What would the Star Wars prequels have been like without George Lucas in the director's chair? According to director Ron Howard, Lucas' originally hadn't intended to helm Episodes I-III and instead looked to other filmmakers to bring his vision to the screen.
"He didn't necessarily want to direct them. He told me he had talked to Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and me. I was the third one he spoke to." Said Howard during an interview with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast.
"They all said the same thing: 'George, you should do it' I don't think anybody wanted to follow-up that act at the time. It was an honor, but it would've been too daunting."
It wouldn't have been the first time Lucas handed over his most famous creation to another director. He famously entrusted Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back to Irvin Kershner and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi to Richard Marquand.
Howard's revelation is certainly a tantalizing what-if scenario. All three of the names on Lucas' shortlist are prolific directors who could have certainly put their stamp on the franchise.
Lucas heavy involvement in the prequels is often brought up as a negative by critics.
Last week, he told Vanity Fair that part of the reason why he decided to sell Lucasfilm to Disney was the intense scrutiny he was under for his handling of the franchise.
"You go to make a movie and all you do is get criticized. And, people try to make decisions about what you're going to do before you do it." Said Lucas. "You know, it's not much fun. And you can't experiment, you can't do anything. You have to do it a certain way. I don't like that, I never did. I started out in experimental films and I want to go back to experimental films."
Catch a first glimpse of a Lucas-less Star Wars when The Force Awakens opens this December.
