I don't think I can add much here, but I suspect that Lucas never felt about Star Wars as the fans did. IMO it was probably just a movie to him from the very beginning. When he found that it was going to be a valuable franchise, I doubt he had qualms about artistic integrity. I did grow up playing with Star Wars action figures, and I appreciate that. However, it's a shame that Lucas never seemed to care much about the non-monetary value of the Star Wars canon. In fact, I bet he has a love/hate relationship with it. However, it perfectly filled a cultural void and captured the imaginations of so many. One only wonders what could have been done with it with a purity of vision. Disney will milk it to death, skin it, butcher it, then boil the rest for glue.