Disney buying Lucasfilm, new ‘Star Wars’ movies on the way; and what this might mean for the Expanded Universe
I am both shocked and surprised and scared: Disney is buying Lucasfilm for a little more than $4 billion, and a new “Star Wars” movie is set for a 2015 release. But not just any “Star Wars” movie — it’ll be a continuation of the saga we all know and love.
Yep, Disney is planning an “Episode VII.”
And that’s what scares me. Terrifies me, even. What story will they use? Will Luke, Leia and Han be in it? If so, will we see some “Benjamin Button”/”TRON: Legacy” special effects to de-age the trio, or will Disney cast all new players? The thought of a new “Star Wars” movie every two to three years is overwhelming me, though there are a ton of stories in the Expanded Universe that Disney could use.
As a fanboy, I’m excited. I mean, I love Star Wars. I love almost everything about it. The one thing about it, though, that I disliked beginning back around the year 2000 was George Lucas. There’s no word yet on if he’ll have a hand in anything Star Wars from here on out, even as a consultant… But I kind of hope not. He’s built his legacy and now Disney is in charge, so leave them be. UPDATE: Matt Price, Oklahoman Features editor and Nerdage blogger, said Lucas will remain as creative consultant.
You know what this also means? Princess Leia is officially a Disney princess now. Ha!
UPDATE: Watch George Lucas and movie producer Kathleen Kennedy discuss the future of “Star Wars” movies.
As long as Disney doesn’t do stupid things like a Marvel/Star Wars crossover, I think I’ll be happy. A Pixar-built “Star Wars” movie or cartoon could be really awesome, too.
Disney is a powerhouse. An absolute beast. They own Marvel and now they will own the most amazing money-making property in the world: Star Wars. The sky’s the limit at this point.
But what does this mean for “Star Wars” comics? Currently Dark Horse publishes, but expect that to change. Back in the day, Marvel published “Star Wars,” and I expect we’ll see Marvel do so again once the ink is dry.
Just imagine this pile being about five times bigger, and you have an idea of the number of books written in the Expanded Universe.
And what about the Expanded Universe as a whole? So many books have been written exploring the property beyond the movies. Will those still remain in continuity? Up until now, Lucas himself was the last say on everything. In fact, that’s why Luke, Leia and Han are still alive — he explicitly told writers those three characters couldn’t be killed. For all we know, “Episode VII” might dissolve all of that, and more.
This is huge. I’ll definitely be posting more about this in the very near future.
UPDATE:
Disney is a buying machine. Buying, buying, buying. Buying it all up. The company is like the Daniel Plainview of the entertainment world, without the craziness (that we know of.) A few years ago, Disney bought Marvel for about $4 billion. That was huge news. Today, Disney is buying Lucasfilm and the entire “Star Wars” property for $4 billion. That’s even huger news (yes, huger)!
And what does it say about Disney’s buying power?
First, it tells me the company knows how the heck to manage money. They have some smart executives and bean counters, and they’re being put to good use. What’s left for Disney to buy?
Well, they could always give it a go at buying back the X-Men and Spider-Man properties.
Here’s my take on this: Lucasfilm is the property of all properties, besides Disney itself. Disney bought it for $4 billion, which tells me X-Men and Spider-Man are worth a considerable amount less. Maybe $2 billion for both properties? Of course, I’m pulling that value out of my butt, but it sounds fair enough. And once Disney has those properties back, it’ll just make the Marvel brand so much stronger.
But now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, nothing is going to stop them from doing crossovers involving the Star Wars universe and established Disney characters. We already have Star Wars Weekends at Disney World, where we see Disney characters portraying popular Star Wars characters. While it’s an iffy thought to me, personally, it’d make incredible sense for Disney to pilot a new animated series where Mickey is a Jedi.
Then there’s the idea of Pixar-made Star Wars movies and shows, which could actually be really awesome.
What I never, ever want to see, though? A Marvel/Star Wars crossover/mashup. Ugh. I don’t want to ever see Wolverine trying to fight Darth Vader, because that’d be stupid.
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The news release I saw said George Lucas stays on as creative consultant.
And good question about the Star Wars comics – to some degree it probably depends on Dark Horse’s contract. Dark Horse was very responsible for bringing more interest to Star Wars back in the pre-prequel days, but you almost can’t imagine them keeping it with Marvel under the same corporate umbrella. That will be an interesting development going forward.