Star Wars granddad George Lucas has given his stamp of approval to J.J. Abrams‘s Star Wars: The Force Awakens according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. The Hollywood Reporter included the news alongside the announcement that the filmmaker will attend premieres of the new franchise installment in Los Angeles and London.

The family analogy isn’t one of my own making. Lucas himself refers to his franchise and the new executives behind the current sequel plans as his ex-wife and more when speaking to the Washington Post: “I gotta go to the wedding. My ex will be there, my new wife will be there, but I’m going to have to take a very deep breath and be a good person and sit through it and just enjoy the moment, because it is what it is and it’s a conscious decision that I made.”

Lucas recently joined a very small and select group of humans who have seen the finished film prior to the December 18 release. It’s been reported that he did submit story ideas for the new trilogy back when planning was still a thing that was happening, but that ultimately, the team heading up the project decided to go in another direction. It may be a good thing as Lucas has also been quick to admit that, while it’s difficult for him to see the franchise moving on without him, he also knows that he wouldn’t be able to be involved in a small way. It would be his way or the highway: “There is no such thing as working over someone’s shoulder. You’re either the dictator or you’re not. And to do that would never work, so I said ‘I’m going to get divorced.’ . . . I knew that I couldn’t be involved. All I’d do is make them miserable. I’d make myself miserable. It would probably ruin a vision — J.J. [Abrams] has a vision, and it’s his vision.”

I am super excited to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dec. 17 at 7pm anyone?), but it does feel weird to be going to something Star Wars that George Lucas is not directly tied to. It’s good to know that the father of the franchise approves of this latest installment even if he wasn’t involved. Do you have your tickets all sorted? Tell us what you’re looking forward to seeing the most in the comments below!

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HT THR
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