The Disney corporation has purchased LucasFilm Ltd from George Lucas for over 4 Billion Dollars. Disney has fast tracked a new Star Wars Trilogy for Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. Disney isn’t wasting anytime. Below is a section from an article on Comicbookmovies.com. It is followed by some of my thoughts on the new Trilogy.
“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.
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.
(Via Comicbookmovies.com)
Disney has announced they are currently working on Star Wars Episode VII with a tentative release date in 2015 (same year as Avengers 2). They anticipate the next two episodes to follow every 2 to 3 years.
The first movie of the new trilogy might just force me to attend another midnight premiere (which I have currently on my Murtaugh list but I could make an exception for Star Wars).
No one knows what this new trilogy will be. Could we include members of the original cast? We can only hope.
I would love to see the The Thrawn Trilogy on the big screen. But it would require different actors taking on the roles of Han, Luke, and Leia. We would finally meet Mara Jade.
Only time will tell what this movie will be based on but I guarantee that we will be buzzing about it on Geeky KOOL when more information is release. I am already getting excited.
