Lucasfilm Bought by Disney

[Cuchonchuir]

http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney- ... asfilm-ltd

I thought this must be a joke at first, but it seems true. Four billion dollars? o_o

EPISODE 7 COMING OUT BY 2015?!

Though . . . had this news come out prior to the horrible prequel movies, I'd be horrified. But Lucas has already brought the franchise so low I can't see it going anywhere but up. Or least it can't get worse. And if it just keeps up the same level of awfulness, I will happily continue to pretend there are only three Star Wars movies. :D

[SterlingRed]

I was just going to post this!
Absolutely amazing move by Disney if this pans out.

I'm optimistic. It won't have jarjarbinks or Christiansen Hayden in it, so it can't be worse right?... Right?

[Last_Jedi_Standing]

The only problem I can think of immediately is that Lucas has always been very tolerant of fan organizations like the 501st, even though technically their costumes violate his copyrights/intellectual property/whichever one it is for stormtrooper armor. Disney might not like that so much, and that could have a serious negative impact on the 501st and similar groups. That would not be a good thing from my point of view.

[Cuchonchuir]

The only problem I can think of immediately is that Lucas has always been very tolerant of fan organizations like the 501st, even though technically their costumes violate his copyrights/intellectual property/whichever one it is for stormtrooper armor. Disney might not like that so much, and that could have a serious negative impact on the 501st and similar groups. That would not be a good thing from my point of view.

Oh, huh . . . this had not occurred to me at all. :( I would hope Disney would tolerate these groups, at least, because they're part of the enormous fan base who they hope to milk.

[Eriottosan]

I saw this a few moments before it was posted here ...

It is ... unexpected. For me, at least.

And they are making Episode VII, no less! Shame we're still waiting for Episodes I, II and III ...

[Last_Jedi_Standing]

Having actually read the article, I am now convinced that this is the end of the world. On the brighter side, I will finally have a chance to become an embittered old man standing outside the movie theater, griping about how the movies were so much better back in my day.

[FlowerChild]

Having actually read the article, I am now convinced that this is the end of the world. On the brighter side, I will finally have a chance to become an embittered old man standing outside the movie theater, griping about how the movies were so much better back in my day.

Welcome to the club man. I've been doing that ever since Episode I was released :)

[morvelaira]

When this news came to light, my husband said - and I quote -

"STOP RAPING MY CHILDHOOD!! At least use some lube, damnit...."

I then cackled maniacally because I've always disliked Star Wars.

[Ribky]

I then cackled maniacally because I've always disliked Star Wars.

Treason.


I don't know... maybe... maybe these ones will be better... please.

[Last_Jedi_Standing]

I don't know... maybe... maybe these ones will be better... please.

No. There's just no way. It's gonna be Episode I all over again, only this time they'll be smashing the EU too.

[FlowerChild]

I dunno man. I doubt it could get worse.

What were episodes 7-9 supposed to be about anyways? Something about Leia and Han's uber-jedi kids or something, no? Would be kinda cool if they got together some of the now original geriatric cast for it.

[morvelaira]

I will point out that unexpected trilogies are usually better when they're of the sequel variety, as opposed to the prequel variety, so these three have that going for them. I also might be weird, but I trust Disney more than I trust Lucas - particularly when their cash cows are involved.

[FlowerChild]

I also might be weird, but I trust Disney more than I trust Lucas - particularly when their cash cows are involved.

I feel the same way actually. Ever since the whole "Han shot first!" incident, I've had absolutely no trust for Lucas whatsoever.

The only problem is that Disney will probably cater to the audience for episodes I-III, instead of IV-VI, because that's probably more relevant to a modern market.

[FlowerChild]

Wait a second...weren't Disney responsible for both the original and modern sequel to Tron?

If I'm correct in that, then yeah, fuck it, I couldn't be happier that they're taking over Star Wars.

Tron was another iconic movie from my youth (as I know it was for a lot of older game devs), and I was on the verge of tears several times while watching the sequal due to how amazingly well they managed to preserve the feel of the original while bringing it up to date with the modern world.

So yeah...go Disney! WOOT! :)

[Six]

Yeah, Disney can do things well, so there is what you might call, a new hope.
I'll show myself out.

[Gdnite]

If I remember correctly (I've played my fair share of star wars minitures, and know my lore pretty well) the sequels will for the events in the books after the fall of the Empire. A race of aliens (I'm blanking on their name) Invade the galaxy after Luke has created a new Jedi order. now this is information that I heard a few years ago about the scripts that George had written. This information most likely is not accurate, but Star wars has a history of making written books cannon. (Boba fett was originally never in a planned movie) Just what I've heard at the water cooler =D

[morvelaira]

Disney is indeed the force behind both Tron movies. They've done a lot of things you might not expect - because their film business not related to animated features is very diversified under several different names.

[Last_Jedi_Standing]

I dunno man. I doubt it could get worse.

What were episodes 7-9 supposed to be about anyways? Something about Leia and Han's uber-jedi kids or something, no? Would be kinda cool if they got together some of the now original geriatric cast for it.

No. Star Wars was originally supposed to be nine movies, not six. The stuff that would have been in 7-9 got compressed and put in 4-6. There was nothing about Han and Leia's children in there. They weren't set after the movies that were made. Number 9 would have ended with the defeat of the Emperor, just like 6 actually did. The problem now is that Star Wars has one of the most extensively fleshed-out back-stories anywhere, with hundreds of novels and television shows and videogames and comics and everything else knitted into one unified story taking place over the span of 25 thousand years. In particular, the years right around the movies and the lives of the characters that are actually in the movies have all been written. If they make new movies, especially new movies about Luke, Han, and Leia, they will destroy all of that. It will all become non-canon and no longer be real. I have spend nine years reading these books and memorizing every detail of this entire world, and I think that in the very near future it is going to be completely and utterly ruined. So I think yes, it can be worse. I get annoyed with Star Wars: The Clone Wars sometimes because it has broken previously established canon on a number of occasions, but the stuff that's happening there would be nothing compared to what may happen if these new movies aren't handled extremely delicately. The only way I can see them not being a complete and total disaster for Star Wars in general is if they set them in a time period that has not already been extensively explored. The section right after Episode 6 is not that time period. It is the exact opposite. Those years are the core of the Expanded Universe, and I don't think it could survive their destruction in anything like the form it's in today. They could safely set the movies more than 137 years after Episode 6, as that's as far as the EU goes at the moment. Likewise, they could set them around 2500 years before Episode 4, where there isn't much stuff yet. The period more than 5000 years before Episode 4 is pretty much open. There are only the outlines of the story there, with lots of room to fill stuff in. But I don't think they're going to do that. I think they are going to sprint towards the nearest available money piles, and never even think about the stuff they're trampling in their rush to get there. Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic, but further consideration of this news has lead me to believe that Star Wars as I know it is dead, and it is likely to be replaced by a series of increasingly crappy sequels aimed at very small children. And that makes me very sad.

For the guy above me, all Star Wars novels that are written by authors hired by Lucasfilm are canon from the start. That's the core of the Expanded Universe. On the other hand, I can't think of a single time when a fan novel, one written by someone who was not paid by Lucas to do so, has become canon. There are a few matte paintings of Star Destroyer classes that have, but I think that's it. Boba Fett first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special, which was always an official source. A hated one, but official nonetheless.

[Six]

Boba Fett first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special, which was always an official source. A hated one, but official nonetheless.

That is amazing, I'm going to love pulling this bit of trivia on people that wish that holiday special never existed.

All this talk also reminds me of the awesome pet project the author of the webcomic Dresden Codak has going, called 'Star Wars 1999'. The simple premise is to remake the Star Wars prequels using only canonical information prior to Lucas’s prequels.

[Cuchonchuir]

Lucas has already established that the "expanded universe" stories are non-canon. He said in 2001:

When I said [other people] could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have two universes: My universe and then this other one. They try to make their universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions.

So I think all the expanded universe crap (and most of it is crap, IMO) is only official so long as it's not contradicted by canon . . . which Lucas has not hesitated to do (like with the Clone Commando books; the author Karen Traviss left in a huff after Lucas overrode her version of some things).

So unless Disney 180s this decision (which I doubt), then I suspect that they will mostly ignore the expanded stuff and create a whole new story. Besides, they will be eager to put their "stamp" on it, to make it theirs. Perhaps some characters/ideas will leak in, but probably not many.

I'm still optimistic, however. Disney will want to milk this, it's true, but Star Wars has always been milked. I think the whole Clone Wars thing is tapped out, or nearly so. They will want a fresh new udder, and will do that by going past the original trilogy, where Lucas never tread. They will want continuity with the original series, to let people know that yes - it is Star Wars. I think they will try to get Hamill, Fisher, and Ford back in, even if they aren't main characters, simply to bring that legitimacy.

I don't think the new films will be nearly as good as the originals, but they will probably be competent and entertaining, at the very least. I'm cool with that.

[FaceFoiled]

I don't know, I'm staying positive for now on this. I mean, they bought marvel as well, and The Avengers was alright? :P

[SterlingRed]

I don't know, I'm staying positive for now on this. I mean, they bought marvel as well, and The Avengers was alright? :P

Alright? Alright? The avengers was quite amazing!

Going back to the earlier conversation, Tron remake was quite awesome. It sort of was less so toward the end, but the soundtrack made up for it.
I'm sure that even if they blow the rest of it, e7 will sound awesome!

[Cuchonchuir]

So news; apparently a whole trilogy is confirmed (though I think everyone was taking that for granted), and it will be an original story.

Source: http://www.toplessrobot.com/2012/10/let ... _7_now.php

I still suspect that the original cast, if they can get them, will make at least cameos. Luke might be an old and wise mentor, Han and Leia a cranky old couple snapping bitterly at each other as she knows she married below her station and he wonders why he wanted to marry a goddamn princess . . .

But man . . . I almost feel bad for Lucas. Instead of people giving him some kind of fond farewell, everyone is just like "yay, now it might stop sucking!"

[Last_Jedi_Standing]

Lucas has already established that the "expanded universe" stories are non-canon. He said in 2001:

Given that Lucas has spent the years since then hiring people to make more EU, and employed (Or did until a few days ago) Leland Chee specifically to manage all this and keep conflicts down, I'd say the 11-year-old quote is kinda irrelevant. There's a lot of debate on Wookieepedia about levels of canon and so forth, and essentially that just isn't true. Canon is.

So I think all the expanded universe crap (and most of it is crap, IMO) is only official so long as it's not contradicted by canon . . . which Lucas has not hesitated to do (like with the Clone Commando books; the author Karen Traviss left in a huff after Lucas overrode her version of some things).

The EU is not crap. Not in any way. I have spent nine years working with this stuff. Karen Traviss did indeed stop working with Lucasfilm because the Clone Wars overrode her entire five-book series, and she didn't want to rewrite the entire thing to conform to the new canon. This happens sometimes, and it's annoying (especially because Republic Commando was one of my favorite series in the entire EU), but it's not even close to killing the entire thing. After this happens, a lot of people (Leland Chee among them) scramble to integrate the new canon with the old in such a way as to break as little as possible. This isn't always possible, but a lot of people try very hard to make it so.

So unless Disney 180s this decision (which I doubt), then I suspect that they will mostly ignore the expanded stuff and create a whole new story. Besides, they will be eager to put their "stamp" on it, to make it theirs. Perhaps some characters/ideas will leak in, but probably not many.

This is what I'm afraid of. If they do this, they will effectively destroy hundreds of books, comics, and games, things that I and every other serious Star Wars fan have put thousands of hours into. That would be very, very bad, and I think it's going to happen.

I'm still optimistic, however. Disney will want to milk this, it's true, but Star Wars has always been milked. I think the whole Clone Wars thing is tapped out, or nearly so. They will want a fresh new udder, and will do that by going past the original trilogy, where Lucas never tread. They will want continuity with the original series, to let people know that yes - it is Star Wars. I think they will try to get Hamill, Fisher, and Ford back in, even if they aren't main characters, simply to bring that legitimacy.

Of course it will be milked. That's always the case. The question is whether they're going to destroy the EU while doing so. The years immediately after the Original Trilogy are completely full of books and games and everything. There are stories left to tell there, but not movie-size ones about the main characters. I agree about SW:TCW, though. That is getting towards the end of its functional lifespan.

I don't think the new films will be nearly as good as the originals, but they will probably be competent and entertaining, at the very least. I'm cool with that.

There's no way they'll be as good as the originals. That's just not gonna happen. Whether you like Star Wars or not, it is one of the most successful movies of all time, and no sequel made this far after the fact is ever going to match that. I will certainly go see the movie, and probably every one after that. But I may be crying while I do so, because I think they're going to wreck a lot of stuff that I really care about. That's not cool.

[Nexus Trimean]

As flower says, Disney is Responsible For Both the Tron Movies (which I love), as well as Iron Man and the avengers, They have shown that they can do a more adult theme well. I have high hope that the new movies will be good, but i expect them to be more like the prequel trilogy, rather than the original trilogy.

The problem with adding to star wars so late after its creation is still there, nothing will quite live up to the original, and what we have made it into.