Marcia Lucas was the editor on “Star Wars” and “Return of the Jedi.” In between she was the uncredited editor on “The Empire Strikes Back.” Before that, she was the editor on “American Graffiti.”
She was also Mrs. George Lucas from 1969 to 1983. She wasn’t only Lucas’s editor. She was the credited editor on Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” When she and Lucas divorced, she received $50 million and retired.
But here’s the news: Marcia is furious about the last three “Star Wars” movies. She’s really angry Kathleen Kennedy et al killed off Han Solo in “The Force Awakens.” In an interview for a book called “Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life,” by JW Rinzler, about the former head of LucasFilms, Marcia lets loose on the subject.
She told Rinzler: “I Like Kathleen. I always liked her. She was full of beans. She was really smart and really bright. Really wonderful woman. And I liked her husband, Frank {Marshall]. I liked them a lot. Now that she’s running Lucasfilm and making movies, it seems to me that Kathy Kennedy and J.J. Abrams don’t have a clue about ‘Star Wars.’ They don’t get it. And JJ Abrams is writing these stories — when I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious. I was furious when they killed Han Solo. Absolutely, positively there was no rhyme or reason to it. I thought, You don’t get the Jedi story. You don’t get the magic of ‘Star Wars.’ You’re getting rid of Han Solo?”
Marcia wasn’t happy about what happened to Luke Skywalker, either. She said:
“They have Luke disintegrate…They killed Han Solo. They killed Luke Skywalker. And they don’t have Princess Leia anymore. And they’re spitting out movies every year. And they think it’s important to appeal to a woman’s audience, so now their main character is this female, who’s supposed to have Jedi powers, but we don’t know how she got Jedi powers, or who she is. It sucks. The storylines are terrible. Just terrible. Awful. You can quote me…JJ Abrams, Kathy Kennedy — talk to me.’”
I agree with Marcia. Having Han Solo and Princess Leia’s son kill Han seemed like a dreadful idea. It destroyed Kylo, there was no redeeming him no matter how hard they tried. But no one asked us, Marcia, did they? I think of the last six “Star Wars” movies like they’re Hudson Yards in New York or Trump’s West Side apartment fortress. I know they exist but I just don’t acknowledge them. You’re better off that way.
