Star Wars director George Lucas admits he went 'too far' with The Phantom Menace in resurfaced footage: 'It's a hard film to follow'

The director was left unimpressed after watching a rough cut of the film

Star Wars director George Lucas voiced his concerns about The Phantom Menace ahead of the film's release in 1999.

The first of the sci-fi saga's prequels, released 16 years after The Return of the Jedi, was not received well by both critics and fans, namely for its inclusion of infamous character Jar Jar Binks.

In behind-the-scenes footage highlighted by The Hollywood Reporter, Lucas can be seen unimpressed with a rough cut of the film, seemingly unsure of how to rectify the finished product.

“It’s a little disjointed,” Lucas admits. “It’s bold in terms of jerking people around. I may have gone too far in a few places.”

Ben Burtt, the film's editor, adds: “In a space of about 90 seconds, you go from lamenting the death of a hero to escape to slightly comedic with Jar Jar to Anakin returning … It’s a lot in a very short time.”

“It boggles the mind," Lucas continues. "I have thought about this quite a bit, and the tricky part is you almost can’t take any of those pieces out of it now, because each one takes you to the next place. And you can’t jump because you don’t know where you are.

"I do a particular kind of movie of which this is consistent. But it is a very hard movie to follow.”

The footage can be seen as part of the hour-long documentary ‘The Beginning: Making Episode I’ featured on the film's DVD extras.

Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in cinemas now and has officially crossed the $1bn (£737.7m) mark worldwide.