George Lucas had a good reason to walk away from the entertainment world in 2012, as he recently revealed. The science fiction epic Star Wars is tough to imagine without the legendary filmmaker Lucas. He directed four Star Wars films and was the creative force behind at least 6 Star Wars films before he stepped away.

And he was supposed to continue the journey with a few more Star Wars films. However, in 2012, the filmmaker made the shocking decision to retire. Now, several years later, Lucas revealed the reason and motivation behind the decision.

George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, recently sat with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell to talk about their newly opened museum. While speaking of Lucas’ hard work put into the museum, Hobson revealed how such demanding work once turned out to be dangerous for her husband's health. The filmmaker was quick to agree and added that this was the reason he had retired in 2012.

"Well, I'm 82, so there is a limit to. When I did this, I decided to retire from making movies, which was a big deal because I had three more Star Wars to make, but I realized that I was running out of time, and I did want to make this museum," he said. 

He further spoke about his dedication to working for the museum during the CBS Sunday Morning segment. Following his retirement in 2012, he slowly began to turn all his attention towards building this museum, The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, along with his wife. It was to honour the illustrators.

The museum’s opening gala was a star-studded event with notable names from Hollywood and sports who were present to show their support for the filmmaker. Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Justin Trudeau, Michael B. Jordan, Emma Watson, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Spike Lee, SZA, and Doja Cat were some of the celebrities in attendance. Greta Gerwig, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Pharrell Williams, Tom Cruise, and Sir Lewis Hamilton were event co-chairs. 

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Now, while Lucas retired from filmmaking back in 2012, he did most recently return for a new gig.

After announcing his retirement in 2012, George Lucas has been away from major projects for all these years. However, this year, he returned for a brief role in the popular film Minions & Monsters. He reportedly lent his voice to a character in the film.

Illumination founder Chris Meledandri, in his interview with Collider, spoke about meeting Lucas more than 2 years ago and finding out about his love for Illumination movies. The filmmaker loved the Minions movies, which made the collaboration even more fascinating. While it is unlikely for the filmmaker to pop up in other projects now that the museum is open, fans will be in hopes of seeing the legend back for minor roles in films or shows.

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What do you think about George Lucas' decision to retire in 2012? Let us know in the comments.