Lucas: "At the time I was starting the new trilogy. I had talked to the actors and I was starting to get going. I was also about to have a daughter with my wife. It takes about ten years to make a trilogy: episodes I to III were created between 1995 and 2005. In 2012 I would still be working on Episode IX! I would have been 69. So I wondered if I wanted to continue doing the same thing for the rest of my life. Did I really want to start over? So I decided I would rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while. Sure, I could have kept Lucasfilm and have someone else do the production, but that doesn't mean retiring. With "The Empire strikes again at "and" Return of the Jedi "I tried to stay out of the way, but couldn't. I was on set every day. Even though some friends were working on it who were doing a great job, it wasn't like I was doing it. It was like being removed. I knew it probably wouldn't work again, that I would be frustrated. "
Lucas then admitted to being a guy who wants to manage everything, so he decided to give up to devote himself to his daughter and pursue his other dream: to build a museum. Leaving Star Wars was a great pain, given who had dedicated 40 years of his life to him, but on balance it was the right choice for him.
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