Judging by my Twitter feed, it’s like Hurricane Sandy has already been forgotten about because of this little announcement:
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm LTD for a cash and stock package worth $4.05 billion. (UPDATE: You can read the SEC filing here.)
Oh, and they are revving up “Star Wars 7” for 2015 with George Lucas serving as a mere “creative consultant.” As a wise man once said, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.
But let’s put aside the fact that Disney has acquired probably the biggest independent film company of all time and has decided to double down on continuing the Star Wars film franchise long into the future AND the fact that more and more creative endeavors are being owned by fewer and fewer mega-corporations. Just… just try to forget about all that.
What about the comics?
With all the hand-wringing going on right now, it’s not hard to imagine that the most aggressive pacing and stress smoking is going on right now in Portland, OR at the office of Dark Horse Comics.
Dark Horse Comics is, depending on the month, the third to fifth biggest American comic book company. A lot of that has to do with their licensed comics, and many of its most long running and most popular are Star Wars comics. What happens now that LucasFilm is now owned by Disney which has its own comic book company (a little publishing house called Marvel Comics)? There is some history to look to in the form of BOOM! Studios. BOOM! held the comic book licenses to many Disney properties. But those licenses were not renewed after Disney acquired Marvel and now Marvel is publishing Disney comics. It’s not hard to see the same thing happening with Star Wars comics once those licenses with Dark Horse expire. And then what will happen to Dark Horse Comics if they lose some of their most high profile books? I have no knowledge of Dark Horse’s finances, but most comic book companies operate on the razor’s edge of profitability, if they do at all. The ripple effect of this deal could be wide-reaching and we’ll just have to wait and see what actually happens.
(UPDATE: Dark Horse Comics has released a statement that basically says nothing and reads very similarly to what BOOM! Studios said after the Disney/Marvel deal.)
In the meantime, all we have is a lot of questions, a lot of dread about future Star Wars films, and the aftermath of a real life tragedy in the northeast to really worry about.
UPDATE: Here’s George Lucas talking about the deal.
It’s worth nothing that, as he said in the video, Lucas has been talking about retiring for a while now, which is why I’m not totally surprised that this deal happened. The dude is 68. (And he’s got a giant Santa Barbara beach house construction to oversee.)
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I say “Bring it on!”.
Agreed
I can’t see how they could do any worse than the prequels.
Setting the bar nice a low there
Johnny depp as a jedi?? tim burton directing a star wars movie?
Disney apparently gets ILM, Skywalker Sound, Lucasarts… they got a hell of a deal, since they paid $7 billion for Pixar and $4 billion for Marvel. I’m sure Lucas could have held out for $8 billion if he wanted.
Star Wars NOW!
Marvel Team Up: Spider-man and Luke Skywalker.
Darth Vader joins the Thunderbolts?
(picturing Vader jumping sideways while duel wielding sub-machine guns).
With a recent track record of Prince of Persia and John Carter I’m sure a new Star Wars film is in good hands.
sarcasm?
sarcasm.
Dunno about PoP, but John Carter was great! Better than Episodes 1 and 2.
PoP was great for people like my mom who can’t ever remember the titles of movies. They say the phrase “prince of persia” about 12 times no joke
I loved “Tron: Legacy” and “Toy Story 3” had one of the best Jedi homages of all time and “Wreck It Ralph” looks great. Going back further, with “20 Thousands Leagues Under the Sea,” “The Black Hole,” and “Tron,” Disney actually has some real sci-fi gems. As for “PoP” and “John Carter,” one is more of a Bruckheimer film and the other one caused the CEO of Disney to resign, so it probably won’t be handled quite the same way.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
Darth Thanos. shit just got real.
I LOL’d!
i would pay sooo much to see a Thanos/Emperor team-up . . .
My God. I’m speechless
Star Wars died for me when i saw Revenge of the Sith scratch-n-win lotto tickets at 7-11. I’m well past careing.
yeah, there was no crass commercialism with the original trilogy at all
There is actually a difference between action figures and lotto tickets. Surely?
Bed Sheets? Toothbrushes? Jack in the Box big gulp cups? I don’t see a difference.
Oh! I do! I do! Pick me!
*ahem*
The difference is, we’re old people now.
the original trilogy was whored out just as much as the new trilogy.
it’s like how in Forrest Gump, Bubba would name all the different things he can do with shrimp. George Lucas has done the same thing with Star Wars for over 30 years.
Star Wars underwear. Star Wars plates and cups. Star Wars Monopoly. Star Wars t-shirts. Star Wars bubble bath. Star Wars lunch boxes. Star Wars fast food toys. the list goes on for years, but sure, he really crossed the line with lotto tickets.
So, I’m guessing that the Brian Wood Star Wars comic is not going to come out for a long time.
I think the licences are still at Dark horse and Disney cant just take them back (unless they make a deal) so Dark Horse will be able to continue publishing SW stuff for the remainder of the license period.
I do hope that Woods SW will have either ended at that point, or it should continue under the Marvel logo.
Dark Horse deal seems to still be in place.
Nonsense! First issue is solicited for January 9th. The real question is how long it will go on.
I dunno, i’ll play the part of the optimist here. I’ve read the book about what happens directly after the events of Jedi. I think it would make a great movie. Obviously it would have a new cast but I don’t think it will be that bad…….. Will it? :S
Lucas did not necessarily stick with EU canon for I-III. Episode VII does not necessarily have to be a Truce at Bakura adaptation.
They did it. They broke me. I don’t feel anything in reaction to this. Not angry, not sad, not anything. Bravo.
agreed. my attitude toward star wars these days is characterized by massive amounts of indifference. not in a too-cool-for-school way, but more of a it’s-been-fucked-with-to-the-point-that-i’m-numb-the-whole-ordeal way.
for anyone interested, here’s a good article on letting go of star wars and the justification for that.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/letting-go-of-star-wars,61965/
I stopped paying attention to Star Wars after Phantom Menace. I haven’t seen the next two prequels (not even on home video) or the tv cartoon. I’m only writing this now to register my complete indifference. Over and out.
I hope “creative consultant” means he will only be around to tell them how to spell the names. Seriously, the prequels bled any enthusiasm I had about future Star Wars movies right out of me. Last time I was enthusiastic about Star Wars was Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy.
The next Star Wars movie should be based in the era of “Knights of the Old Republic”.
If the new Star Wars movies turn out as well as the Marvel movies have after Disney got Marvel then this could end up being pretty awesome news.
Exactly what I’ve been thinking since reading about this news.
“Wow” is really the only thing worth saying at this point.
ZOMG.
If Disney creates something as good as John Carter w/ the Star Wars Franchise, I’ll be super happy. It wasn’t the best movie I ever saw, but I was really pleased with what I saw. It was better than Episodes 1 and 2 for sure.
As for the comics, I would love to see Marvel pick up the old Star Wars series right where it left off 20 (or longer?) years ago…
I want PIXAR Marvel shorts in front of my every two year Star Wars releases like I want whip cream on top of a Mocha.
A cafe mocha always comes with with whipped cream…i think you want to stir your mocha with a mars bar::D
Yesssss…wrap it in Bacon!
I guessing many heads at Darkhorse exploded today.
Disney no longer “creates” anything. There will be a line of talent wanting to work on the new Star Wars properties. Imagine someone like Whedon or Abrams or many others at the helm instead of Mr. Jar Jar Binks?
Exactly! It will be several creative people getting to play in a really cool toy box that most of us really like! Bring it on!
And…Hey it isn’t like Disney bought Watchmen from Time Warner! That was me trying to be sarcastic.
This is such seismic news I can barely handle it. What will the seventh movie be based on!? I agree with the fellow above hoping for a far-flung prequel in the days of Exar Kun and all that jazz. Conversely, a Thrawn movie trilogy could also be amazing. But that would come with casting a new Luke Skywalker and HAN SOLO. This will occupy far more of my mind now than it ever should have.
“Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia” – “She wants to ride his rancor…”
see, jokes like that are why we can’t have nice things.
This is good for Star Wars actually … I’m a fan. It’s hardly bad news.
So if Disney now owns Lucasfilm AND Marvel….what does that mean tor the SW comic books published by Dark Horse?
Paragraphs 5-7 of the article.
fuck it. i’m just going to go see wreck-it ralph.
Oh man, I can see the Star Wars TV show actually seeing the light of day. Tales from the Cantina every Thursday night? I might watch TV again.
To be honest, this news as brought back to life an interest in the SW IP in me that I thought was dead…
If Star Wars 7 isn’t going to be a big screen adaptation of Heir To The Empire, I’m gonna be super upset.
Better not be. All the money in Scrooge McDuck’s moneybin couldn’t get Ford and Fisher to come back, and no one else should try to fill Han Solo’s boots or Princess Leia’s hair. Also, Lucas has said that he had the right to ignore anything from the “Extended Universe” if he ever went beyond Return of the Jedi, so we’ll hopefully get original stories. I think Disney would have to go into the future after all the known characters are dead (though C-3PO and R2-D2 could certainly still be around to provide continuity). If this is the case, I say that Nathan Fillion gets first crack at Han and Leia’s descendant.
Are you kidding? Ford was just in Cowboys and Aliens and did a bunch of Indy sequels. Give him a good part and lots of money he’d definitely sign up. Actors act.
Ford has said in multiple interviews that he’s done with Han Solo, even going so far as to say that he should have died in Empire Strikes Back. He’s never said the same about Indiana Jones. Also, for him and Carrie Fisher to be Han and Leia in a Zahn trilogy film would be weird, because Leia is pregnant and Fisher is…obviously beyond child-bearing years. Now, part of his reticence to go back to Han Solo could have been having to act his scripts (Ford once said that you can read a Lucas script but you can’t act it) or having Lucas as director, so with new people involved maybe he’d come back. I just don’t think it would work to have anyone else play those characters. Better to start fresh with their descendants or something. Maybe, unlike in the novels, the Jedi (represented by the Skywalkers) and the Republic (represented by the Solos) are active rivals or maybe even in open conflict with each other for some reason. Or, the Jedi could be totally aloof from society, and the Republic needs them to come back to deal with a new Sith/Empire threat. Just, please God, don’t do the alien plant people from another galaxy stuff – that was just insufferable.
this is the new millennium in a galaxy far, far away guys. let’s just CGI Han, Leia and even the Kool-aid Man if we want.
Look at this from Disney’s perspective:
1) ILM does a shload of SFX for Disney’s live-action movies. Now, instead of “hiring-out”, it’s an in-house job. Not to mention the money they’ll make from all the other studios that use ILM/Skywalker Sound for their movies and T.V. projects.
2) No more licensing fees for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones attractions. And, OH HELL, I just realized – CAPTAIN AMERICA/INDIANA JONES CROSSOVERS! They hinted at “Raiders” in the first movie, why the hell not go all the way? I’d read that comic in a heartbeat. And, if they want to do another Indiana Jones movie, I would rather see his OSS work during WWII than another ’50’s film, and if Cap just happened to be around or make a cameo, well…
3) When Star Wars is at the forefront of public awareness, it pulls in A LOT of merch money. So, now they’ve got Marvel, Star Wars, Muppets, and their own IP. Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money!
4) If the Disney/Marvel experiment has shown one thing, it’s that Disney can do a good job of getting the hell out of the way and let what works work. If that means they can put good talent in front of and, much more importantly in this instance, behind the camera, then I’m actually a little excited about what could happen. For example, could Disney entice Joss Whedon to work on Episode 7 in some capacity while he’s doing his Avengers thing? Wouldn’t that be a sight to see… oh wait, we already saw it. It was called “Firefly” and it was AWESOME! Now it could be even more of a reality.
Overall, this should be a good thing creatively. Worry not, in good hands Star Wars is.
We’re doomed.
Feel bad for Dark Horse but seriously, from a movie perspective, can it get any worse than episodes 1 and 2 and whatever that ridiculous feature length animated thing with the little Hutt was called? Don’t think so. As much as I appreciate George Lucas for giving us some of the most storied film franchises of all time the man doesn’t have it anymore. Now if only Time Warner would purchase Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones is owned by Lucasfilm so it would be part of this deal as well.
Yes, according to AP, Disney gets ILM, Skywalker Sound, and the Indiana Jones franchise.
The only caveat being that Paramount Pictures still has distribution rights to future Indy films whereas Fox does not have those rights for future Star Wars films.
I just read Conor’s first reply and choked on my taco. I hadn’t even thought of that yet.
This is too much, too fast.
My brain’s gonna explode and make the R2 overload sound.
A Star Wars film not starting with the Fox fanfare. That would be a sad thing.
I am sure they will make good films but the best thing they could do is let them be, that will never happen so we have to just roll with it i guess. Sad day for Independence.
Didn’t think of that. Thanks Conor.
meh
I think this is good news. Disney seems to have done a good job with Marvel so far, espeically the past few years of movies.
And no one can deny how unreal awesome it would be to have a Pixar helmed Star Wars movie!!!
Ooh a Pixar made Star Wars flick would be awesome!
Forget the comics (although that is a big question), what about the already existing movies? Does George still have the right to go and mess with them more or is he no longer allowed to touch them and they stand as they are? Also, while I’m sure most believe George was going to release the original trilogy on Blu-Ray, is it even more likely now? If Disney owns it, it knows people want it, and George doesn’t have as much of a say, could we be seeing the original theatrical versions on Blu sooner than later? If that happens because of this, I don’t care if they have a series of Jabba and his Funky Friends movies, it will be worth it.
If this news means that I have theatrical release blurays (or whatever’s coming after bluray) to show my children, that alone makes this wonderful.
I hope so, really if Lucas has no say anymore than unless Disney is going to “pay respects to his wishes” (if there even are any), then it’s a no-brainer to release them. I’d say by Christmas 2014, but that’s pure hopeful speculation on my part.
my first reaction was “HOLY SHEEP SHIT!” now i’m all “well they can get new A-List Hollywood talent involved in making Star Wars for a new generation and continuing the mythology. JJ Abrams, Whedon etc.
I dunno….we could actually get really awesome stuff out of this.
temper the nerd rage.
As for Dark Horse, a company like that HAS to have contingency plans for a licensed property leaving, even if its a large part of their business. Talk about putting all your eggs in a basket.
also, another Howard the Duck movie?
i believe the answer to that question is “always.”
Is that in the Pro or Con column? I can’t tell…
here comes the waterworks
I’m all for this. Worst case we all get one more bad Star Wars movie to ignore, and we have gotten pretty good at that over the years haven’t we?
actually, they said they have 3 new movies plus a TV show planned…
(FIngers in ear) Nananananana *I can’t hear you* Nananananana
(Insert Vader voice here) “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”
The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Mouse.
But imagine the next Kingdom Hearts game!
HHHHOOOOLLLLLLYYYYYYYYSSSSSHHHHH********TTTTTT.
I am reasonably optimistic about this move for the future of Star Wars. Disney’s forte is IP creation , licensing and marketing. While this often leads to focus tested products that lack any particular edge, it also means that they maintain stringent quality controls that Lucas did not have. Lucas wrote what he wanted, how he wanted and didn’t care if others didn’t like it. While many of us love the core of his ideas, I believe we all recognize that he is not the best at executing those ideas from any meaningful standpoint. A lack of a real, meaningful editor has allowed him to write dull, listless stories in the prequels many us believe put a dagger in the Star Wars property. That isn’t even accounting for his terrible direction and cornucopia of offbeat scenes that don’t fit the theme of the Star Wars that was originally put out. Finally, there was his general belligerence and antipathy towards his own fans. People who made him rich and famous who would say ‘We don’t like this direction, don’t do it’ and his juicy raspberry response of ‘They’re my toys and if you want them you gotta play my way’. He complained that the fans ruined the experience of film making for him… perhaps he should have listened more closely to what they (we) requested.
that’s actually a thought I can share 100%
WOW! I’m totally speechless right now…..having a tough time breathing……
Can Disney make it so Han shoots first again!?
OK, I’m being cautiously optimistic here, but . . . I can’t help thinking ’bout The Guardians of the Galaxy in Star Wars. I mean, Han Solo & Iron Man & Rocket Raccoon would be pretty damn cool . . . (see above comment for thoughts on Darth Thanos)
I just lived through two insane Halloween parties in a row, followed immediately by a hurricane, but this … this is too much.
I’ll be back later with a rational response.
I have to agree that Lucas made the right decision in going with Disney to become the caretaker of his creative legacy. Although there is an argument that it is in a way disheartening to see entertainment becoming even more of a monolithic corporate entity. The fact is that Disney fits as a entity that can protect Lucasfilm from becoming diluted or becoming more overly exploited than it already is.
I actually hope that Disney allows the people who will be making the next Star Wars films to blow up the expanded universe and start fresh. I found that the expanded universe was almost as convoluted as DC multiple crises. I would encourage the holy nerd 3 (Ron, Conor, and Josh) to do a Talksplode and discuss the merger of Disney and Lucasfilm. I also hope that at some point they will do the Invasion gag with some type of Disney character voice as the head Gungan. Because we all know that this needs to happen.
this is not right.How come Disney gets to do this? If it was Time-Warner trying to buy Lucasfilm,everyone would try to stop it from happening.Am I the only person that Disney is getting alot of favortism? When Time-Warner tried to buy ABC,judge would not let them,but let Disney buy ABC.So wrong this is, sorry we will be.Need we do not,Disney being a movie monoply.
LucasFilm is a privately owned company made up of two gigantic IP’s and several important A/V companies. ABC uses public airwaves and thus falls into US jurisdiction. Time Warner buying ABC gets into monopoly issues because not only does it own a lot of chanels it controls how a lot of people get there TV. Disney owns no other chanels beyond Disney Chanel and half of A&E, which are cable networks.
So does this mean Star Wars will be a world in Kingdom Hearts? Is Leia a Disney Princess now?
What does this mean for the future of the Clone Wars on Cartoon Network?
They will probably just wrap it up soon, there can’t be too many more stories they can tell before they get to when the original Clone Wars cartoon and Episode III begin anyways. I had read not too long ago that was the plan anyways and they were looking into doing a new cartoon afterwards.
The possibilities for what this means to the Indiana Jones franchise is honestly what I’m most excited about with this. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars and look forward to seeing, cheering, complaining and overall discussing whatever Disney helps the people at LucasFilm accomplish with that franchise, but the possibility of a Disney funded Indy future, that’s interesting to me. I feel pretty bad for Dark Horse though, they’ve done a great job with their licensed comics and it will be sad to see that leave their capable hands; if is does… which it most likely will.
http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/bub64882/Disney_Lucas.jpg
If we’ll see Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, we will definitely see X, XI, and XII too. The latter three will probably be direct-to-video.
Does Marvel even publish Disney’s comics? No right?
They put out about six Disney magazines as well as Muppet comics.
Makes me think an Indiana Jones comic could happen?
It’s like Disneyland has been foreshadowing this all along. With the Indiana Jones ride and Star Tours. Well, let’s just hope that Jar-Jar wasn’t included in the contract.
Ok they do sequels set 40 years after Jedi and they can recast Hamill, Ford, and Fisher (since it would be age appropriate). Cast Shia LaBouef as Han and Leia’s son and Han survives the explosion of the Millennium Falcon by jumping inside a refrigerator. Oh wait George Lucas isn’t the WRITER?!? There might be hope.
But in all seriousness, how awesome would an R2/Doop team-up story be 😀
Is his language one of C-3PO’s 6,000,000 forms of communication that he understands? A Droids/Doop crossover would be sweet…
I really hope they get a good writer and director on the new Star Wars. I would think it would attract talented people to it, we could get another really good Star Wars movie with the right team working on it.
This is just fucking crazy. I would never have thought in a million years that this could have happen. Now that Disney is almost complete in owning everything in the known universe, I guess we gotta accept it.
I really don’t know if I’ll watch Episode VII. I just don’t care. My kids will just watch the original trilogy and maybe the new movies if they are so inclined.
Oh please. You’ll see it. Who do you think you’re kidding?
You may not care much. But you care enough to see it. I’d wager that at least 98% of us care enough to see it. There’s no shame in curiosity, TNC.
It’s ok to make your own continuity, but its also ok to see the new and different even if it might not match to your continuity or your selective views.
Star Wars Episode VII: It’s A Parent Trap!
I like Star Was as much as the next guy, but I am completely fine with Disney making Star Wars products for future generations until the end of time. Even if the cynics lambast every future Star Wars vehicle as an endless cash grab (as opposed to what other companies do to make money), if future generations of kids like it, then I am all for it.
I’m really hoping this means they can squeeze one more Indiana Jones out of Harrison Ford.
I totally agree!
Yes. For those calling it a “money grab”, what do they think is the objective of film making? To make money!
I just hope Lucasarts games get good again like they were in the 90s.
How much do sales of Hellboy/BPRD material compare to the Star Wars sales? Because that would be Dark Horse’s saving grace.
I think The Star Wars properties sell a lot more because they are being bought by a much wider audience. I think BPRD and Hellboy’s main audience is still comic fans, while Star Wars is not so much.
It’s all a smoke screen, the real reason behind this is Willow 2. Disney have their Hobbit.
Oh, and expect Ewoks.
Shadow Moon!
I always expect Ewoks.
I dunno, I don’t see this as disheartening news. It may be time for younger, fresher eyes to take a look at the franchise and be able to pull some really cool stories out of it to bring to film. New directors for each film, kind of like the Bond movies. I can see this is the direction that Disney is thinking.
I really can’t make any judgment until I see what they produce. I remain optimistic.
Well, I have to admit, I kinda closed my brain to anything “new” regarding Star Wars… I am happy with the treasure I have and the stuff I had put in the last decades or so…
I think I can only enjoy Star Wars “new” if it’s really something new and not the same thing all over again in order to sell as many jar Jar toys as possible…
There are great (and not so great) concepts around Jedis and Sith and this galaxy far, far away… I am willing to see stories of Exar Kun or some serious future of Star Wars (like 100 years in the future)…
I need no Han Solo story with Justin Timberlake playing Han Solo or Justin Bieber playing Luke… and Kurt Russel as Chewie…
If they are off to really get something new going, I am in… if it’s just the same again, I know I won’t like it, since my affection as a 32years old dude cannot compete with the excitment of myself as a kid
Come on guys, Star Wars will be in good hands now. I wouldn’t have seen it anywhere else anyways! 😉
Besides, stop freaking out, Marvel basically stayed the same after it was bought by Disney, the Avengers was released and was AWESOME. All it does is giving more means and $$$ to back up the continuity of the franchise. Star Wars Ep. 7 in 2015!? Fuck yes!
If Marvel makes more cash from selling Star Wars and Indy comics I wonder if that will allow them to be more experimental with some of their other properties? Perhaps Journey Into Mystery won’t be the last of its kind.
Does this mean my daughters can consider Princess Leia as a Disney Princess? This could be the end-around I need to get my girls into Star Wars!
I feel the same way I did when I heard that DC was rebooting. At first I was devastated and thought it was the worst thing ever but now the more I think about it I am thrilled. Can’t wait to see what Disney does!!!! May the Force be with them 🙂
I also am intrigued to see what the big guns at Marvel can do if/when they get a hold of the comic license
If I heard this news a few years ago, I probably would have had some huge reaction to it, but these days, I can say I don’t really feel one way or the other about it. My enthusiasm for Star Wars fizzled out a long, long time ago. I love Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi has some moments I like, but over-all I don’t feel it matches the magic of the first movie or the quality film making of the second. I sat through Phantom menace once in the theater and never saw it again. I saw parts of Episode II but never saw the whole thing and have not seen any of Episode III. I just don’t care anymore. Star Wars was a huge part of my childhood, but I am long past the point of getting excited for Star Wars announcements. I don’t have negative feelings towards this announcement, nor do i have positive ones. I just feel nothing.
On a totally different note, i always thought the line was “millions of OYSTERS cried out in terror” which of course makes ZERO sense LOL.
Maybe Alderaan had a lot of Oysters. Maybe Princess Leia rules over a a quiet planet of Oyster People. If only George had big time Disney money to fully realize his Oyster-fever-dreams!
Like many others here who grew up with and love the original trilogy, I just don’t care all that much. That’s great if it ends up resulting in higher quality films made by passionate Star Wars fans of my generation (I’m 38), but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve accepted the fact that I probably won’t see a proper home video release of the original unaltered trilogy in my lifetime and I’d rather not get my hopes up and end up being disappointed. On the plus side, if this does end up in a renewed Star Wars Universe that is full of creative energy and captivating characters and storylines , my kids (just turned 2) will be coming of age right in the middle of it and I’ll be able to participate in it with them.
This is really, really, really…….really depressing.
I’ve got the original films on vhs widescreen and a new version of each on blu-ray. That’s all I need from this franchise anymore.
I wonder if Disney will release the original trilogy in their original versions, but updated to HD 5.1?
I can only hope that they would. That right there would be a huge seller…especially for X-mas. There would be hundreds of thousands of original trilogy fans getting what they want.
If Marvel gets the Lucasfilm right I want to see…
Captain America / Indiana Jones: Spear of Destiny— The Red Skull is tearing across Europe to track down the one true Spear of Destiny, which will make the Axis Powers Invincible. Captain America is sent to stop him with the aid of OS operative Prof Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr.
Story by Karl Kesel & Roger Stern
Art by Mitch Breitwiser & Frank D’Armata
Cover by Alex Ross
with a back up teaming Bucky and Short Round vs Japaneses Master Spy Matsu and American master criminal The Parrot in San Francisco
Lucas’ greatness is over rated. I’d encourage everyone to remember that every time Lucas was the sole writer and controlled everything on screen, that project was not received well. The Indiana Jones Franchise (except the 2008 film) and the original Star Wars trilogy were collaborative projects. Because of this audiences were exposed to the best possible outcome. The fact that Lucas only directed A New Hope and none of the Indiana Jones Franchise, should convey my point. As long as there are people that have the power to say “no” to Lucas, any/all franchises associated with him will be fine.
“I’d encourage everyone to remember that every time Lucas was the sole writer and controlled everything on screen, that project was not received well.”
The Star Wars film that he had arguably the most control over, and the most independence and least amount of scrutiny making, was the first one and I’m pretty sure that one went over pretty well… globally. He also wrote and directed AMERICAN GRAFFITI, another great film. I would never say that he doesn’t benefit from working with other people because his solo track record is spotty to say the least, but the idea that NOTHING he has ever done all himself has been well-received is ludicrous and the idea that his greatness is overrated is even more so. Putting aside the fact the has made great films on his own the man almost single-handedly changed Hollywood and did it all as his own independent producer and studio head.
Conor, I do agree that Lucas was a great Indie/Young filmmaker and made great films early on. I was trying to articulate that the properties that are within “our” immediate realm of concern are under fire. I do not know why I omitted A New Hope, I thought it was in there. American Graffiti is a great film, but again I was tackling the larger franchises. I just simply disagree that he is this near God in cinema, because it seems that people give him all the credit for everything related to him and his production companies. I believe that Lucas has been able to do so much more than people realize with his companies behind the scenes and should be given credit for his postproduction studios. I guess I feel as if he created this great sandbox of a franchise, but was unwilling to step outside of his creative “temple” the fans built for him. As far as business is concerned; I believe Lucas was able to capitalize on Twentieth Century Fox’s lack of faith in A New Hope, because they gave him the merchandising rights off the bat. Because of this oversight he was able to buy the franchise back from FOX after the initial success and just continued milking the merchandise market to fund all other projects. So his business decisions are what saved him not necessarily his merit as the demigod he is held up to be. In all I could be full of it, but it’s just my opinion that he is overrated for the wrong reasons.
How about a Jedi Knight with a Junior Woodchuck Guidebook? Unstoppable!
Disney is going to purchase DC Entertainment/Comics (or whatever they’re called) one day; I just know it. It’s a trap.
Johnny depp as a jedi?? tim burton directing a star wars movie?