On October 30th, Disney announced its purchase of Lucas Films at a sum of $4.05 billion (yes, that’s billion with a b). For all of you non-geeks, Lucas Film is the production company owned exclusively by George Lucas, the creator of the “Star Wars” films.
With the purchase of Lucas Film, Disney now owns the rights to all six “Star Wars” movies, and they plan to do more than just collect royalties.
In fact, shortly after the announcement of the $4.05 billion dollar deal, Disney executives admitted that they are already in the early stages of production for a seventh “Star Wars” film. The film is set to be the first in another segmented trilogy, following the tradition of the previous six films. However, the film will have its own original story line, so we hopefully won’t have to see Harrison Ford in those tight Han Solo pants in this one.
Disney isn’t stopping at just film either; the powerhouse company also plans to take Star Wars to the small screen, with firm plans to develop a “Star Wars” TV show, possibly to air on Disney XD.
Disney has never shied away from corporate takeovers. In fact, according to USA Today, this isn’t even the largest purchase the company has made. In 1995, they paid a total of $19.7 billion for Capital Cities/ABC. The corporation also shelled out $7.6 billion on Pixar in 2006 and another $3.96 billion for Marvel in 2009. What if all that money had gone to cancer research instead?
Never fear philanthropic souls – not all of the money is going to Rolls Royces and mansions. The Huffington Post reports that George Lucas is purportedly donating all of his $4.05 billion from Disney to an education foundation, proving that he can be just as much of a hero as his famous characters.
So what does this mean for us? Well, Star Wars and Disney memes were already springing up all over the Internet within hours of the news dropping. Expect an expansion to Disney parks too, as there are already plans in the works for “Star Wars Weekends” as well as new rides. Finally, anticipate one of the most hyped movie releases since…well, the last Star Wars movie. Just when you were getting sick of all those superhero movies, BAM! Here comes intergalactic war, deep space love triangles and the return of light sabers. How refreshing.
All I have to say is that somebody better find Princess Leia a wicked stepmother and a tiara because she has now (unofficially) joined the ranks of the Disney princesses. I hope she can sing.
So does this mean she and the rest of the Star Wars cast will be wandering around Disney world? I’m not sure how well Darth Vader and Cinderella are going to get along.