I don’t think dreaming that Lucas’s own versions would be any better. And I think it is very fitting for the saga that when you look at credit for each film in chronological order, it goes from Lucas doing this solo (technically he wrote and directed the first 4 movies) to him letting go for the OT and then completely stepping back for the ST.
I really like your take, yotsuya.
In the past I have always imagined Luke and Anakin/Vader as representing George Lucas. Luke in the OT is the young rebel filmmaker, and the Vader/father dynamic is showing the fear he had of becoming like his father. He never wanted to be a businessman like his father was.
Then Anakin’s transformation into Vader mirrors George becoming the businessman and wanting full control of everything (much like Anakin seeks) that we saw in the build up to and during the production of the prequels. You start seeing George nudge toward this “dark side” when making ROTJ, just like Luke edges closer to the dark side, but Lucas nails the ending much like Luke reaffirms his new status as a Jedi. But in a way, George eventually became something he never wanted to be. He wanted to be an indie filmmaker making art house films but instead was in charge of a vfx house and a merchandise juggernaut, among other things. So Vader’s absence in the Sequel Trilogy reflects George’s absence from those projects too. You could even argue Lucas stepping away from his galaxy is much like Luke stepping away from the galaxy in those movies. The new filmmakers who were fans of the stories of old, like Rey, seek him out, wanting to understand there place in shaping a galaxy without Lucas. And we know both Rian and JJ visited with Lucas and he was able to give some guidance and inspire them, but they still may have not agreed with everything he said and they still made their own decisions too.
Idk. I think these metatextual readings are totally unintentional but it makes me appreciate what we got a little more.