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Star Wars director George Lucas admits he went 'too far' with The Phantom Menace in resurfaced footage: 'It's a hard film to follow'

The director was left unimpressed after watching a rough cut of the film

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The Independent Culture

Star Wars director George Lucas voiced his concerns about The Phantom Menace ahead of the film's release in 1999.

The first of the sci-fi saga's prequels, released 16 years after The Return of the Jedi, was not received well by both critics and fans, namely for its inclusion of infamous character Jar Jar Binks.

In behind-the-scenes footage highlighted by The Hollywood Reporter, Lucas can be seen unimpressed with a rough cut of the film, seemingly unsure of how to rectify the finished product.

“It’s a little disjointed,” Lucas admits. “It’s bold in terms of jerking people around. I may have gone too far in a few places.” 

Ben Burtt, the film's editor, adds: “In a space of about 90 seconds, you go from lamenting the death of a hero to escape to slightly comedic with Jar Jar to Anakin returning … It’s a lot in a very short time.”

27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018

27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018

  • 1/27 Black Panther

    Released: 12 February

    Director: Ryan Coogler

    Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman

  • 2/27 The Greatest Showman

    Released: 1 January

    Director: Michael Gracey

    Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya,

  • 3/27 Darkest Hour

    Released: 12 January

    Director: Joe Wright

    Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn

  • 4/27 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

    Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh

    Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones >

  • 5/27 Coco

    Released: 19 January

    Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renée Victor

  • 6/27 Downsizing

    Released: 19 January

    Director: Alexander Payne

    Cast:

    Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis

  • 7/27 Early Man

    Released: 26 January

    Director: Nick Park

    Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall

  • 8/27 Fifty Shades Freed

    Released: 9 February

    Director: James Foley

    Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger

  • 9/27 Maze Runner: The Death Cure

    Released: 9 February

    Director: Wes Ball

    Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen

  • 10/27 The Shape of Water

    Released: 16 February

    Director: Guillermo del Toro

    Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones

  • 11/27 Annihilation

    Released: 23 February

    Director: Alex Garland

    Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac

  • 12/27 Dark River

    Released: 23 February

    Director: Clio Barnard

    Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean

  • 13/27 Red Sparrow

    Released: 2 March

    Director: Francis Lawrence

    Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons

  • 14/27 Tomb Raider

    Released: 16 March

    Director: Roar Uthaug

    Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West,

  • 15/27 A Wrinkle in Time

    Released: 23 March

    Director: Ava DuVernay

    Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis

  • 16/27 Pacific Rim: Uprising

    Released: 23 March

    Director: Steven S. DeKnight

    Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman

  • 17/27 Roman J Israel, Esq

    Released: 23 March

    Director: Dan Gilroy

    Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo

  • 18/27 Isle of Dogs

    Released: 30 March

    Director: Wes Anderson

    Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson

  • 19/27 Ready Player One

    Released: 30 March

    Director: Steven Spielberg

    Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg

  • 20/27 Avengers: Infinity War

    Released: 27 April

    Director: The Russo Brothers

    Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin

  • 21/27 Untitled Han Solo Film

    Released: 25 May

    Director: Ron Howard

    Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover

  • 22/27 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

    Released: 8 June

    Director: J.A. Bayona

    Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones

  • 23/27 Deadpool 2

    Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch

    Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin

  • 24/27 Ocean's 8

    Released: 22 June

    Director: Gary Ross

    Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon

  • 25/27 Ant-Man and the Wasp

    Released: 29 June

    Director: Peyton Reed

    Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer

  • 26/27 Soldado

    Released: 29 June

    Director: Stefano Sollima

    Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine

  • 27/27 The Incredibles 2

    Released: 13 July

    Director: Brad Bird

    Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson

“It boggles the mind," Lucas continues. "I have thought about this quite a bit, and the tricky part is you almost can’t take any of those pieces out of it now, because each one takes you to the next place. And you can’t jump because you don’t know where you are.

"I do a particular kind of movie of which this is consistent. But it is a very hard movie to follow.”

The footage can be seen as part of the hour-long documentary ‘The Beginning: Making Episode I’ featured on the film's DVD extras.

Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in cinemas now.