If George Lucas really wanted to remain actively involved in Star Wars, then you imagine that he would have never sold up to Disney in the first place. Despite stepping away from the universe he created though, the bearded plaid enthusiast has still remained a part of the franchise in the role of a wizened mentor, and is happy to offer advice whenever he’s asked for it.
However, any time a Star Wars-related project finds itself in trouble, Lucas’ name is always mentioned as a potential white knight riding to the rescue. There were reports that he had been drafted in to try and save Disney Plus’ Obi-Wan Kenobi series after it was plunged into chaos, as well as rumors that he was set to take over The Rise of Skywalker after early reactions from the studio had been less than enthusiastic.
The latest round of speculation claims that the creator of Star Wars was so unhappy with J.J. Abrams’ version of Rise that he secretly assembled his own cut of the movie, which is said to be vastly superior to the version that landed in theaters, but villainous Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy is refusing to let it be released.
While none of this should obviously be taken as anything even close to approaching gospel, the originator of the rumor has since offered up some more details on the alleged Lucas Cut, but believe what you will from someone that calls themselves Doomcock. Apparently, the Lucas Cut includes an additional 30 minutes of footage that fixes many of The Rise of Skywalker‘s major narrative issues, some of which he even shot himself, and as a result, Lucas’ take on the material scored a much higher score from test audiences than Abrams’ did.
One alternate scene was said to have involved a Hayden Christensen cameo as Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost, while another would have seen Force projections of Luke Skywalker and Leia joining Han Solo’s emotional reunion with his son Ben, bringing the three stars of the Original Trilogy together for the final time, which would have been a hugely emotional moment for fans following Carrie Fisher’s passing.
Obviously, this should all be taken with a pretty big grain of salt, but given how Lucasfilm’s current handling of Star Wars always seems to be in a state of disarray, it wouldn’t be too surprising to find out that multiple versions of The Rise of Skywalker exist.
