Disney Adds Lucasfilm to Its Collection of Media Successes - The UpStream

Disney Adds Lucasfilm to Its Collection of Media Successes

posted Tuesday Oct 30, 2012 by Scott Ertz

Disney Adds Lucasfilm to Its Collection of Media Successes

In a strange turn of events, George Lucas, possibly as part of his retirement plan, has sold Lucasfilm Ltd to Disney for a whopping $4.05 billion. The deal will see Lucas step aside and turn over leadership of the long-time successful production company to Kathleen Kennedy. This is a pretty natural transition for the company, seeing as Kennedy has been working as a producer for Lucas since Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981.

The buyout marks the second major acquisition from Disney in the growing crossover between nerd culture and pop culture in the past few years. The first, of course, being Disney's purchase of Marvel Entertainment in late 2009. That deal ended up bringing us major motion pictures, such as The Avengers, as well as the formation of a television division to maintain the Marvel brand in all of its facets.

So, what does the Lucasfilm combination bring to us? A new Star Wars film in 2015. Yes, you read that right - Star Wars: Episode 7 is going to happen, whether the world wants it or not. With Lucas not at the helm, the chances of Jar Jar Binks level disasters are significantly less likely, though Disney is not much better at not creating characters that people end up hating for all time. Disney also announced new films every two to three years in the Star Wars universe.

Lucas seems to be pleased with the outcome. He said,

For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next… 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.

At least with the transition made now, if Disney or Kennedy are unable to maintain Lucas-level quality, they can still go back to him for advice.

So, are you excited to see "a new generation of filmmakers" take the helm of one of the most iconic film series of all time, or do you think StarWars should be retired with Lucas himself? Let us know in the comments.

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