George Lucas compares Disney to 'white slavers', calls The Force Awakens too retro (update)

George Lucas has remained relatively quiet about his thoughts on Disney's revival of the Star Wars franchise, including what he thought of The Force Awakens. That's all changed, however, after an interview the director did with talk show host Charlie Rose was published online.

In the hour-long interview, Lucas makes a couple of provocative statements about how he felt he was treated by Disney when it came to the new project, including comparing the company to "white slavers."

The quote comes at around 49-minutes into the interview when Rose asks Lucas about his thoughts on the pop culture staple he created. Lucas responds that he loves every Star Wars movie he had a hand in very much, referring to the films as his kids, but compared giving up the rights to the films like selling them to, "the white slavers who did these things."

Lucas doesn't finish his thought, and Rose lets out an awkward laugh before moving onto the next question. It's not overly surprising, though, that Lucas would hold a certain level of resentment toward Disney. The director recently admitted that having to sit through scorn from both critics and fans for over a decade after the release of the prequel trilogy left a rotten taste in his mouth and was partially why he didn't want to return to the franchise in the first place.

Lucas also came under scrutiny after being asked what he thought of J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens during a special screening. He gave a sly answer that implied while fans of the original films would like the new movie, it wasn't what he had envisioned for the franchise.

compared giving up the rights to the films like selling them to, "the white slavers who did these things."

Talking to Rose, Lucas added a few more thoughts about The Force Awakens, and said that he didn't like the retro feel Abrams brought to the feature.

"I don't like that," Lucas said outright. "Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different...different planets, different spaceships to make it new."

It's a critique others have mentioned in reviews and on social media, but it's the first time Lucas has spoken openly about his feelings on the film.

Despite having his name forever attached to the franchise as its creator, Lucas has already announced that he doesn't want much to do with the new generation of films and added that while he'll keep busy making new movies, no one will ever get to see them.

Watch the full interview below.

Update: George Lucas has issued a statement about his comments on the show. Reported by The Wrap, Lucas said that he "misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy" before offering an apology. Lucas also clarified his opinion on Disney and The Force Awakens in the statement, adding that that he trusted both Disney and director J.J. Abrams with the franchise, and was proud to see what they’ve accomplished.