THE RULE OF TWO: Disney Acquires Star Wars
New Film Trilogy Announced and the Franchise’s Gaming Future Discussed
Fellow nerds, I come to you with big fucking news today. It has been announced that family-friendly empire, The Walt Disney Company, has acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. to the tune of $4.05 billion. The acquisition means Disney effectively owns all of the company’s assets – be it film production (including renown FX shop Industrial Light & Magic), merchandising rights, Harrison Ford’s gallstones, you name it. As such, the entire property of Star Wars now belongs to Disney.
And Disney wasted no time in revealing their plans for the franchise, making it a point to announce that Star Wars Episode VII is set to release by 2015. Yes, a full-fledged sequel to the first two trilogies is in the works. What’s more, Disney intends on producing and distributing Episodes VIII and IX every other year afterwards while leaving the door open for further installments. Your eyes and capacity for comprehension do not deceive you, friends. Sweet Anakin’s ghost, we’re getting another trilogy.
Insight on the acquisition from George “The Beard” Lucas himself:
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. 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.“
Like Disney’s buyout of Marvel, Lucasfilms’ day-to-day – headed by Kathleen Kennedy – will remain largely the same. Similarly, all projects in development before the acquisition also continue unaffected. On the gaming front that means LucasArts’ next-gen action title, Star Wars 1313, is still well under way (along with the rumored Star Wars: Frontline Assault).
Going forward, though, Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted that future game development would unfortunately focus more on the mobile/social gaming market rather than on consoles. However, Iger does hint that he wishes to be opportunistic with console iterations, contracting third-parties to handle development duties when the need arises. That may not sound too promising for console owners, but with three new feature films looking to expand the already storied mythos even more…Give it some time. The games are sure to come.