Star Wars creator George Lucas is coming out of his show biz retirement for a role a decidedly non-Star Wars project: He’ll lend his voice to a character in Illumination’s Minions & Monsters, arriving in theaters July 1.

In an interview with Collider, Illumination founder and Minions & Monsters producer Chris Meledandri explained how Lucas joined the cast.

“I had this privilege of meeting George about two years ago,” Meledandri said, “and what led to my meeting him is how much he loves Illumination movies, and specifically Despicable Me, and even more specifically, the Minions. It was such a thrill to learn that and then to share it with the team, because obviously he’s among a very small group of people who the entire studio shares a level of respect for that is just off the charts.”

After meeting Lucas, Meledandri got a notion for the casting.

“An idea for a character came up out of the story,” Meledandri said, “and so I said to Pierre [Coffin], who co-wrote the movie with Brian Lynch, and Bill Ryan, who produces with me on the film, and I just said, ‘Well, what if we could get George?’ And they’re like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I had no idea, but I got such a fast yes.”

Lucas recorded his lines in France, and Meledandri tells Collider that the American Graffiti director has expressed an openness to more voice work. “I saw him recently,” Meledandri said, “and he’s already talking to me about the role he wants to do next in the next Minions movie. So, it’s pretty incredible.”

Lucas has been largely absent from the filmmaking world since selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012.