The “Star Wars” filmmaker’s last acting credit came in 2007, and he announced his retirement from filmmaking in 2012.

George Lucas comes out of retirement for voice role in upcoming Hollywood blockbuster — and it’s not Star Wars

The "Star Wars" filmmaker's last acting credit came in 2007, and he announced his retirement from filmmaking in 2012.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 19, 2026 8:57 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

George Lucas in 2025. Credit:

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

- George Lucas will provide a voice in Illumination's *Minions & Monsters*.

- The *Star Wars *filmmaker announced his retirement in 2012.

- Lucas' last vocal performance came in a 2007 episode of *Robot Chicken*.

George Lucas is set to return to Hollywood for his first major project in over a decade.

The *Star Wars** *filmmaker, who has been semi-retired since 2012, is involved with a major studio blockbuster that releases next month.

Surprisingly, the film in question isn't a *Star Wars* or *Indiana Jones* project: it's Illumination's *Minions & Monsters*, which will feature a character voiced by Lucas, ** can confirm. AP first reported the news.

** has reached out to a representative for Lucas for further information.

George Lucas; 'Minions & Monsters'.

Jim Vondruska/Getty;Illumination/Universal Pictures

Illumination founder Chris Meledandri explained the *American Graffiti* filmmaker's involvement with the upcoming animated film in an interview with Collider.

"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," he 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, who also produced *Minions & Monsters*, said that he proposed Lucas join the cast after learning of a character who sounded like a good fit for the *Phantom Menace* filmmaker.

"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.

Robert De Niro explains how Martin Scorsese and George Lucas helped launch the first Tribeca Festival after 9/11

George Lucas explains why Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford resisted including aliens in 'Indiana Jones 4'

The producer explained that he arranged to have Lucas record his lines in France. "Pierre met him at a recording studio in Paris, and it was done," he said.

Meledandri also indicated that Lucas wants to return for more in a future *Minions* project. "We're thrilled to have him in the film," he said. "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."

Lucas announced his retirement from big-budget Hollywood filmmaking in 2012 after selling Lucasfilm to Disney. “I’m retiring,” Lucas said in an interview with *The New York Times*. “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff."

The last big-screen project that directly involved Lucas was the 2015 animated movie *Strange Magic*, which the filmmaker wrote the story for and executive produced. He also served as a creative consultant during the early development of Disney's first *Star Wars* movie, *The Force Awakens*, which was also released in 2015. He was later credited as an executive producer on 2023's *Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny*, but he was not directly involved in the film, instead serving as a consultant for director James Mangold.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our****** EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Lucas has not frequently appeared on screen or provided voiceover work throughout his career. His last acting credit came in a 2007 episode of *Robot Chicken* in which he played himself. He also appeared in an uncredited cameo in his final directorial project, 2005's *Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith*, and provided cameos in projects like *The OC*, *Men in Black*, *Hook*, and *Beverly Hills Cop III*.

Lucas has spent the last decade working on his Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The museum is currently scheduled to open in September 2026.

*Minions & Monsters* hits theaters on July 1.

- Animated Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Animated”