How did the creator of something so loved become so loathed? As the original Star Wars saga ends with The Rise of Skywalker, the man who started it all deserves our respect, says Chris Bell

He is cinema's most enduring villain. The worst of the worst. Artfully disguised beneath avuncular beard and Fifties throwback quiff, but more machine now than man; twisted and evil. Capable of fooling us all with his creations of great wonder, heroism and romance – but then, with a wave of a hirsute hand, destroying entire childhoods. Generating sadness and disappointment on a planetary scale. Tearing the very fabric of dreams apart.

He’s an enigma, wrapped in a bulgy checked shirt. George Lucas is the plot twist we were all dreading.

Because, yes, at first he created the Star Wars canon – six fabulously successful films that unlocked the imaginations of generations of children. That spawned a vast, compelling extended fantasy universe spanning books, computer games and pet costumes. That earned billions. That even inspired a religion.

But then came his sinister second phase. Jar Jar Binks. Greedo. Green screens and midichlorians. A galactic chorus of YouTube critics, bloggers and forum commentators united in their hatred of what George Lucas became: Darth Lucas. The greedy billionaire. The toy peddler. The crass fiddler, more obsessed with process than story or dialogue. The racist. The popinjay. And today, as the saga he began reaches its conclusion: the punchline.