Great news for Star Wars fans. According to a press release just released, The Walt Disney Company have today announced that it has agreed to buy Lucasfilm for just over $4billion in a stock and cash transaction from current owner and Lucasfilm Chairman George Lucas. Disney will pay approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing.
Even more excitingly, Disney have also announced that the company is planning Star Wars Episode 7 for a 2015 release.
Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company released the news with the following appraisal of the company:
“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas. This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest familyentertainment 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.”
And Lucas himself confirmed that the transaction will see Star Wars pass down to a new generation of film-makers:
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. 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 and obviously the mega-popular Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production.
Hopefully, Disney can now do for Lucasfilm what they have done most recently for Pixar and Marvel, and repair some of the problems of more recent creations in the company’s name.
Are you excited? Share your thoughts below…
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8 Comments
I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. I enjoyed the original three films. From what I’m gathering on Twitter, it isn’t exactly ‘great news for Star Wars fans’ at all. They appear to be reeling.
According to the BBC, Disney also plan Episode 8, 9 and another film every two or three years in addition to Episode 7. Talk about milking the franchise. As if Episodes 1-3 weren’t bad enough.
Personally, as a major Star Wars fan the idea of new Star Wars films without the creative influence of George Lucas is an extremely exciting thing.
The only way this franchise can be saved now, is if the writer(s) stay well away from the Skywalker/Vader storyline and hopefully go in the direction of the Old Republic story and open it up to a whole new audience.
I love Star Wars. There’s no movie franchise I love more. I love all six films, even the prequels. But I do not love this news. Star Wars ended when Anakin Skywalker threw Palpatine to his death and was killed himself in the process. The six films tell a story with a beginning, middle and an end. Therefore any other film will not be continuing the story, but beginning a new one just for the sake of it and I’m not in favour of that at all. Return of the Jedi was a fine ending. And are they really going to get Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher back?! I’ll believe it when I see it. Let Star Wars, as a film series, remain the way it is.
I was going to comment, but Dave has summed up my comment, all I was going to say is in his post.
Interesting how everyone gone from “Star Wars is ruined forever without redemption,” to, “Hey, the franchise could have a whole new lease on life!”
Personally I find it disheartening that Disney is continuing to take over all of entertainment. And for my part unless they’ve got a better idea than Skywalker/Vader –which of course they don’t– they need to leave the franchise be. The thing will become a parody of itself if they go on like this.
I have never said the franchise is ruined without redemption, and I have never believed it was. It is a big enough property outside of the films that have already been made to warrant further films – and there is no reason to suspect they will immediately fail based on the past.
Wow!…2015 will see the Avenger 2, Justice League, and a new Star Wars. Why don’t they just roll out Avatar 2 while they are at it…oops!