BREAKING:Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4b, Episode VII slated for 2015

[Q]

Originally Posted by Taak Farst

Oh my god! I'm so undecided on this! :P I think i'm happy but cautious.
I think the star wars saga is better left as it is, to be honest...

In the toilet?

[Dak Drexl]

It matters to those of us who happen to enjoy reading the EU, and the new Disney-LF could quite possibly bastardize all of it. Of course there's no saying that the books by themselves can't be enjoyed, but it's nice to have everything fit together and it's also where a majority of the novel's callbacks and references come from (other EU canon and Prequel/Current Trilogy Canon and TCW canon).

Well it's just stuff that somebody makes up anyway, so for me it doesn't make a difference what any of it is about, just so long as it's entertaining of course.

To each, his own

[Boba Rhett]

Wait, doesn't Lucasfilm own Indiana Jones too?

I'm beside myself. I don't know how to feel.

[Q]

Let's hope that whomever makes the new films has watched Plinkett's reviews.

[Boba Rhett]

[LDR]

Originally Posted by Boba Rhett

WHAT THE EVERLOVING ****.


WHAT. THE. ****.




****.

You look so funny with all of the censored words.

[Scorge]

I wonder if they will put the jedi spirits in Star Wars Episode 7 [Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan]

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Q

^Came outta nowhere, didn't it?

I really hope that the new movies have original storylines.

Notable exceptions aside, most of the EU is just terrible.

You have read every single installment in the Star Wars Expanded Universe in order to arrive at that conclusion? You sir have earned my respect

Originally Posted by Dak Drexl

Well it's just stuff that somebody makes up anyway, so for me it doesn't make a difference what any of it is about, just so long as it's entertaining of course.

To each, his own

True, the stories don't necessarily NEED to be 'movie' canon in order to be enjoyed, it just helps things to mesh better. I would be bummed though reading a book and knowing that it was totally out of place in the SW timeline, that would be on my mind the entire time.


But seriously folks we're missing the big picture here, now we can have Darth Vader, Yoda, Maul, The Death Star and Force Powers in any future Kingdom Hearts games that come out yay!

[mr_dad]

Before anyone trolls or what not, let's look at the facts.

1. Disney has bought Lucasfilm and owns the rights to Star Wars.
2. They said they will do another Star Wars film.
3. The Star Wars timeline spans 25,000+ years; plenty of room for new films.

What don't we know?

1. Who will direct, write, or star in this new film.
2. How Disney intends to take Star Wars. Maybe they will do a James Bond thing with some good and some bad movies. That is the most likely.

So we have no reason to complain about this. However, there is something for me to say. As much crap as I have given Lucas, he has earned some respect from me for letting this go. Now he no longer receives the profits and such from Star Wars. He has given up his baby for the fans, and that is commendable.

[Blix]

^
GL has enough bank that he doesn't NEED his baby anymore, I'm not sure why he sold it -- it certainly wasn't for the fans maybe it was to wash his hands of it and be exempt from any responsibility of the franchise.

I just have to add that this can be both good and bad; the bad I've already stated -- you don't really NEED movie-confirmed canon to enjoy a book. The good, a much needed breath of fresh air into the franchise that for years focused solely on The Clone Wars and viewers aged 10 - 14. Hopefully this new trilogy will gather old fans and new fans alike, while working with a new and original story for the new movie(s) (no I don't care if I don't see Thrawn/Yuzzahn Vong/Legacy stories etc. on the big screen)

[Dak Drexl]

Originally Posted by mr_dad

1. Who will direct, write, or star in this new film.

In movie terms, 2015 is pretty damn close; I'd expect this stuff to be figured out fairly soon.

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Dak Drexl

In movie terms, 2015 is pretty damn close; I'd expect this stuff to be figured out fairly soon.

If they're not already in the writing process then they should be, if not I expect the projected release date to be pushed back another year.

[90 SK]

I saw this story posted on Facebook, and of course there's a long thread here about it :P
I'm excited, I'd love to see another trilogy and without Lucas' wooden prequel dialog we may actually get some solid movies out of this deal. Also curious about the games aspect of it, will we see more LucasArts games too?

Obviously there is loads of written material covering the era after the first trilogy ended, so I'm looking forward to seeing what exactly the story turns out to be, and if they decide to adapt book stories to film.

[Dak Drexl]

Lots of good information here:

http://www.theforce.net/topstory/sto...ion_148648.asp

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

I don't like this. I don't like this at all. ಠ_ಠ


And Episode 7?

YouTube Video

[swphreak]

Eh... I can always just pretend the new film doesn't exist if I don't like it. I actually like the EU slightly more than the movies...

As far as I'm concerned, the clone wars cartoon and ahsoka don't exist.

[HK-42]

Oh God we are going to get another LEGO game

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

Tangent: lol @ thread tags

[Giant Graffiti]

I just hope that Episode 7 doesn't turn out to be an adaptation of one of the books.

[Qui-Don Jorn]

George is creative consultant for new films right? Hmmmm..I was going to suggest something but I don't want to jinx us all.
I was on fleet (TOR) as a couple ppl were talking about this, and totally thought they were just joking.

[Liverandbacon]

Nothing bad happened to Marvel after Disney took over, quite the opposite in fact.

And unlike Lucas-controlled Lucasfilm, Marvel still had some redeeming features beforehand.

It might not improve, but it certainly won't sink lower, since you can't when you're already at rock bottom.

Edit: On a side note, I take great comfort in the fact that whenever I take a long hiatus, even if it's for years as it has been in the past, many of the same faces are still around here.

[GeneralPloKoon]

Originally Posted by adamqd

F**k my Comic Collection, we are getting episode 7 from the people that brought us the Avengers, I'm a Happy, Happy man!

*high fives* Thats the way to view it! I'm excited yet terrified at the same time!

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Giant Graffiti

I just hope that Episode 7 doesn't turn out to be an adaptation of one of the books.

I more or less agree with this. It should be unique and original - even if it borrows a few things from EU, it should be its own story. I feel like if it's based on novel that's since been released then we've more or less already seen it.

[Ping]

Really, as long as they don't completely overwrite the EU or at least the Thrawn trilogy, I won't be too annoyed. What will annoy me is finding out that half the Star Wars books I own are no longer canon.

[Blix]

^
Unless they are really, REALLY industrious and plan on rewriting EVERYTHING from scratch I don't think Disney will throw everything out the window when they have so much to work with already. I can definitely see them tweaking some things here and there which will most likely upset some, but I can't see them writing off everything in favor of new material -- if anything they will just build upon it and emphasis the Disney-Original SW stuff.

[DarthParametric]

Wow, that was completely unexpected. I'm honestly surprised that there hasn't been some sort of inkling of this deal before now. You generally don't arrange 4 billion dollar takeovers in an afternoon I wouldn't have thought.

I'm torn over what this may mean. On the one hand, having the franchise taken away from Lucas can surely only be a good thing. On the other, the idea of Episode VII and an endless stream of further sequels kind of makes my stomach turn.

Well, as someone else said earlier, let's hope they release a de-bastardised version of the OT on Blu-Ray at least.

[Darth Avlectus]

Uncle George has been destructive in some ways. The new person heading up lucasfilm has a track record generally for better, more than worse. Still I'm meh on this personally, because these sorts of things are always catch 22.

I tend to assume it's been totally sold out, but hope it will see ever greater success in ways most of us can like.

Originally Posted by Dak Drexl

Well it's just stuff that somebody makes up

That has a canon committee that painstakingly scrutinizes and researches all EU. This new move potentially means the new stuff could take a big dump on all of it.

To each, his own

Hey, maybe you and I don't have attachments to some EU material in question/jeopardy, but others do. You can only improve so much upon something by butchering.

[Char Ell]

Wow. There was nothing that clued me in to George Lucas being willing to relinquish control of Star Wars. I guess I missed the 4 billion plus reasons to do so.

My take on today's momentous announcement:

• Be prepared for lots of Star Wars movies. At least 4 more for sure. Disney needs to make back its $4 billion dollars and then some.
  
• Expect plenty of retcons and general disregard for Star Wars continuity especially where the EU is concerned. This may not be all bad though. As with most things the relative merits of continuity breaks depend greatly on one's point of view.
  
• Star Wars games and LucasArts don't gain any immediate benefit from this deal. Disney Interactive has performed miserably for quite some time so it's not like Disney has the chops to show LucasArts how game development is done.
  

  The big emphasis during Disney’s conference call discussing its acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion was, not surprisingly, the enormous earnings potential of the Star Wars franchise. And that includes gaming — so one of the analysts asked for more details about Disney’s interactive strategy.
  
  CEO Bob Iger responded that the company is “likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console.” However, he added that Disney will look at console games “opportunistically,” using licensing deals to allow other companies to create Star Wars games for cosnoles.

  Source: TechCrunch
  I know my first reaction to this news was that Star Wars: The Old Republic is toast. I'm sure many of you are fine with that but I need another 6 months or so . So yeah, it doesn't look like the future of LucasArts and serious Star Wars gaming is substantially improved. I feel confident this deal is the reason why a new LucasArts president was not selected after the last president, Paul Meegan, left and was quite possibly the reason he did leave. And I interpret Bob Iger's response to the gaming factor of this acquisition to mean that Star Wars gaming wasn't much of a consideration. Disney is all about the moviemaking and merchandising potential. Alas, I fear Star Wars games will continue to languish for some time after Disney closes this deal. The only saving grace is the possibility of an independent developer pitching Disney a SW game that Disney likes and is willing to fund development of.
  

[Blix]

^
Well damn....

[JCarter426]

Wait, what? When I went to sleep, the world was normal... ish.

I'm still asleep, aren't I?

[Lord Foley]

Originally Posted by Darth Avlectus

painstakingly scrutinizes and researches all EU.

That's an awfully nice euphamism for "mercilessly retcons and exploits existing EU."

[DarthParametric]

Originally Posted by Char Ell

I know my first reaction to this news was that Star Wars: The Old Republic is toast.

Unlikely, at least in the short term. EA will certainly have signed a multi-year licensing deal with LA/LF, which I would expect to still be legally binding under the Disney buyout. I think it is far more likely for EA to pull the pin than Disney.

Far more troubling is the focus on mobile/social games. Seems like there's even less chance now for a revival of the classics like the X-Wing and Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Originally Posted by Char Ell

• Star Wars games and LucasArts don't gain any immediate benefit from this deal. Disney Interactive has performed miserably for quite some time so it's not like Disney has the chops to show LucasArts how game development is done.
  

Well, at least on the licensing department I'd say Disney Interactive is doing quite well. Look at Kingdom Hearts: their biggest financial (and, possibly, critic) success, possible only through licensing Disney material to Square Enix. And this is not a new process, since Disney has been licensing their IPs to more experienced developers since the 8 bits Era.

On the downside, I must again refer to Kingdom Hearts: it has been running for almost 10 years now, with numerous spin-offs, and there's no end in sight. Cash milking, but then again we don't want Star Wars game to meet their end anyway.

[purifier]

It just goes to show you that the statement in my sig is true.

Sith does happen.


If I didn't know better, I'd swear this is the first sign of the Mayan 2012 Apocalypse.

[CptPriceless]

We simply have to take a glance at Lucas' decision history. Oh boy...

[HK-42]

Originally Posted by purifier

If I didn't know better, I'd swear this is the first sign of the Mayan 2012 Apocalypse.

The Mayans saw it in the Stars :P

I have been debating whether or not I care if EU is all retconned, and I have come to the conclusion that I don't mind. I can reason out what I want to be true myself. I'm all for another good Star Wars movie. Hope they can pull it off.

[*~*Darth pOOba*~*]

I honestly don't know how to feel about this..... I kinda feel like my big brother took away my toy or something..... Lucasfilms has always been independent its just weird to think of it as being owned by someone else. This thing as a whole could either be really good or really bad. And what's episode vii gonna be about anyway? A 80 year old Han Solo and a smoker cough Leia? I guess we'll just hafta wait and see.

[Hallucination]

Originally Posted by *~*Darth pOOba*~*

And what's episode vii gonna be about anyway? A 80 year old Han Solo and a smoker cough Leia?

50-year-old Mark Hamill will be reprising his role of a 20-something Mark Hamill acting Luke Skywalker. You heard it here first.

[Darth Avlectus]

Originally Posted by Lord Foley

That's an awfully nice euphamism for "mercilessly retcons and exploits existing EU."

Not denying some moves by the canon committee have left me scratching my head in the past. I beg to differ from Dak Drexl's opinion, though, that "it's just stuff that somebody makes up" because some EU actually gives the proper respect to the rest of Star Wars that it deserves.

Some stuff people enjoyed that was canon before, now suddenly isn't canon, sort of ruins it, on one extreme. The other extreme is no contradiction but it bastardizes past works.

[DarthParametric]

One upside of retcons - maybe now Chewy won't end up getting a moon dropped on his head.