Starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Terrence Howard, Red Tails tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen – a group of black pilots who fought in the Second World War. Speaking to the New York Times, Lucas, 67, explained, "I figured if I could get the prints and ads paid for by the studios that they would release it. I showed it to all of them and they said 'No. We don't know how to market a movie like this.It's because it's an all black movie. There's no major white roles in it at all. It's one of the first all black action pictures ever made". Lucas, whose movies have grossed billions of dollars, made Red Tails for the reasonable sum of $58 million, but still couldn't persuade the executives to take it on.
The rejection left him threatening to leave the big-budget movie world altogether, saying. "I'm retiring. I'm moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff".

Another reason for his "retirement" is the online criticism Lucas got for making changes to the Star Wars films, saying, "Why would I make any more, when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?". The director says he will now concentrate on low budget art house films – though a script for Indiana Jones 5 is said to be nearing completion. 'Red Tails' hits cinemas in the U.S. on Friday (January 20, 2012).