JJ Abrams offered his response to the news that George Lucas felt disappointed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Lucas’ feelings towards the first episode of the sequel Star Wars trilogy was detailed in Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent memoir. But even though Lucas may have felt let down, Abrams says he has nothing but “gratitude” towards the man who created Star Wars.“It’s probably a complicated thing for him. To decide you’re going to sell this thing that you created, that was your baby, to anyone,” Abrams said in an interview with Rolling Stone . “That must be more complicated than signing a check and smiling about it. But he’s been incredibly gracious. He’s been super-generous.”Abrams says that he held meetings with Lucas while working on Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker and talked though different story ideas. “And we’ve done nothing but try and adhere to some fundamental aspects of the story.”“Do I wish that [Force Awakens] had been his favorite movie of all time? Yes, I only wanted to do well by him. I would just say that I have nothing but profound respect for the guy and am still truly, even more so now, working on these movies in awe of what he created.”Abrams’ response echoes that of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy who offered her response to Lucas’ disappointment , saying it must be “difficult letting go and watching” something they created to become something different.For more from this interview, hear how JJ Abrams reacted to the shocking twists in The Last Jedi Meanwhile, the Star Wars media empire continues to expand. Rise of Skywalker will finish the new trilogy when it’s released this December, and there’s a new Star Wars series called The Mandalorian currently airing on Disney+.

Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.