Post news Report RSS Disney Acquires Lucasfilm, Episode 7 planned for 2015

The Walt Disney Company announced today it has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm and is planning Star Wars Episode 7 for 2015.

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Disney to acquire LucasFilm:

"Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

"Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "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. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and "evergreen" Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

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.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world's top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm."

Sources: Comingsoon.net , Abcnews.go.com

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Garyn Dakari Author
Garyn Dakari

While my gut reaction to this news was "This is awful!", after a bit of thinking about it, I think I don't really mind.

I mean, I've been disliking Lucasfilm/LucasArts more and more lately, so seeing new management isn't such bad news for me. And now that Mr. Lucas is no longer in control, maybe he'll stop messing around with the original trilogy.

That and, new SW movies seemed like an inevitable eventuality anyway...But I wasn't really expecting it this soon.(Also wasn't expecting LF to be bought out any time soon) Hopefully it won't have Luke, Leia, Han, or any of the original characters though. They should go farther into the future to after those characters are dead.

Biggest problem I can see from all this is that there's a 100% chance that the new movie(s) will contradict something or other from the books, so after they're released there will be endless arguments on the internet between split fanbases on what's canon and what's not. Fun fun fun...

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CaptainRegor
CaptainRegor

Think most people's first thought was O NO! but then again maybe they'll make improvements on lets say lucasarts (BATTLEFRONT) and hey new Star Wars Episode, Disney made the Avangers nobody complain there!

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emphan34
emphan34

Yeah I reckon see how this pans out fingers crossed for improvements!

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rkraptor70
rkraptor70

Hopefully Disney will use the expanded universes as plot. A movie about the Thrawn campaign or the Vong war would be Awesome! I wouldn't mind a movie about the Jedi-civil war or the great galactic war either. As for the legacy era...*Pukes rainbow*

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Garyn Dakari Author
Garyn Dakari

Yeah, a movie with Thrawn would be cool.

I also think a movie where Darth Bane was the main character would be neat, but I know Disney wouldn't make a big budget movie with a bad guy as the protagonist, so I don't see that happening.

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Dead|Wing
Dead|Wing

On the nail like always raptor.

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CMDRCody
CMDRCody

Hmmm im not sure what to think

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Dead|Wing
Dead|Wing

It's going to be good. Just the CG will be mindblowing on its own.

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Garyn Dakari Author
Garyn Dakari

Hopefully, anyway. I thought the CG in Ep2(And to a lesser extent, 3) was pretty bad, to be honest. Empire Strikes Back had the most realistic visuals, IMO. Ep2 and 3 just looked fake to me...Probably because 90% of the sets were mostly CG though.

Hopefully they'll go back to using mostly "real" sets, and less CG, so the CG that is there will look good.(The less CG there is, the more work that can be put into it)

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Dead|Wing
Dead|Wing

One word: Avatar.

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rkraptor70
rkraptor70

Two words: Battlestar Galatica.
Star Trek 2009.

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Garyn Dakari Author
Garyn Dakari

Yes, Avatar and ST2k9 looked great(Haven't seen BG), but SW Ep2 and 3 didn't. Indiana Jones 4 also looked pretty fake - I'm not saying CG is bad in general, I just think Lucasfilm overuses it, and it looks bad in their movies.

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TALON_UK
TALON_UK

Aye, tentatively positive about this after an initial knee-jerk reaction of,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo!"

Even a little excited, let's face it the prequels were not exactly up to the same classic quality as the original trilogy, maybe some fresh blood behind the camera could reinvigorate the franchise. After all the Clone Wars has gone a long way towards redeeming the prequel era and shows how good the franchise can be in fresh hands. So this could be a good thing or an unmitigated disaster, too early to say either way yet.

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Commissar_Delta
Commissar_Delta

TCW redeeming the prequel era? TCW is freaking horrible and full of plot holes and continuity errors.

and what of Dark Horse comics? will the loose the Star Wars license?

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Ozzy667
Ozzy667

thats just your opinion and many disagree

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CallistoNTG
CallistoNTG

I thought all the fanbois wanted Episode 7 to have Mark Hamill as 'old Luke'.

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ComradeWinston
ComradeWinston

Any star wars fan should be overjoyed that Lucas can no longer continue to destroy his own franchise. The second trilogy(1-3) speaks for its self, as does the crap shoved into the original trilogy and the 3D ******** that was going to be released over the coming years.

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romnus
romnus

I laughed out loud when I started reading this, but when I glanced at my calender and realized it's not anywhere NEAR April first, I started to get a little bit scared.

I pictured a terrible star wars-Disney crossover Television series with a motion-picture tie-in, reminiscent of Disneys Kingdom hearts partnership with Square Enix... But then I realized the potential this has. Star Wars doesn't have to go out with a fizzle just because the saga has ended!
The expanded universe is still ripe for story in film and television, and lucasfilm has been sitting on a treasure trove of potential for a long time.

Mabye now we'll get that live-action star wars tv show we where promised? Or a Boba Fett Movie? Or a Jar Jar Binks Comedy series on Cartoon Network? XD Or better yet, bring back Genndy Tartakovsky to do more star wars cartoons, even if they're in the dark times between episodes 3 and 4, it would be awesome! :D

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Commissar_Delta
Commissar_Delta

have genndy make another clone wars cartoon. better than the Dave filloni's but just as epic as the miniseries

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romnus
romnus

As epic as another clone wars cartoon would be, I have to say I love the art style, and I would like to see it used in a different time period, the clone wars storyline is getting pretty old and bloated... :P

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Commissar_Delta
Commissar_Delta

well they need to fix what the new clone wars carton has messed up. TONS of continuity errors exist within the 2008 clone wars series, genndy is the only man who can fix what the clone wars has ruined.

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Ozzy667
Ozzy667

You must be joking. It is one thing to be a fan of the old cartoon but to claim an animator of said cartoon is the answer to fixing continuity makes no sense. He is a director and animator. He didn't even write the episodes, how could he possibly fix continuity?

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SCΛRECROW
SCΛRECROW

While it may be good for the films and other media (TV, video games), I'm not so sure it's a good thing for fan films and game mods. Disney is quite aggressive with protecting its IP with copyright...

EDIT: found an article about it: Arstechnica.com

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rocknroll237
rocknroll237

They'd better not f**k it up!

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TALON_UK
TALON_UK

Not gonna happen, have already stated it'll be an original story not an adaptation of other already existing material. Will be based on Lucas' treatments for a third trilogy, so no EU content either other than perhaps cameos or perhaps fan pleasing name checks.

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Nightwingnew52
Nightwingnew52

IM RAGING AT DISNEY THOSE IDIOTS CANCELLING CLONE WARS WAS MISTAKE NUMBER 1 CLOSING LUCASARTS WAS MISTAKE NUMBER 2 BUT CANCELLING THE NEW 3D MOVIES THOSE BASTARDS!!!!! ANYWAYS dude i didnt do it on purpose my little bro did the link thing while i was playing halo reach and if you want to send me message on xbox its nightwingnw52

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