George Lucas' New Movie Role Reveals a Secret Passion [Exclusive]

For many fans, George Lucas has been their introduction into the world of sci-fi fantasy with Star Wars. So, it should come as no surprise that Lucas himself is likewise a fan of some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood. While Lucas has made cameos and done a bit of uncredited work in front of the camera in the past, the legendary director is about to jump headfirst into a whole new world with one of the most delightful animated appearances of the year. Collider's Steve Weintraub sat down with Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri for a wide-ranging interview, and during their conversation, they spoke about Lucas' Minions & Monsters cameo and how they pulled off getting the sci-fi legend involved.

Meledandri told Collider that Lucas is a huge fan of Illumination's slate of animated movies and that he especially loved Despicable Me and the Minions movies. "I had this privilege of meeting George about two years ago, and what led to my meeting him is how much he loves Illumination movies, and specifically Despicable Me, and even more specifically, the Minions," Meledandri said. "It was such a thrill to learn that and then to share it with the team, because obviously he's among a very small group of people who the entire studio shares a level of respect for that is just off the charts."

Meledandri continued, revealing that an idea came up for a character that Lucas could play and spoke with director Pierre Coffin, co-writer Brian Lynch, and producer Bill Ryan about getting the Star Wars creator in the latest film. "An idea for a character came up out of the story, and so I said to Pierre [Coffin], who co-wrote the movie with Brian Lynch, and Bill Ryan, who produces with me on the film, and I just said, 'Well, what if we could get George?' And they're like, 'Are you kidding me?' I had no idea, but I got such a fast yes," Meledandri said. "It was incredible. So, we're thrilled to have him in the film. I saw him recently, and he's already talking to me about the role he wants to do next in the next Minions movie. So, it's pretty incredible."

The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.

You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.

You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.

You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.

You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.

Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.

You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.

You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.

You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.

When asked about Lucas' recording session, Meledandri admitted that he didn't get to go to the recording himself, but it was organized through him and Lucas' wife, Mellody Hobson, while she and Lucas were in Paris. "'Look, should we just get him into a recording booth just this week? Because Peter's there, you guys are there,'” Meledandri shared of his organization with Hobson. "And so, it just happened like that. Pierre met him at a recording studio in Paris, and it was done."

To make matters even more exciting, Lucas' cameo also features an animated version of famed actor and director Orson Welles. Weintraub pointed out just how many cool people are featured in the scene, and Meledandri shared a bit about including Welles and the references the film makes to the Citizen Kane actor. He told Collider:

"As you know, there are a few Orson Welles references in the movie, which I particularly love. One of my greatest early Hollywood memories is when I was a gofer, a runner, and I had to deliver a script to my boss, who was eating lunch at what was then sort of the, probably, Patrick Terrail, who went on to create Spago, was the chef at a restaurant called Ma Maison, and it was like the cool Hollywood restaurant. I went in, I'd been out of school for, like, six months, and I went in to deliver this script to my boss at his table, and my eye sees behind him, and there, eating alone, was Orson Welles. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I guess I did come to Hollywood to work.” It wasn't until that moment that I realized this is serious business. I actually am in the spot that I wanted to be in, just by virtue of being ten feet away from Orson Welles."

You can see Lucas in Minions & Monsters this July. Stay tuned at Collider for more.