In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas has announced that he has decided to quit big-budget Hollywood blockbusters in favour of smaller, more experimental projects similar to those he was involved in before the arrival of his epic space fantasy back in 1977. According to Lucas, the move – which is neatly timed to coincide with the release of the long-gestating WWII action film Red Tails (for which he served as executive producer and financier) – is down to his frustrations with the Hollywood studio system, along with the reception given to recent efforts such as the Star Wars prequels and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Despite Lucas claiming that Red Tails will be his final mainstream film, he has left the door open for a fifth Indiana Jones outing alongside director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford. Lucas is also set to cash his pension in with annual 3D re-issues of all six Star Wars films, starting with The Phantom Menace next month, and there’s also the small matter of the proposed live-action Star Wars television series, Star Wars: Underworld. So, considering that outside of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, the last feature Lucas was involved with was 1994’s Radioland Murders, and his last ‘mainstream’ films were 1988’s Willow and The Land Before Time, I’m not exactly sure what’s he’s retiring from, especially if Indy doesn’t count. Anyone help me out here..?
Directed by Anthony Hemingway (CSI: NY, Fringe, True Blood), Red Tails tells the true story of the Tuskegee Airman, a group of heroic African American pilots who were called into action during World War II. The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Ne-Yo, Method Man, Nate Parker, Elijah Kelley, Tristan Wilds, David Oyelowo, Theo James, Michael B. Jordon, Josh Dallas, Daniela Ruah and Bryan Cranston, and is released in North America this Friday.
Originally published January 18, 2012. Updated November 29, 2022.
