George Lucas' Storytelling Approach Detailed By Star Wars Movie Writer
Legendary Star Wars screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan opens up about George Lucas’ storytelling approach. After writing the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Kasdan came to work on the Star Wars franchise by co-writing the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back with the late Leigh Brackett, based on the story by developed Lucas. He would later return to work directly with Lucas on the screenplay for Return of the Jedi.
In 2012, Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm — along with the rights to the Star Wars franchise — to Disney in a record-making deal worth over $4 billion. Seeking to capitalize on their acquisition, Disney shortly put the sequel trilogy into production, and Kasdan was tapped to assist with the script for The Force Awakens with J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt. Lucas himself was asked to consult on the project but instead chose to distance himself from the sequel trilogy as he felt he would be more of a hindrance no longer being in direct creative control.
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Most recently, Kasdan directed the new Disney+ docuseries Light & Magic, and during a promotional interview with Inverse, he talks about what it was like to work with Lucas during the early years of Lucasfilm. Suggesting that his approach to storytelling was not impacted by budgetary concerns, Kasdan says Lucas’s approach to storytelling would besimilar to that of another iconic director. Check out his full comments below:
When I started doing the big movies, I had George guiding the ship. His imperative was to do the best thing you can think of. Akira Kurosawa, who is my favorite director, used to say when he was writing, ‘What’s the best thing that can happen next?’
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