The Force.net are running more bad news, as it appears that Disney has continued to hack away at the Star Wars property. This lastest news was announced a few hours ago by a tweet from Stacy Arnold-Strider, a former Product Development Manager at LucasFilm:
"Hatchet day at #Lucasfilm and #LucasLicensing. Bad news: I got laid off. Good news: I got laid off! Look out, world, here I come!"
No comments have yet been made by LucasFilm. This continues the stream of bad news that has plagued everything Star Wars since the Disney buyout in late 2012.
The LucasArts shutdown affected "some 150 workers," according to
Kotaku News, who lost their jobs. And with the closure of LucasArts, also came the death of the highly awaited projects,
Battlefront III and Star Wars 1313.
The Business Insider got the following quote from Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment about the layoffs at LucasArts.
"Major projects in production like the 'Star Wars 1313' game may have been significantly afield tonally (e.g., much darker) from the kinds of films and television shows now being planned for the franchise. Fortunately we're seeing indications that some of the great talent from that division will be finding their way into movie production at Lucasfilm."
This has obviously bled into other areas of the former Lucas empire, now with today's cuts at LucasFilm and the cancellation of Clone Wars. For those wondering why? It is due to poor Disney DVD sales and is "part of an ongoing review to ensure that the Studios' operational structure and economics align with the demands of the current marketplace" in a spokesperson statement. Here is a
report that explains all. Disney have reportedly cut nearly 2 percent of the division's 7,000 overall jobs, according to
Bloomberg. Later this year, Disney is hoping for big things with the release of the interactive game, Disney Infinity. Disney purchased LucasFilm in October for $4.05 billion. Star Wars: Episode VII is supposed to be released is 2015. For now, it is a sad day for the company that brought us, amongst other things, the Indy series and Star Wars saga. This is yet another blow for Star Wars fans everywhere. We will update you as this develops.