Disney Acquires Lucasfilm

[floppylobster]

At first I was really excited about this. Then I got on the Internet and realized what a bunch of negative pricks there can be on the Internet. Now I'm less excited but still optimistic. More games, more toys, more interesting visual elements to expand our imaginations. Star Wars has had some really low moments, surely it can't be worse than those? But anyway, apart from this post, I'm going to refrain from talking about it on the Internet because people will just be negative about anything, (despite having never created anything of worth in their entire lives), and it will just bring down the quiet excitement I have for this development.

 

[MintberryCrunch]

Meh, as long as I get Battlefront 3, I'm happy.

This. This was the first thing I thought when I heard about this, I don't really care about anything else. Just give me Battlefront 3, Disney.

 

[pilouuuu]

This is definitely a good thing. Lucas won't be butchering his own creation anymore! And if we check what Marvel did with Avengers we will at least have an entertaining movie, with great characters and CGI that's not crappy. That's what the original trilogy was about. There's no way they can make anything worse than the prequels.

And I'm also excited about Lucasarts because 1313 is probably going to be one of the last AAA crappy Star Wars games. Now they can focus on what made them great in the first place. They can let Telltale make a new Monkey Island game. We can get a new Day of the Tentacle, a new Loom... Don't touch Grim Fandango though! Although I wouldn't mind a remake or special edition. We could even get a Star Wars adventure game which is something I don't get why they never did.

I just hope they start making Episode VII soon enough, so we may get it for 2015 and that it's more like the original trilogy brought up to date. And they have to bring back Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. And Carrie Fisher back wouldn't bother me either.

And we will get the TV series at some point because with Lucas it was never going to get made until he could make more crappy CGI or something. I hope we get a Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle cartoon too. How amazing would that be?

Anyway, what ever they do, this must be the first scene of Episode VII. Luke gets to the Tatooine cantina looking pretty much like Obi Wan when he was last with him there. And who's next to Luke? Jar-Jar Binks! There's a fight and some criminal start shooting and Jar-Jar gets blasted and killed by them. Luke looks from the distance sit in the bar. Then the fight stops and everyone gets back to what they were doing before. The band starts playing again. It would be a hommage to the original trilogy and a big, big fanservice that would indicate that this is the real thing, nothing like the shitty prequels.

 

[crazyrabbits]

i honestly wouldn't count on it. the star wars franchise have been so raped (there really aren't any other word in the English language the "raped" that defines the franchise now) that it will be hard to recover. sure kids are going to buy it. i mean kids are stupid. they don't see quality. the series will continue til we finally face doomsday but all the quality and grace of star wars died around 7 years ago.

Nah.

The reaction to this announcement was overwhelmingly positive - there's definitely a need for more SW, which is what Iger pointed out.

Making SW into a James Bond-like franchise is nothing but a good thing. There's pent-up demand for more movies, and the current crop of work coming out of Lucasfilm/Lucasarts just isn't cutting it.

The possibilities are endless - you could have the SW television series, new installments being helmed by different directors (I'm sure Spielberg, Kevin Smith and Brad Bird are all chomping at the bit to direct a film) and tons of tie-in materials. Sure, you may have the odd stinker, but considering how much potential there is, you're bound to get some great films out of the deal.

There's still quality out there, and I think audiences recognize that. People scoffed at Disney when they bought Marvel, and look how that worked out for them. Avengers alone recouped their investment. Now Disney has access to Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the "android/droid" trademark for a mere pittance. The sky's the limit, and the audience will be there.

 

[ViciousTide]

Star wars on the Disney Channel?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Then again, maybe Battlefront 3 will be released finally, it's been complete for the last 3 years!

Downside is, i can't see Disney doing a Dark Lord Triology from the Old Republic. Though NYT best sellers are dominating with Dark Lord Titles.

 

[ViciousTide]

Way to go disney, buying up everything in a failing U.S. economoy! This "turn around" is quite a lie.

 

[Guffe]

This might be good and if they make a world 500 years after the 6th movie then they could bascially make a whole new story... Which might go two ways, completely badass or just bad.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

Guys...if you think this news is goofy? I just saw something else that made me jawdrop so hard I think my lower jaw burned on the Earth's core.

Take a look at...at...

THIS!!! [http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/mecha-mickey-and-the-disney-super-sentai-72295.html]

And no, I don't think THIS is a joke either!!!

 

[Yelchor]

Well, this would be an opportunity to go by the original Trilogy's feel and tone, without the utter mess which was piled on since 1983.

But I fear they will take more inspiration from the prequels (because that's more appealing to kids!).

 

[Ukomba]

Get ready for Pirates of the Caribbean 5: The Secret of Monkey Island

 

[Anachronism]

7-9 deals with Han and Leia's children, and the rise of a new Jedi order lead by Luke. That's quite established in the lore, as I remember.

All true, but the New Jedi Order stuff has already been covered by the Expanded Universe, and I don't see the point in adapting the books for the new films. Not least because films based on those books would probably end up being worse than Attack of the Clones.

What could be gained? I don't know, maybe new stories that add to the lore of Star Wars. At this point I thought it'd be obvious to everyone that Star Wars isn't just about the original and prequel movies. Given all the video games, comics, and novels out there I think its been proven there can be stories that go beyond the tale of Anakin Skywalker and expand upon the massive universe that is Star Wars.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with all this. If the new films can use the existing lore as a jumping off point and tell a completely new story, as KotOR did, I think that could actually work really well. I'm just concerned about the new trilogy getting caught up trying to continue the story of the previous films, where that story is now over. It's probably not helped by the fact that I have a pretty dim view of the Expanded Universe as a whole; to me, Star Wars is the Original Trilogy, and I tend to try and ignore the rest.

There are suppose to be 9 chapters total, I could spoil a few things from some one that reads BOOKS but that wouldn't be fun.

I can agree to a point on the whole 9 films thing, but I can't believe for a moment that Disney will leave it at 9 if the new ones make money, which they will; and Lucas has flip-flopped so many times over the years about how many films there were originally meant to be that I don't think we can take anything he says on the subject as gospel. By the by, snarky implication that I don't read and am therefore stupid is rather uncalled for.

If they can revamp it and put out another solid trilogy, I'll be in the theatre watching.

In spite of my complaining, this is the bottom line. I'll probably end up seeing them regardless of quality, in all honesty, and if they can end up making something good then I'm all for it. As you say, it's about time we had some good Star Wars stuff again.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Disney, one of the most self-derivative, "safe", image-obsessed media giants in the world is acquiring the properties of a has-been hack.

Why anyone would be optimistic about this is beyond me.

Star Wars 7? A new trilogy?

If it happens (or WHEN it happens; you don't buy the Star Wars franchise and not fucking use it), it will be done for the same reason the prequels were made: To launch another goddamn cavalcade of merchandising (*insert Spaceballs clip here*).

It's easy money. A surefire investment.
What you shouldn't expect: Good films telling a great story.
The prequels were shitty films made to sell stuff, and I am not expecting that to change given the insane returns they made in merchandising alone.

In Disney's hands, if the planets & stars align, we may get lucky and get something like The Avengers series out of it, but I'm not hopeful. Not at all.

Well, maybe some of the merch will be fun to play around with.

 

[COMaestro]

This blew my mind when I first read it yesterday, and the fact that they are already planning to release Ep 7 in 3 years seems insane. I am hoping they go into the future or WAY into the past for this movie, as I doubt any of the original cast would want to return (Ford especially was done with SW and wanted out after Empire), and I just can't see different actors playing the roles. Ewan McGregor did a good job as a young Obi-Wan, but he was a relatively minor character in the original trilogy, so a lot of the character could still be developed. Trying to have new actors fill the roles of Luke, Han and Leia just would not work for me.

And God forbid they do a reboot...

They do have Pixar though. If they made a decent CGI film (and if they could get the original actors for voicework), I could see some of the Expanded Universe working. For a live-action movie, I could see an adaptation of some novels that do not include the main characters, like the X-Wing series which focuses on Wedge Antilles and a squadron of ace pilots. Ideally though, this will be a piece with totally original characters that does not have to touch on the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker or anything to do with his children.

 

[Ashley Blalock]

This could be a good thing for sci fi fans in general.

Right now the movies are a little thin when it comes to space movies. Sure we have films were aliens come to Earth looking for a fight but not too many films set on alien worlds. With a lack of space movies TV has pretty much become Earth only shows even if we did wish Honey Boo Boo lived on a different planet.

But lets say Disney has their ducks in a row like they did with Avengers and Star Wars becomes huge again. Every studio would be go crazy to get out their own space adventure. With movies going crazy again for adventures in space then TV would likely follow as well.

If anyone is getting hurt in this deal it's Cartoon Network because you know Disney will want a Star Wars cartoon on their network instead of Cartoon Network. Given the thin line up on Cartoon Network the competition will chip away at them even more.

 

[craddoke]

Prediction: Episode 7 will be a smash hit both commercially and critically because of the combination of nostalgia and lowered expectations (thank you prequels!).

I have to say, I'm mostly happy about this.

 

[BroJing]

Ding Dong Lucas is (creatively) dead!

Not to be harsh to the guy but couldn't be happier he's been removed from control of Star Wars.

 

[Marowit]

This is interesting. I'm going to stay optimistic though, and remember this is the same company that made two of my favorite movies of recent memory - Pirates I & II - and remember they were able to do that with only a themepark ride as it's backstory (I did enjoy III as well, but more because it was fun, and not because it was a 'good' movie).

 

[Carrots_macduff]

it is probably a good thing for star wars to not have lucas involved in a major capacity, but seeing this makes me think of all the live action disney films that are utter crap.

 

[COMaestro]

I totally don't like how Disney is eating up every other company and getting bigger and bigger?
I find it scary anyways.

Oh, I would not be worried. LucasFilms might have 2 huge franchises under their belt (Indiana Jones and Star Wars), but that's it, and with Indiana Jones done, LucasFilms only has Star Wars. Disney acquiring Lucasfilms is basically like Disney acquiring the rights to Star Wars, that's all really. Same with them owning Jim Henson Co,: It's basically them having acquired "The Muppets" plus some minor films that weren't as popular as "The Muppets" Franchise.

Their acquiring of Marvel was them getting bigger, but since they've churned good movie after good movie, that can be forgiven.

Are you crazy? Sure, the only franchises they are getting may be Star Wars and Indiana Jones (which are huge in their own right), but Disney acquired Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound in this deal as well. Tell you what. Go watch 5 movies, from the 90's or newer. I'll wait....

Done? Okay, did half of them have special effects done by ILM? Sound effects by Skywalker Sound? These two companies are used by so many movies it is ridiculous. Disney could probably recoup the money spent on their acquisitions from these two companies alone, much less with what they'll do with SW.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

7-9 deals with Han and Leia's children, and the rise of a new Jedi order lead by Luke. That's quite established in the lore, as I remember.

All true, but the New Jedi Order stuff has already been covered by the Expanded Universe, and I don't see the point in adapting the books for the new films. Not least because films based on those books would probably end up being worse than Attack of the Clones.

What could be gained? I don't know, maybe new stories that add to the lore of Star Wars. At this point I thought it'd be obvious to everyone that Star Wars isn't just about the original and prequel movies. Given all the video games, comics, and novels out there I think its been proven there can be stories that go beyond the tale of Anakin Skywalker and expand upon the massive universe that is Star Wars.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with all this. If the new films can use the existing lore as a jumping off point and tell a completely new story, as KotOR did, I think that could actually work really well. I'm just concerned about the new trilogy getting caught up trying to continue the story of the previous films, where that story is now over. It's probably not helped by the fact that I have a pretty dim view of the Expanded Universe as a whole; to me, Star Wars is the Original Trilogy, and I tend to try and ignore the rest.

There are suppose to be 9 chapters total, I could spoil a few things from some one that reads BOOKS but that wouldn't be fun.

I can agree to a point on the whole 9 films thing, but I can't believe for a moment that Disney will leave it at 9 if the new ones make money, which they will; and Lucas has flip-flopped so many times over the years about how many films there were originally meant to be that I don't think we can take anything he says on the subject as gospel. By the by, snarky implication that I don't read and am therefore stupid is rather uncalled for.

If they can revamp it and put out another solid trilogy, I'll be in the theatre watching.

In spite of my complaining, this is the bottom line. I'll probably end up seeing them regardless of quality, in all honesty, and if they can end up making something good then I'm all for it. As you say, it's about time we had some good Star Wars stuff again.

It wasn't anything personal against you it's just that most people I've talked about this subject have never read any of the books or even bother to research the main history of the franchise. There is no telling at this point what will happen hell maybe it's just me but I would love to see movie for shadows of the empire "comics from the 90's that take place between episode 5-6", but that's just field dream...