Last Star Wars 'not for children'

He told US TV show 60 Minutes that Revenge of the Sith would be the darkest and most violent of the series.

"I don't think I would take a five or six-year-old to this," he told the CBS programme, to be aired on Sunday.

Lucas predicted the film would get a US rating advising parents that some scenes may be unsuitable for under-13s. It opens in the UK and US on May 19.

He said he expected the film would be classified PG-13 - roughly equivalent to a British 12A rating.

The five previous Star Wars films have all carried less restrictive PG - parental guidance - ratings in the US.

In the UK, they have all been passed U - suitable for all - with the exception of Attack of The Clones, which got a PG rating in 2002.

Revenge of the Sith - the third prequel to the original 1977 Star Wars film - chronicles the transformation of the heroic Anakin Skywalker into the evil Darth Vader as he travels to a Hell-like planet, composed of erupting volcanoes and molten lava.

"We're going to watch him make a pact with the devil," Lucas said.

"The film is much more dark, more emotional. It's much more of a tragedy."

Source: BBC Online