Fanboys groaned and nine year olds cheered intergalactically at the announcement that The Walt Disney Company acquired the rights to the Star Wars franchise. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, sole-owner George Lucas and Disney officials released a statement regarding the sale/purchase of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion dollars. The deal includes LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound.
"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."
In January, Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm, revealed to the New York Times that he would not be making any more Star Wars movies. He was quoted as saying, "Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" Instead he announced his plans for retirement where he looks forward to devoting his time to personal films and philanthropy as he moves onto the next phase in his life. At the same time, he wanted to provide for the 17,000+ characters in the Star Wars collection as well as other franchises in his portfolio like Indiana Jones.
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas, “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.”
Disney is wasting no time in tearing the packaging off its new purchase. The first of three new Star Wars films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) is already slated for release in 2015. The next installments will be released each year after that and then they will begin digging into more of the Star Wars universe for stories and characters to feature in film, television and merchandising. The presence in Disney theme parks is already increasing and tourists are feeling the force of persuasion to spend on Star Wars souvenirs.
With the transaction final, Disney now owns Pixar, Marvel and Lucasflims. Think about it like Alice Taylor of the digital toy company MakieLab, who stated, "Leia is a Disney princess now." How long will it be before Disney is the only company producing quality children’s entertainment and what will that mean for creativity and independent thought? Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes laments, “By focusing on Star Wars, Disney will pass on a lot of original ideas and that’s too bad.”
Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company.
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!