George Lucas "Really Liked" Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Says Fans "Are Going to Love It"

[UPDATE] Now, Lucas himself has chimed in. He tells Vulture in a new interview that Star Wars fans will be pleased with The Force Awakens.

“I think the fans are going to love it," he said. "It's very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for."

The original story is below.

Star Wars creator George Lucas has seen The Force Awakens and he "really liked it." That's according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who shared the comment in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Lucas was not involved with the movie's production, marking the first core Star Wars film that he had no hand in making. In media interviews in November, Lucas spoke out about his departure from the series, comparing it to a break-up. He was also somewhat critical of the direction Disney is taking the franchise.

"The issue was ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" Lucas said. "I said, 'All I wanted to do was tell a story of what happened--it started here and it went there. It's all about generations and the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers.'

Kennedy went on to confirm that Lucas will indeed attend Force Awakens premieres in Los Angeles and London. Whether or not Lucas would publicly endorse the movie was called into question given his previous comments. Now it looks like he's ready to do that.

Disney paid $4.05 billion to buy the Star Wars franchise (among other properties) from Lucas in 2012.

The Force Awakens opens on December 18.