Despite closing the book on his career-defining Star Wars franchise some time ago and finally bringing the long-gestating Red Tails to fruition earlier this year, George Lucas’ passion for his craft burns bright as ever. In fact, he’s looking to take his work in a fresh, “experimental” direction. The good news for anyone who hasn’t really dug his post-Return of the Jedi work: you won’t have to see it. Empire Magazine had a quick chat with the producer/director for their latest print issue, during which they posed the standard “So, what’s next?” query. Lucas’ unexpected answer: he’s leaving Lucasfilm behind to make movies in his garage…using a hammer and saw, apparently. Hit the jump to read what the filmmaker has planned for himself in his own words.george-lucas-star-wars-imageHere’s what Lucas had to say (From EmpireOnline via /Film):

"I'm moving away from the company, I'm moving away from all my businesses, I'm finishing all my obligations and I'm going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I've always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres."

We don’t know what this means exactly. But given the man’s skillset and apparent areas of interest, one assumes these “hobby movies” will focus on VFX trickery while dispensing with character and narrative, which his recent work hasn’t shown much of a penchant for, anyway.

And that’s it. After one of the most lucrative, influential careers in history, this American legend plans to live out his days puttering around the garage, trying to keep busy, raving about his boys Harrison and Ewan to politely-nodding neighbours. Though keep in mind that George Lucas’ “garage” may very well contain a fully functioning podracer bay and bantha stable.

So what does everybody think? Are you ok with Lucas hanging it up? Any interest in checking out his hobby flicks? I know I wouldn’t mind taking a peek, especially if it involves the use of a hammer; the guy can certainly conjure up a mean visual and it’d be interesting to see him wade back into practical SFX.

I’ll also be curious to see if he stays in the game long enough to usher in ambitious live-action series Star Wars: Underworld, a project that fellow Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum described as “The Empire Strikes Back on steroids” when he spoke with Steve earlier this year.