Sadly, he was right, as Asimov passed away in 1992 at age 72. This means he died before even the first of the prequels was released, long before the last of the initially planned nine movies was released. Despite the enormous success of “The Empire Strikes Back” (itself a big risk), it would take Lucas over 15 years to make the next film in the saga once “Return of the Jedi” came out.
When Asimov died, the future of “Star Wars” was uncertain. There were no movies on the near horizon, and the big stories were happening in print like Timothy Zahn’s “Heir to the Empire.” And yet, the renowned sci-fi author died before the last novel in the Thrawn trilogy was released. So, yes, you could say it is unfair and sad. Asimov never saw podracing becoming a huge thing, but that’s only because it didn’t. He never saw Anakin go evil and massacre children. He never saw the franchise make the jump to animation or TV in general. It is unfortunate he never got to see the promise of a Galactic Empire being fulfilled in “Andor.”
Of course, Dr. Asimov also didn’t live to see the monstrous adaptation of his “Robot” series in Will Smith’s “I, Robot,” so maybe he’s lucky. But he also missed out on seeing one of the best sci-fi shows on TV in “Foundation,” which does change a lot from his books but delivers an equally spectacular story.
Isaac Asimov may not have seen the end of “Star Wars,” and his role in the franchise’s history may be small, but his work forever impacted the galaxy far, far away.
