Star Wars, art by RadoJavor

Art by RadoJavor

So, Disney bought Lucasfilm today, for $4bn. Crazy, right? And then there’s the announcement, midway through the press release: a seventh Star Wars film, with a working title of Episode 7, presumably taking place after the close of Return of the Jedi.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

Uh, wow.

The full press release can be read on The Walt Disney Company’s press site.

Discussion
  • neth October 30, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    Presumably, this is the last of the original planned 3 trilogies. Where a clone of Emporer Palpatine returns, Luke falls to the Dark Side and Leia brings him back.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts brings in some of the better (for cinematic purposes) stories of the expanded universe – Jedi Academy and Thrawn. Though the X-Wing stuff would be cool too. There’s lots of potential.

    I’m actually pretty excited about the prospect of post-Lucas Star Wars. There’s certainly lots of room to screw it up, but frankly, I doubt they’ll screw up any worse than Lucas already has. I think (or at least hope) that they will improve things.

  • Aidan Moher October 30, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    Yeah. Considering Lucas was the weak point holding back the success of the trilogy series, I have higher hopes for this than if Lucasfilm itself had announced the project.

  • Dave Thompson October 30, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    Wow, with Lucas not holding Star War’s leash anymore, the possibilities seem endless. That we might once again get a really cool Star Wars movie very much excites me. Hopefully Disney gets some good writers and a solid director on board.

    (First person to suggest Joss Whedon gets a bonus +5 Midichlorian count!)

  • LeNainJaune October 30, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    How about a new space opera movie instead of the eternal recycling of nostalgia. New concepts, characters, you know fresh ideas.

  • James October 30, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    This thread has taken a surprising turn. I’d expected more nerd-rage, to match what I have been seeing elsewhere. Unless people are really caught up in some die-hard nostalgia, I don’t see how this could possibly be considered anything but a good thing. It seemed like Lucas made an effort to take every step in the wrong direction when he was at the helm, so even if Disney produces a disappointing film it won’t be new ground. They’ve already made great strides toward something of quality by reducing Lucas’ role to consultant.

  • […] So, this is all over the news. And this. […]

  • Scott October 31, 2012 at 7:15 am

    Indeed. Non-Lucas controlled SW can only be a good things.

    Also, I like STAR WARS….so more STAR WARS just makes me excited regardless.

    But like I’ve said elsewhere…Disney bought Henson Co. and gave us Jason Segal’s excellent MUPPETS and they bought Marvel and gave us AVENGERS.

    Consider me pumped.

    And I’ve not had fun speculating on new SW movies since 1999 so I feel young again!

  • Daniel October 31, 2012 at 7:19 am

    I for one would like to see an adaptation of Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy.