Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Robert De Niro, Glenn Close, Queen Latifah, Kerry Washington, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, HER, Alicia Keys, Don Henley, Jon Batiste, Swizz Beatz, Jon Favreau and Warwick Davis.
Since 1978, Lucas has owned Skywalker Ranch, located in a remote area of Marin County, California, north of the Bay Area.
Mellody Hobson, to whom Lucas has been married since 2013, was said to be ‘an exceptional host’, who ‘warmly greeted everyone at the party’, according to sources.