Want to get sad? Read Gary Kurtz on How Star Wars Lost Its Magic

What if there had been no second Death Star?

What if Han Solo had died heroically?

What if Luke had walked away like Caine in Kung Fu?

It’s strange to be reading these words 27 years after Return of the Jedi opened. But they ring true.

“I could see where things were headed,” Kurtz said. “The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on films. It’s natural to make decisions that protect the toy business, but that’s not the best thing for making quality films.”

He added: “The first film and ‘Empire’ were about story and character, but I could see that George’s priorities were changing.”