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Die hard fans of the iconic Star Wars franchise are freaking out after learning that George Lucas just sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion, but after suffering through a trio of sequels that brought Jar Jar Binks into the world, maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Regardless, it happened, and Disney is already planning a new Star Wars movie, which it's targeting for a 2015 release.
George Lucas indicated that he's looking forward to being a fan of the franchise now that he's entering the next stage of his life, one that doesn't involve running a multi-billion corporation. He will still be involved, but not like before. His main goal was to hand over the reins and ensure that Stars Wars would be in a position to thrive long after he's gone.
"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."
Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasflim, is now the President of Lucasflim and will report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. She will also serve as the brand manager for Star Wars.
News of the acquisition has sent the Internet into a snarky frenzy, but it's worth noting that Disney owns both Marvel (purchased for $4 billion in 2009) and Pixar (purchased for $7.4 billion in 2006), and has overseen movies like The Avengers, Thor, and WALL-E. Disney's done an especially good job with its Marvel assets up to this point, so having Disney in the mix isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when you look at what's been done with the Star Wars franchise in the past several years.
That said, it will be interesting to see how Disney handles licensing gigs. Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, tweeted that he'd "bet money on" this marking the end of his Star Wars parodies.
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Comments are closed on this article
warptek2010
October 31, 2012 at 10:37pm
Sequel, shmiekel... I want to see Knights of the Old Republic on the big screen.
Ghok
October 31, 2012 at 10:21pm
Lucas is getting old enough to know he won't be making any more of these movies. He had to do something with the IP. Interesting choice.
Bad Kharma
October 31, 2012 at 8:34pm
You gotta know that anyone that makes a Star Wars drawing or costume is going to get their butts sued off because that is the way that Disney rolls.
Bad Kharma
October 31, 2012 at 8:32pm
You have to know that with Disney controlling the franchise, quality will be thrown under the bus for massive profits. Any follower of Star Wars, through the movies, animated series, and books will know that Lucas paid careful detail to keeping the story accurate and consistent from one story to another. Disney just isn't that competent.
Sty
October 31, 2012 at 5:39pm
Let's just hope that Disney's Star Wars isn't as bad as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Bad Kharma
October 31, 2012 at 8:43pm
Sty: you have to stop eating the movies. Taste is more than just putting it in your mouth.
Sir Hobbes3
October 31, 2012 at 7:36pm
Q: Is this guy an idiot?
A: Yes, this guy is most definitely an idiot.
Sty
October 31, 2012 at 7:58pm
No there's a difference between an idiot and a critic. See, your mother is an idiot and I'm a critic.
Caboose
November 01, 2012 at 9:19am
You're a retarded critic then. 1,2,3. I can see some issues with it sure. But 4-6?
Explain why you feel that all 6 Star Wars movies are bad. Explain your reason. If you have no explanation then you're nothing but a toolbag.
jzsn
November 01, 2012 at 2:48am
There is also a difference between a critic and a hypocrite. You with that blatant 1 sentence attack qualifies for the latter.
Gameaholic1337
October 31, 2012 at 4:35pm
$4B is what Disney paid for Marvel Comics a few years ago. I would think the Star Wars franchise alone would be worth more. Now that they own both I'm hoping for a Jedi vs Super-Hero crossover.
Scatter
October 31, 2012 at 5:15pm
Marvel comics consists of hundreds of IPs. The only Lucas IPs that still have money making potential are Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Granted Star Wars is a huge one but it's still only one IP
vrmlbasic
October 31, 2012 at 3:16pm
"Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, tweeted that he'd "bet money on" this marking the end of his Star Wars parodies."
If this becomes so then Disney has my gratitude.
renodude18
October 31, 2012 at 11:38am
Well, I kind of figured this would happen, but not with Disney taking over the reins but after reading that they've been apart of the new avengers movies I'm sure they'll do great. Also like another commented, More games would be great! Especially a new Star wars galactic battle grounds game to replace my ageing game!
wolfing
October 31, 2012 at 11:14am
if you think GL was milking the franchise, that's nothing compared to what's to come.
B.A.Frayd
November 01, 2012 at 1:39am
He looks tired, way out of shape, and he's at an age when health becomes a constant nagging issue.
AMDfan64
October 31, 2012 at 9:55am
Hopefully with the funds Disney has, Star Wars Battlefront 3 will come out sometime, I hope it'll be good!
Hamburger
October 31, 2012 at 9:31am
Hopefully the next films will be based on Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy. It was awesome.
davelray
October 31, 2012 at 12:42pm
Either that or rumour was that Lucas had already had plans and scripts for a trilogy starting after Return.
B.A.Frayd
November 01, 2012 at 1:40am
He actually stated that in the video (he referred to 7,8,9), so yes, the new movies will most likely be his stories.
lunchbox73
October 31, 2012 at 9:21am
Anybody want to pitch in for a bid to get Lucas a haircut? He's been rocking that doo since Empire.
xRadeon
October 31, 2012 at 9:15am
I love the idea of new movies, that's freaking awesome. The thing is that I don't know how sticky Disney is on protecting rights and what not, because I know that Lucas was always pretty open about Star Wars in the fact that he would let other people do stuff with it, so I don't know if Disney will hinder or continue that.
RS_Lommax
October 31, 2012 at 1:13pm
If Disney is smart, they will keep the status quo in place. Otherwise, the backlash that follows could well be more than they bargain for.
vrmlbasic
October 31, 2012 at 3:16pm
I can't imagine Disney doing anything worse than the 3 prequel movies and adding worthless and illogical material to the original movies (and making those edited versions the only ones truly available).
I'd like to see Disney make a sequel movie that shows that the Empire didn't magically collapse seconds after the demise of the Emperor and the Death Star (wasn't the latter a secret anyhow?) but it'd be kind of hard to do that now that Lucas added in ridiculous scenes of the masses celebrating the "demise of the Empire" on Coruscant mere moments after the Emperor died (how'd they get the news so fast anyhow?).
Reboots are all the rage nowadays, I could stand to see a Star Wars reboot. It might be the only way.
alabasterdragon
October 31, 2012 at 1:40pm
Unless... doing so will mess with "The house the mouse built"
Disney's 1st priority, laid down by Walt himself, you can do anything, except things that hurt or make the mouse look bad. That rule has never changed.
