George Lucas Tried To Buy A Genre-Defining Sci-Fi Franchise Before He Made Star Wars

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George Lucas will forever be synonymous with "Star Wars." Even though he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 and hasn't been involved with the franchise for well over a decade, he directed the original 1977 classic that started it all. Science fiction simply wouldn't be the same without him. But what if Lucas had tackled another famous sci-fi franchise rather than create a galaxy far, far away? It turns out that was something the filmmaker at least explored.

In a 1977 issue of New Times, Philip Kaufman, who was the first choice to direct an unrealized version of the first "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," revealed that Lucas actually had his sights set on the legendary franchise created by Gene Roddenberry before he made his own space epic. Here's what Kaufman had to say about it:

"George Lucas is a good friend of mine. He told me before he made 'Star Wars' he'd made inquiries as to whether 'Star Trek' was available to be bought. I thought George had a great thing going. When I was asked if I would be interested in doing 'Star Trek,' well ... I felt I could go through the roof."

There's much to process here. Lucas was coming off of "American Graffiti," which was a big hit even though Hollywood was convinced it would bomb. Lucas also had "THX 1138" under his belt. He was certainly on the rise, but didn't have the cache (or the cash) to outright buy the rights to "Star Trek" or anything like that. Perhaps he was going to try to convince another studio to buy it for him? Or seek an outside financial partner? Either way, he at least kicked the tires on it.

The ramifications of this wild "What if?" proposition are downright dizzying to consider.

Let's rewind the clock. "Star Trek: The Original Series" ended in 1969 with the season 3 episode "Turnabout Intruder." Paramount had been developing a movie with Gene Roddenberry, but it hadn't materialized by 1977, largely due to creative differences. Hence, why Philip Kaufman didn't end up directing it. Instead, Robert Wise got it across the finish line in 1979, a couple of years after "Star Wars" became a huge hit.

George Lucas eventually convinced Fox to fund his original space epic, rather than take a stab at something in the "Star Trek" universe. Though it's hard not to wonder what Lucas' version of "Trek" might have looked like. We can only wonder in the most infinite terms, as there's no indication as to what the filmmaker had in mind.

What we know for sure is that the history of sci-fi would have been irrevocably changed. Lucas had a hell of a time getting "Star Wars" made, and he literally couldn't afford mistakes during filming. The budget was tight. Few people believed in it, and there was little hope it would succeed, let alone become a cultural touchstone spanning generations. The sphere of influence simply can't be overstated.

"Star Wars" set Ridley Scott on the path to making "Alien." It's generated billions of dollars and has fans all over the world, nearly 50 years later. Countless sci-fi and other genre stories owe themselves to what Lucas accomplished. And to think, he could have instead played in a pre-existing sandbox, potentially altering the future of "Star Trek" from that point on as well. It's all truly dizzying to consider, especially in the here and now.

You can grab the "Star Wars" trilogy on Blu-ray from Amazon.