http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/30/the-walt-disney-company-acquires-lucasfilm-star-wars-episode-vii-set-for-2015

Quote :

"Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas. Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments. “Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.” “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.” Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and “evergreen” Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future. The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo. Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm’s legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world’s top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney’s strategic priorities for continued long-term growth. The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney’s very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company’s unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney’s portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company’s ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world’s highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders. The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm."

On the plus side, this means the George Lucas may not be the executive producer of these new Star Wars movies. He'll definitely have a lot less say, so hopefully they will be better than the prequels. Also, maybe if these films are set ~30 years after the original trilogy they will have some of the original cast.

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 4:55 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2012 4:53:48 PM

10/30/2012 5:05:28 PM

The prequels completely destroyed any interest I had in the SW universe, so good luck.

I'd rather they use a completely different era, start fresh with fresh characters and a fresh story. I don't want to see Chewbacca's son shoehorned into the movie. The word "Anakin" should not be in the film.

Edit: And how Tron Legacy turned out doesn't make me that hopeful that Disney will do any better than GL.

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 5:21 PM. Reason : -]

10/30/2012 5:18:20 PM

This could be a good thing. It means there would be someone around with some oversight to go "George, take that guinea pig off your head and stop screwing with the character list. There's nothing in the cannon about a race of force wielding centaur zebras with purple hair and we aren't adding it now"

10/30/2012 5:27:08 PM

maybe they can make a movie out of that book where Chewie gets squished by a moon

10/30/2012 5:30:52 PM

Let JJ Abrams direct. Take my money.

10/30/2012 5:37:38 PM

^^^^ what about how Avengers turned out?

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 5:38 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2012 5:38:09 PM

Quote :

"I, for one, welcome our new Disney overlords. They can't fuck things up any worse than George Lucas already did for Episodes VI, I, II, and III."

10/30/2012 5:44:16 PM

^
^^

My thinking exactly. George Lucas has already screwed up the franchise enough that it honestly couldn't get any worse. On top of that, Disney has owned Marvel for a few years now and I've really liked all of the Marvel films that have come out since. And I for one enjoyed Tron Legacy -- it wasn't perfect but it was still enjoyable.

10/30/2012 5:46:10 PM

Does this mean I might be able to get a remastered original series without all the cgi bs George added?

10/30/2012 5:47:24 PM

^^^^The only reason I bring up Tron is because it did what Star Wars needs to get away from. I feel that a part of the reason Tron Legacy didn't work (aside from the weak story) is that they didn't do anything new, didn't really make an attempt at anything original. Light cycles, check. Disc tossing, check. Recognizer, check. Pretty much all they did was toss in a dune buggy and a flying thing. It felt like a gfx overhaul instead of a fresh movie.

I'm simply no longer interested in any of the legacy Star Wars characters, time they attempt something original. Like I said, Han and Leia's twins farting around on speeder bikes with Chewie's nephew and Boba Fett's second cousin just isn't going to do it for me.

Overall takeaway: It can't get worse. Just make sure GL has minimum say.

I wonder if this could possibly be good news for Indiana Jones as well?

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 5:54 PM. Reason : --]

10/30/2012 5:48:43 PM

Deadline says this also includes the rights to Indiana Jones, so yes this could be a revival of that series too!

10/30/2012 5:57:03 PM

So, time to convert this into a Death Star and make a Star Wars theme park?

10/30/2012 6:06:29 PM

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=632052

10/30/2012 6:49:49 PM

I'm thrilled by this news. While I don't hate the prequels as vigorously as some people, the fact is that they aren't the same quality as the original films. Any news concerning the continuation of the saga is a good thing in my opinion. It will be interesting to see what someone else (other than Lucas) can do with the franchise. If I was Disney, I'd try my best to get Timothy Zahn involved with some writing, but not simply to use his 90's books as material for new movies.

10/31/2012 8:15:21 AM

New thought: Since Disney now owns Marvel and Lucasfilm, that means there is a lot of potential for crazy crossovers in a future Kingdom Hearts game. Magneto vs. Darth Vader maybe? Sabertooth vs. Chewbacca? Luke Skywalker vs. Jean Grey?

[Edited on October 31, 2012 at 9:21 AM. Reason : ]

10/31/2012 9:21:07 AM

^Yea on a gaming website I frequent (Evilavatar) that was what somebody said was the main reason Disney bought Lucasarts, just to get Vader in the next Kingdom Hearts.

10/31/2012 9:32:30 AM

I could see how some people would dislike Disney owning Lucasfilm. It could be worse, though. George Lucas could still own Lucasfilm. (Yeah, its been said many times, but I, too, must get my shots in).

10/31/2012 9:57:49 AM

Quote :

"Let JJ Abrams direct. Take my money"

10/31/2012 10:35:57 AM

have you guys seen these movies recently? even the first 3? I saw them for the first time at a friend's a couple months back and they were god awful. they don't age well at all. we watched all 6 and I wish I had my damn weekend back. the original 3 felt like amateur hour with lots of terrible acting. the new 3 just felt uninspired but they were way better movies overall.

10/31/2012 10:41:22 AM

Obvious troll if you think the prequels were better than the original trilogy.

10/31/2012 10:51:58 AM

Yes. The original trilogy being better than Episodes 1-3 is an objective fact. No sarcasm.

10/31/2012 11:03:36 AM

So how long do you think it will be before Dark Horse is pushed out and Marvel takes over the Star Wars Comic books?

10/31/2012 5:17:07 PM

^^^Did you watch the real original movies or the updated ones? It's amazing how 1-2 minutes of CGI dispersed throughout can completely ruin the movie.

10/31/2012 10:01:56 PM

They should make a movie based on the old republic

10/31/2012 10:19:39 PM

Quote :

"If I was Disney, I'd try my best to get Timothy Zahn involved with some writing"

10/31/2012 10:39:11 PM

Quote :

"Let JJ Abrams direct. Take my money"

They are taking you money even if Michael Bay directs it

11/1/2012 12:25:52 AM

Quote :

"^Yea on a gaming website I frequent (Evilavatar) that was what somebody said was the main reason Disney bought Lucasarts, just to get Vader in the next Kingdom Hearts."

That is the worst reasoning ever. Talk about drawing trivial connections.

11/1/2012 2:50:25 AM

Quote :

"They are taking you money even if Michael Bay directs it"

M. Knights of the Old Republic

11/1/2012 7:31:22 AM

^^It was obviously tongue in cheek. Holy fuck!

11/1/2012 7:45:11 AM

Quote :

"The film will continue the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond Return of the Jedi.[8] However, the plot will not be based on the various novels, graphic novels and other materials that have continued the story of these three characters and have previously been considered Star Wars canon. Rather, Episode VII is expected to be an entirely original story.[9]"

[9] Gornstein, Leslie (October 30, 2012). "Star Wars 7 Plot Will Be "an Original Story," Says Lucasfilm Source". E! Online. Retrieved October 30, 2012.

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 10:24 AM. Reason : -]

11/1/2012 10:23:51 AM

Vader as the villain in Avengers 2

11/1/2012 10:42:00 AM

I'm not sure why I didn't think of it, but a Star Wars site I read suggested Brad Bird could be directing the new Star Wars film since he's directing "Disney's 1952" project. I'd be fine with that.

11/1/2012 1:07:20 PM

i could get behind a brad bird star wars movie

11/1/2012 1:24:50 PM

For as much as I loved The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, I would totally support this.

11/1/2012 2:29:28 PM

they should get that kid anakin from episode one, some ewoks, and jar jar binks to team up with chewbacca, han, and luke to battle darth vader!!!1

11/1/2012 6:08:40 PM

Quote :

"They should make a movie based on the old republic"

11/1/2012 8:42:26 PM

The only thing I can't really wait to find out is:


casting.

11/1/2012 8:49:30 PM

Quote :

"If I was Disney, I'd try my best to get Timothy Zahn involved with some writing "

I don't know if you explicitly meant writing episode 7 along with the inevitable 8 and 9 based off of the Thrawn trilogy, but they have already debunked that they will be based Heir to the Empire etc...

However, involving him in the writing of a script based on Lucas' cannon, which I'm sure the immediate movies will be based off of, would be fantastic.

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

11/1/2012 9:09:15 PM

I do NOT like that they say "previously" considered canon. Sounds like the EU gets bent over and fucked.

11/1/2012 9:44:25 PM

http://www.cracked.com/article/167_5-reasons-star-wars-sequels-would-be-worse-than-prequels/?wa_user1=1&wa_user2=Movies+%26+TV&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=feature_module

11/1/2012 11:59:19 PM

Let's get some yuuzhan vong action going

I'm also disappointed that they won't be using the existing books

11/2/2012 7:20:50 AM

Quote :

"I don't know if you explicitly meant writing episode 7 along with the inevitable 8 and 9 based off of the Thrawn trilogy, but they have already debunked that they will be based Heir to the Empire etc... However, involving him in the writing of a script based on Lucas' cannon, which I'm sure the immediate movies will be based off of, would be fantastic."

No, I really don't feel like having movies made from the Thrawn stuff would be such a good idea. EU stuff can be pretty divisive among the fans. (And I've only ever read a very small handful of EU books.) While I enjoyed the stories, I'd rather see something completely new. Zahn just did a particularly good job portraying characters both old and new, and I think that he might make a good writing consultant.

11/2/2012 8:14:17 AM

Lucas is donating the entire 4 billion towards education.

11/2/2012 10:24:55 AM

Quote :

"I do NOT like that they say "previously" considered canon. Sounds like the EU gets bent over and fucked."

It's not the first time. They've already it with the Clone Wars era & it's the reason Karen Traviss no longer writes Star Wars novels. http://www.karentraviss.com/page10/files/Why_have_you_stopped_writing_St.html

11/2/2012 11:26:02 AM

Traviss was ridiculed by most fans anyway. I like the cartoon canon more than hers anyway.

11/2/2012 12:00:28 PM

Disney wouldn't want to mess with any EU stuff. They may own the franchise but they don't want to deal with the PR or legal issues from using EU characters. Have they even said whether or not they'll allow the EU to continue in its current state?

Best case scenario they split the two apart completely. The Book/Comic Universe will have its own canon and the TV/Movie Universe will have its own.

People will get upset and the ultimately won't care, especially if the next movie is even halfway good.

[Edited on November 2, 2012 at 1:05 PM. Reason : .]

11/2/2012 1:03:18 PM

alot of the EU is just plain awful, especially post rotj. In fact, even though i liked thrawn and part of his story, theres nothing in the EU after jedi that i'd like to see made into a film. If they're gonna do sequels, then it needs to be able to wipe out anything in the EU that exists there. As mentioned in that article smath posted, the idea of the empire still existing makes the most sense. But do we want to just shit on the end of jedi by saying "oh, lol. u killed one dude and it doesnt really matter" ? we're done with the skywalkers, imo. just let them be.

prequels are a far better choice. and even there if they ignore some of the EU, there are better stories to be had. the origins of the jedi, the sith, and the republic are all there ready to be (re)written. And even if they loosely stick to some of the lore, the expansion into the greater galaxy with the advent of the hyperspace drive is a fantastic source of adventure. the accidental discovery of the sith empire i think is a very good mechanism to start the conflict between republic and sith, but it doesnt have to happen as in whats generally considered canon in the EU.

either way there are plenty of good spots on the timeline to stick the story. what we dont want is some shitty lightsaber fest where grand master whoever is bouncing off the walls in the most juvenile manner possible. the jedi are supposed to abhor that kind of violence. which is not to say that jedi cant be flawed, but they should be consistantly flawed. yoda cant be both a wise master of the force, and a brash warrior. that doesnt work.

and that kind of brings me to my last point im gonna make before i cut off the nerd valve here. both jedi and sith should be far more grey than black and white. its just more interesting because its more realistic. in the original movies, you kind of got the impression after it was all done that vader didnt become instantly bad, he was seduced by the dark side and betrayed by those he trusted over a long period of time. and the physical scars on his body were a reflection of the internal scarring on his psyche. he started out with good intentions, but once he realized how far down into the dark hed gone it was too late. this is why episode 3 is so fucking bad. he goes from good guy to the ultimate badguy in like a few hours complete with evil burns + evil suit. its awful. the long transition is important because it is realistic.

likewise, we should meet more characters in these stories who are in some form of transition. from what we know of the republic from the movies and its relationship with the jedi (as portrayed in both film and EU), it would be very hard to believe that the jedi order is not super duper corrupt. if not from an internal quest for power, certainly as a result of being a specialized military wing of a most definitely corrupt senate. and thats fine. the paragon of virtue should be rare, not the standard. likewise on the sith side, as the EU would show us they're not all pure hate and evil. many simply seek self improvement and power; mostly through conflict. theres no reason that this means they need to be one sided. less darth maul, more exar kun. (although not as poorly written)

anyhow, im gonna leave it there (for now). idk if that makes alot of sense, but star wars has alot of potential that is very easily and frequently squandered in the name of lame action and two dimensional characters. it doesnt need to be that way.





[Edited on November 3, 2012 at 12:53 AM. Reason : a]

11/3/2012 12:49:51 AM

Shaggy for president.

11/3/2012 9:17:39 AM

set em up

11/3/2012 10:08:00 AM