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George Lucas Doesn’t Care What Critics Think About His Movies

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George Lucas has never had a quiet relationship with critics. For nearly 5 decades, the creator of ‘Star Wars’ has watched his work debated, dissected, and, at times, harshly condemned. Now, as he steps back into the spotlight to promote his long-awaited museum, he has offered a blunt verdict on the people who review his movies.

The timing is fitting. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art held its opening gala on September 19 and opens to the public on September 22. The $1 billion project, which Lucas founded with his wife, Mellody Hobson, sits on 11 acres in Los Angeles and features a 300,000-square-foot building spread over 5 floors.

It has been an unusually visible stretch for a filmmaker who spent years largely out of view. Lucas has been reflecting on his legacy and answering questions about his career. That includes a new comment about critics that has spread rapidly online.

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Star Wars Holocron shared the remark on X on September 19, sourcing it to an Instagram reel. According to the post, Lucas said he doesn’t pay attention to critics. He explained that he knows many of them personally and would never hire them to direct or write a movie, and the post has drawn 68.7K views, 2.1K likes, and 214 reposts.

The attitude is consistent with what Lucas has said before. In a 2013 Bloomberg Businessweek interview, he explained that he was tired of critics and fans who believed he had mishandled the ‘Star Wars’ saga, especially the prequels. He said he would happily leave the criticism and personal attacks behind and that he had not signed up to be a politician.

He voiced a similar view about the franchise’s next chapter. In a Vanity Fair interview covered by CBS News in 2015, he said he didn’t want to be part of ‘The Force Awakens’ because making a movie is no fun when all you do is get criticized. He added that people try to decide what you will do before you do it, something he never liked.

Earlier this year, Lucas also told A Rabbit’s Foot that he dislikes focus groups, arguing that audiences don’t know what they want to see. In his view, a film should be made by someone who knows how to make movies and is passionate about the story. That philosophy lines up neatly with his latest comment.

Reaction online has been lively. One reply to the Star Wars Holocron post shared images of the original trilogy posters alongside the prequel posters, a nod to the long-running debate over how those films are remembered. It’s a reminder of how divisive the topic remains, even after all these years.

It’s noted that Lucas’s stance is not about thin skin but about a broader belief in who should shape creative decisions. By stressing that he knows critics personally, he suggests his view comes from direct experience with the profession. That reading makes the remark less dismissive than it might first appear.

Of course, critics might reasonably argue that reviewing films and making them are different jobs by design. Their role is to evaluate the finished work rather than to create it, and many have championed Lucas’s contributions. Both sides of the conversation are part of the culture around the franchise.

For Lucas, the point is clear enough. His energy now goes into celebrating the art of storytelling rather than defending his own. With his museum opening its doors, the public will soon be able to judge his legacy for themselves.

Do you think filmmakers should pay attention to critics?

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