George Lucas sounded an alarm in Cannes, and it isn’t about lightsabers. Can the industry he helped build survive if it keeps playing it safe?

At Cannes 2024, George Lucas didn’t mince words in an interview with Brut, arguing that the factory line of sequels and remakes has turned Hollywood timid. His critique stretches to streaming platforms that keep recycling familiar formulas, a stance he has maintained since 2014. Unless real risks return to the greenlight stage, he warns, the hit-dependent business could buckle, while the gaming world’s indie upstarts hint at how original universes can thrive.

George Lucas at Cannes: challenging Hollywood’s imagination

Renowned filmmaker George Lucas, the creative mind behind Star Wars, delivered a pointed critique of Hollywood’s current trajectory during his appearance at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. His message was blunt: the industry, he warned, risks a significant downfall unless it breaks free from its dependence on sequels, remakes, and overly safe storytelling choices.

Lucas’s concerns were not limited to Hollywood studios. He extended his criticism to streaming platforms that, in his words, embody the same lack of imagination. “It’s always about repeating what works,” he asserted, raising a flag about the refusal to take creative risks. Could this hesitance spell an end to a golden age of storytelling?

An industry afraid of risk-taking

The root of Lucas’s critique lies in Hollywood’s aversion to bold, original narratives. He pointed out that decision-makers are guided by financial calculations, which stifle innovation. Why fund a new, daring storyline when a safe bet in the form of yet another sequel could yield predictable returns? It is a cycle that has entrenched itself in the heart of the industry.

Lucas acknowledged that investing in originality requires bravery. The problem, however, is that fear often overtakes daring ambition. This approach, according to him, does not just limit creativity, it has become a systemic issue with far-reaching repercussions. And audiences, he argued, crave the very originality the industry avoids offering.

A prediction rooted in history

Interestingly, this was not the first time Lucas shared these concerns. As early as 2014, the filmmaker spoke out about a creative stagnation within major studios, which he believes has persisted for over a decade. Referring to those earlier statements, he reminded listeners at Cannes that systemic problems need systemic solutions.

Yet observers have noted a touch of irony in his critique. After all, Lucas helped revolutionize Hollywood by creating the blockbuster model with his Star Wars saga, a system now rooted in franchise-building. Still, his willingness to question that evolution suggests a loyalty not to the system but to storytelling itself.

Inspiration from unexpected places

Looking outside Hollywood, Lucas offered an illuminating point of comparison: the gaming industry. He praised how smaller development teams have, in recent years, built entire universes and pushed the limits of creativity. This, he proposed, could serve as inspiration for the film world.

Independent studios in gaming often thrive by prioritizing storytelling over profitability, delivering unexpected successes. Could Hollywood learn to embrace such a model and allow the indie spirit to flourish within its vast apparatus? For Lucas, it is not just possible, it is necessary if the industry wants to remain culturally and economically relevant.

Is Hollywood ready to change?

As George Lucas issued his candid warning at Cannes, the question was not just what Hollywood will choose to do but whether it is capable of adapting at all. While risk-taking is costly, failing to evolve might be even costlier. His final message was clear: stories must come first, or the audience will find other places to look for them.