Star Wars 7: George Lucas admits he hasn't seen The Force Awakens trailer

Lucas sold his sci-fi blockbuster franchise to Disney in 2012 for around £2.5 billion and is not involved in the latest film

Star Wars creator George Lucas (Getty Images)

Talk about letting go of your creation. George Lucas has admitted that he has not yet watched the latest teaser trailer for the forthcoming Star Wars film The Force Awakens.

While Star Wars fans were sent into meltdown after the two-minute trailer dropped on Thursday, Lucas was not one of them.

The director and screenwriter was being interviewed by Stephen Colbert at the Tribeca Film Festival the day after the trailer was released when he made the confession.

The 70-year-old Star Wars creator explained that he wanted to wait.

"I just saw what was on CBS but I'm going to try to look at it. I want to see it on the big screen," he told the audience, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Lucas sold his sci-fi blockbuster franchise to Disney in 2012 for around £2.5 billion and is not involved in the latest film. But he was positive about the sequels.

"I hope they do a great job, they've taken a different direction," he was reported as saying by the New York Daily News. "I'm excited, I have no idea what they're doing," he added.

This is not the first time Lucas has held off from watching anything related to The Force Awakens. He made a similar admission last year about not watching the first preview straight away. Lucas has since seen the initial teaser.

In a statement he said, "I've consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller," going on to say, "he's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands."

"I've consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller," Lucas said in Lucasfilm's statement confirming Abrams as the director. "He's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands."

The new teaser has now racked up over 35 million – and counting - views on YouTube since it was unveiled last week.

The new film picks up 30 years after the events of The Return of the Jedi in 1983 and features new stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac. It will also star veterans from the franchise, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

The Force Awakens is set to be released in UK cinemas on 18 December.