Disney Acquires Lucasfilm

Some days, news in the entertainment industry comes slowly. A new trailer, a new poster, a casting rumor. These are the big news events most days. Then there are days like yesterday.

Yesterday we got a megaton. Yesterday came an announcement so big that it will fundamentally change entertainment across multiple formats in the coming years. I had to check to make sure the date wasn’t April 1.

Disney purchased Lucasfilm!

Star Wars Episode VII will begin production, aiming for a 2015 release!

Lucasfilm is, of course, the studio behind Star Wars. Behind Indiana Jones. Behind special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. Behind a lot of film properties and production companies. Disney owns them all now. Specifically, Disney purchased Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light &Magic, and Skywalker Sound for a whopping $4.24 billion. That’s a lot of cheese, most of which goes to previous owner Mr. George Lucas.

What does this acquisition mean for fans such as we?

It means a lot of cool things will be happening with these properties. One of the biggest and best companies in the entertainment industry now owns some of the biggest film properties and production studios around. Disney knows how to take big-time properties and make them huge successes. Look at what they did with Marvel. The Marvel Studios characters + Disney knowhow = truckloads of money. Disney recently brought Pixar back under its umbrella, and guys have a great slate of films coming in the next few years. This acquisition brings hope that Star Wars will once again be a major player across a wide range of media.

Disney is in the business of entertainment with their hands in film, television, amusement parks, music, video games, traveling shows, and probably a ton of other things that I can’t recall. Expect Star Wars and Indiana Jones to be a part of all of it.

What else provides hope for the resurrection of Star Wars? Lucas is effectively retiring. He has been hands-on with the franchise for the past 35 years. Every major decision, and a whole bunch of minor ones, went through him on a daily basis. But, he now wants to step away. Lucas can hand over the reigns to a more-than-capable group of people at Disney and watch them shepherd in a new era of Star Wars. Technically, he will be retained as a “creative consultant”, which is a fancy way of saying that Disney will politely call Lucas before making a big decision, listen to him chatter for a few minutes, and then go ahead with whatever plans they had. It sounds like there won't be any major changes in the structure of company management at any of Lucas' companies. It'll be status quo for a while during the transition of ownership. I’m actually quite happy for Lucas. He can do whatever he pleases now that he’s cashed out his most lucrative property, and his baby will be in great hands.

We’ll find out how well this arrangement will work in 2015. A few years ago, Lucasfilm copyrighted Episode VII, VIII, and IX, and word was that they had a master strategy for a new trilogy of films. Part of the acquisition announcement is that Disney will begin production on Star Wars: Episode VII for a 2015 release. Disney wants to bring that trilogy to life with Episode VII in 2015, VIII in 2017, and IX in 2019. Expect this story to dominate coverage on sites like this for the coming years.

So, today, there is hope for Star Wars. The once great franchise has had an unexpected breath of life. With Disney’s track record of success with Marvel and Pixar, I think it’s safe to start getting excited for Star Wars again.

Do you think the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm is a good thing for Star Wars? What would you do with $4.24 billion if you were Lucas? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!