George Lucas, surprisingly, felt thatStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithwould be the least popular installment of theStar Warsprequel trilogy. TheStar Warsprequels were met with heavy criticism in their respective theatrical runs, and while the collective view of the films - especially among longtimeStar Warsviewers - has certainly softened in recent years, they remain the subjects of heavy criticism, despite being far from the worst properties in theStar Warsfranchise.Revenge of the Sith, however, is popularly considered the best film in the trilogy.
Despite the higher favor it has among the otherStar Warsprequel movies, however, this wasn’t the sentiment Lucas felt towards the film. He was less positive about the third movie’s success, and he ultimately felt that it would end up being the least successful of the bunch. There’s a specific reason for that, but thankfully, Lucas ended up being proven wrong.
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Why George Lucas Didn’t Realize How Big Revenge Of The Sith Would Be
Fascinatingly,it is precisely the dark and tragic nature ofRevenge of the Siththat left George Lucas with little confidence in the film’s success, compared to its predecessors. As revealed in a bygone article forImaginary Cinema, Lucas believed thatRevenge of the Sithwould be the least successful film in the prequel trilogy.
Lucas had been saying for some time that he expected Episode III to be the least successful of the films due to its dark and tragic storyline, but this was exactly what most fans wanted.
Lucas himself explained his thoughts in interviews back in 2005, such as one withCBSin which he said he himself wouldn’t be comfortable taking children to this one. “My feeling is it will probably be a big PG-13,” he predicted, “so it will be the first ‘Star Wars’ that’s a PG-13. I would take a 9- or a 10-year-old to it – or an 11-. ButI don’t think I would take a 5- or 6-year-old to this. It’s way too strong. I could pull it back a little bit, but I don’t really want to.” He was right with the age rating - but wrong about its impact.
Of course, this prediction would end up being wrong, and Lucas’sStar Warsprojects afterRevenge of the Sithseemingly show that Lucas learned from the film’s success.
I Think George Lucas Learned From Revenge Of The Sith
Revenge of the Sith’snarrative felt entirely predictable, with no need or room for plot twists, given its task of following through on its two predecessors’ setup and connecting them to the widely known and beloved original trilogy.This only added to the effectiveness of the film’s tragedy, as most viewers knew howRevenge of the Sithwould end from the get-go.
While there were many Star Wars properties released afterRevenge of the Sith, the ones with the most significant creative involvement from George Lucas seem to have takenRevenge of the Sith’ssuccess to heart. The protagonist ofStar Wars: The Force Unleashed, Starkiller (Galen Marek), was raised by Darth Vader (who murdered his father) and while he eventually redeemed himself, Starkiller was always doomed to die before the events ofA New Hope.
We recently learnednew details aboutStar Wars: Underworld, the live-action TV show Lucas toyed with afterRevenge of the Sith. Producer Rick McCallum got the chance to read some of the scripts, and he described it as something very different. “These were dark,” he recalled. “These were not…they were sexy, they were violent, they were just absolutely wonderful, wonderful…complicated, challenging…it would have blown up the whole Star Wars universe.” This fits with the lessons Lucas presumably learned fromRevenge of the Sith’s success.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith details the fall of the Jedi Order and Anakin Skywalker’s transformation under the influence of Darth Sidious. Released in 2005, the film explores Anakin’s internal conflict and the shifting political landscape, leading to the rise of the Galactic Empire.
