Stars Wars creator George Lucas reveals what he wants his obituary to say... and it has nothing to do with his films

His name is synonymous with Star Wars, but George Lucas has revealed what he hopes his obituary will say – and it has nothing to do with the mega-franchise he created.

Lucas was the center of attention at Monday premiere of the much-anticipated sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Hollywood – where the audience gave him a standing ovation.

The film’s director, JJ Abrams told the crowd: ‘None of us would be here tonight without the miraculous creation of one man, George Lucas, from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of everyone involved in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, thank you sire.’

And the director’s achievements in cinema also earned one of 2015’s Kennedy Center Honors.

But Lucas, 71, who also created the Indiana Jones films, says he would prefer to be remembered above all for being a ‘great’ father to his four children.

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Star Wars creator George Lucas (pictured talking toe CBS This Morning) has revealed he hopes his obituary will say that he was a 'great' father to his four children

George Lucas, pictured with his children Amanda, Katie and Jett in the late 1970s, says he gave up directing to focus on being a dad

Speaking to CBS This Morning co-host Charlie Rose, Lucas said he would like the first line of his obituary to read: ‘I was a great dad - or I tried.’

The latest Star Wars film marks the first time Lucas in nearly four decades that he has not been in full control.

In 2012, he sold his company Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05billion dollars. The Force Awakens is the first of a new Star Wars trilogy from the studio.

But he revealed he is ‘at peace’ with his decision to sell Star Wars and hand over the directorial reins to Abrams. However, he did act as a creative consultant on the latest film.

‘I made that decision because I looked at the future, I looked at the fact that I was going to have a baby, I looked at the fact that I was married, and I looked at the fact that I wanted to build a museum, and I looked at the fact that I wanted to make experimental films,’ Lucas told CBS Morning News.

Lucas, pictured at the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with his wife Mellody Hobson (left) and daughters Amanda and Katie

Lucas (pictured with his wife) sold his company Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for more than $4billion

‘So my life was going on a different track. So that started that ball rolling.’

He said he has been fortunate to ‘have been through all this stuff before’ – but added that the latest movie is ‘different’ from what he would have done.

Lucas adopted his daughter Amanda with his first wife Marcia in 1981. They divorced two years later, and Lucas went on to adopt two more children, Jett and Katie, who he raised them all as a single father.

He added that he gave up directing after making the first three Star Wars movies because ‘once I was a dad – it was like a bolt of lightning struck me'.

Lucas (pictured with his son Jett and daughters Amanda and Katie when they were teenagers) said he gave up directing after making the first three Star Wars movies because ‘once I was a dad – it was like a bolt of lightning struck me’

Lucas married Mellody Hobson in 2013 and the pair have a two-year-old daughter Everest (pictured together earlier this year)

And in 2013, Lucas married Mellody Hobson and the couple now have a two-year-old daughter, Everest.

The Force Awakens, out in US theaters on Friday, follows tenacious scavenger Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, as her fate becomes intertwined with that of John Boyega’s rebel Stormtrooper Finn and a droid named BB-8.

Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, which came out in 1983, the film also sees the return of Star Wars veterans Han Solo (Harrison Ford), General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

Skywalker's glaring absence from the film's marketing is intentional to avoid giving away a crucial plot twist.

Abrams, a self-described Star Wars fanboy, told Reuters he was feeling the pressure of releasing the film into the world.

It's the first time in almost four decades that Lucas (pictured with JJ Abrams, who directed the latest film) has not been in full control of a Star Wars movie

‘There are certainly nerves showing the movie to 1,000-plus people tonight but I feel very confident in the work that was done by the actors,’ he said.

‘So, if nothing else, I know people will enjoy watching their performances.’

And Hamill said the new film can't live up to the expectations of the devoted fan base.

‘It's only a movie and if you think you're going to go into the movie and recapture your childhood you're setting yourself up for disappointment,’ he said.

Reviews of the new film are embargoed until Wednesday but at the premiere screening, the audience were in high spirits, often cheering when familiar faces popped up on screen.

Early reactions on Twitter were positive, with Los Angeles Times reporter Glenn Whipp saying: ‘Quite simply: This is the STAR WARS movie you're looking for.’

Lucas's work in cinema also earned him a Kennedy Center Honor this year. Pictured, the filmmaker with fellow recipients Rita Moreno (left) and Carole Kind (right)