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Disney to continue Star Wars
Wednesday 31st October 2012 | Amy
Lucasfilm is sold to Disney in an effort to bring the franchise back to the screens.
It has been thirty five years since Star Wars first hit screens around the world, acquiring a phenomenal fanbase in the process. Five more films were made forming the original trilogy and a prequel trilogy. Now Disney has announced that they are to buy Lucasfilm, the company George Lucas created for the production of Star Wars and which went on to create the successful Indiana Jones films.
In a deal that is said to cost $4.05 billion, the ownership of Lucasfilm’s production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound will move into Disney’s control as well as full rights to the Indiana Jones franchise.
This decision has already stirred excitement and speculation from passionate fans, particularly after Revenge of the Sith, the final instalment, received mixed reviews from critics. This prompted Lucas to explain to the New York Times that he would never make another Star Wars film if he is just going to be criticised for it.
After nominating Kathleen Kennedy, co-chair of Lucasfilm, to become president of Lucasfilm and serve as an executive producer on the new feature films, he maintains that his previous statement to the New York Times is true: “I always said I wasn’t going to do any more and that’s true, because I’m not going to do any more, but that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to turn it over to Kathy [Kennedy] to do more.”
He also explained “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” and that it is now time for a new generation of filmmakers to create the next phase.
It has not been confirmed as to whether the new films will form another trilogy like the structures of the previous six, though this would be the logical and most coherent choice. What has been said is that they hope to release a new Star Wars film every two to three years after the initial release in 2015.
However, for many fans the release of the new film is too soon with many worried that the quality of the film will suffer as a result. It has also been highlighted that Revenge of the Sith marked an appropriate end to the franchise by finalising the story. To resurface this would disrupt the story even more. There are others who primarily feel the move to Disney is what is wrong: if Star Wars is to continue, it should be where the original film began with Lucas at the forefront of it.
By Amy Pitman
