“You go to make a movie and all you do is get criticized,” is how George explains why he stepped away from the world-famous franchise he created. “And it’s not much fun. You can’t experiment.”

Lucas may have handed the Star Wars reins over to Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams, but that doesn’t mean he’s done having fun in that galaxy far, far away. In this video from Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit, Lucas is full of winking jokes for Star Wars fans. Which Star Wars character would he most like to be? “Jar Jar Binks,” Lucas replies, knowing full well the floppy-eared Gungan is the most hated character of the prequels.

Even more mischievously, Lucas says he’s most curious to find out what happened to Darth Vader’s grandkids. It’s a question that ties into the rumors swirling around the carefully guarded plot of The Force Awakens, and provokes a rueful shake of the head from Abrams.

But for all his inside jokes and self-deprecating nods, Lucas is still protective of the space saga he helped create. “There’s more to it than just spaceships,” he says. But his biggest concern about the ever-expanding universe? That “the Force doesn’t get muddled into a bunch of gobbledygook.” But Lucas can have faith in Star Wars padawan J.J. Abrams. At the Summit, Abrams acknowledged that Star Wars is “a religion for some people.” A religion that, Lucas would probably tell him, you have to remember to have fun with.