Did George Lucas make a mistake selling it to Disney?

no, but they aren't doing a great job. rogue one is an ok edition to the franchise. they might do something right sometime down the line.

I'm trying to think who else could he have sold it to?
I don't know that a different studio would've done all that much better with the material.

It's fun to think of what kind of episode 7 we might've gotten had Lucas sold to 20th Century Fox or Paramount, or some other major studio. I'm sure each of them would've done something a little differently.

He did the right thing selling, if he wasn't gonna do anything else with it. Disney shit the bed with TFA, that's another story. R1 was a worthy addition, but i think we'll have to wait a while for another good one. I like Rian Johnson, but i don't know how much he could do with these shitty charachters

Shame he didn't sell 2 Fox. We wouldn't of gotten that horrible Independence Day Resurgence.

In the case of TFA it was mostly ANH where it was "something old" and more Disney than LucasFilm in "something new". But it seems that they somewhat departed (or re-shot) from that formula when it came to Rogue One. So it's hard to say whether what we get in SW going forward will be more Disney or more LucasFilm.

But I definitely think Disney has been more meddling with LucasFilm than any of their other subsidiaries. Look at all the production problems and changes that they've made in most of their SW films. And look at how many times Kathleen Kennedy's name has been in the middle of it. The hands-on choices and hands-on midstream changes smells of a meddling spirit.

Uh... that's an interesting topic. Kathleen Kennedy has worked/associated with Spielberg and Lucas off and on for a long time. She began shadowing and mentoring under Lucas during the latter years of Lucas partly producing and serving as consultant on CWAS (Clone Wars animated series). Lucas groomed her on the production nature of SW and the nature of the lore and universe of SW.

Kennedy was publicly and privately very appeasing and amicable to the process and direction of her "apprenticeship". When Lucas sold to Disney he recommended Kennedy to head up LucasFilm. Disney met with her and made her head and president of LucasFilm.

However ever since her appointment by Disney as head of LucasFilm almost every SW decision she has made has reflected Disney more than LucasFilm.

** Despite the fact that she praised the CWAS and it's foundation (the prequels) during her "mentor period" with George, after being appointed by Disney she indicated the PT would not be reflected in any way in the new films. And even took it a step further by making negative comments on it in a Vanity Fair article.

** Although publicly praising the lead female character in CWAS (a female Jedi apprentice named Ahsoka) as a strong female character and role model for little girls, Kennedy began seeking to develop a female Jedi apprentice with different characteristics. Consulting with Abrams she encouraged the development of a character that fit the qualities of a magical warrior princess who launches onto the scene from a humble background.

** Kennedy invited Lucas in as a consultant. She also wanted any script material Lucas had developed towards an episode 7. But flatly rejected most of it and attempts at compromise with her and Disney's vision failed. On the surface it might seem to be a matter of simply discovering a difference in vision but it seems reasonable that Kennedy should've suspected something other than a story full of homage (or rehash depending on your point of view) after mentoring so closely with Lucas.

** Kennedy shut down LucasArts, the video game division and developer of SW. It exists in name only now with a roster of 10 employees. A move that has produced so far a Lego SW retread and a redeveloped reboot of a classic (SW Battlefront). The latters developer and publisher (EA as in EA Sports) has a track record in the genre of bad to none. And this move has yet to produce a fresh idea in SW video games; something that LucasArts usually produced and thrived on in a game genre that often depends on it.

** Speculative rumors swirled that Kennedy influenced the development of the Jyn Erso character in Rogue One to follow a similar warrior princess archetype of the Rey character. But once some backlash began to surface over Rey's characterization in TFA, she brought in a new director to reshoot some of the scenes to change that tone. Another rumor said that the Disney demographic of test screening audiences found Jyn to be too much of a "female Rambo" for SW and certain scenes too dark. Whatever the case massive reshoots were done. And without ever knowing the true reason, many scenes that featured Jyn and Cassian in the early trailers never made it in the theatrical release.


These decisions and others paint Kathleen Kennedy as a Disney appointee directing and overseeing LucasFilm rather than a LucasFilm boss who answers to Disney.

Maybe these were Kathleen's own decisions.