Because of his friendship with George Lucas and filmmaking sensibilities, Steven Spielberg has always had a loose association with the Star Wars franchise despite never actually being credited on any of the movies. The prolific director first started making movies as a kid before his professional career took off in the early '70s. In 1975, Spielberg created the first summer blockbuster with the release of Jaws. In the years following, the filmmaker has cemented himself atop the industry's elite. It should be no surprise that George Lucas, another director who broke out in the '70s, remains a close friend.
Before Star Wars was released to the public in 1977, Spielberg was one of the first people to see Lucas' new film. The pair were members of a close-knit circle of filmmaking friends and often asked for advice and criticism on projects. In fact, Spielberg suggested John Williams as the composer for Star Wars after working with him on Jaws. When Spielberg directed the Indiana Jones series, Lucas served as an executive producer but their collaboration almost went much deeper.
After the success of Star Wars, Lucas wrote the 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, but he didn't direct. The same went for the final film of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi, in 1983. When the movie was being developed, Spielberg was Lucas' first choice for the director but an issue arose. Spielberg was a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) at the time but Lucas wasn't. The DGA was unhappy with the fact that Lucasfilm didn't use opening credits, so they refused to allow members to work on Return of the Jedi. The film was then directed by Richard Marquand, a filmmaker not associated with the DGA. That, however, didn't stop Spielberg's association with future Star Wars movies.
In the midst of the original trilogy's run, Spielberg honored his friend by including Star Wars references in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He continued working with Lucas on Indiana Jones before developing the beloved Jurassic Park series and a slew of other films. In 1999, Lucas revived the Star Wars film series with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the first installment of a prequel trilogy. Lucas directed all the movies but received some help from Spielberg with 2005's Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Spielberg assisted with some of the key fight scenes including Yoda's duel with the Emperor. He's been referred to a "guest director" for the movie (IMDB says he's an "uncredited second unit director").
At one point, Spielberg had shown interest in directing an installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy but Lucas felt more comfortable at the helm. After everything that was established since Star Wars launched in 1977, the franchise was Lucas' to expand. That wasn't necessarily the case when the sequel trilogy came along beginning with 2017's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Was had since become a Disney entity and Kathleen Kennedy served as the head of Lucasfilm. Spielberg was actually the one to suggest J.J. Abrams for The Force Awakens. When Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was out of a director, there was speculation that Spielberg could step in, but the urge to direct a film in the franchise seems to have passed. Spielberg sees himself more as a fan rather than a fit for the franchise his friend once created.