George Lucas had some different ideas for how Star Wars: Episode VII, VIII and IX would have gone if Disney hadn't taken charge after acquiring LucasFilm for $4 billion in 2012. Let's just say even the biggest critics of the new Star Wars films should count their blessings.
In the companion book to James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction series on AMC, some of Lucas' plans are outlined. Apparently, he wanted the trilogy to be set in a "microbiotic world" full of creatures (the Whills) who control the universe and "feed off the Force."
Oof.
The man who saddled Star Wars with the legacy of midi-chlorians did recognize critics would have hated this idea (at least he knew), much like they hated Episodes I-III but "the whole story from beginning to end would have been told."
Now we can understand why Disney said thanks but no thanks to Lucas' ideas for VII. In a 2015 interview with Cinema Blend, he said, "The [ideas] that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those," Lucas said. "So they made up their own."
