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Disney buys out Lucasfilm

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Apparently most of the money from the buyout's going to charity. Guess there's more good to this than just more Star Wars movies. :thumbup:

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So what about the 3D movies? Does Disney still plan to release them? The main reason, I'm asking this is that I am wondering if they decide to continue releaseing them( which I see no reason why no to) will we get all the OT movies in 2014? because I'm pretty sure Disney wouldn't want to put to much out in the theaters as it would distract people from Episode VII. Although, I'm wouldn't be very pleased with them cramming together all the movies the OT movies in one year, I think it may be a great chnce for lego to make a lot of OT sets(maybe some Mos Eisley, Hoth and Bespin stuff,) because I'm pretty sure 2015 is going to be alot like 2008, 3-5 Pt or Cw sets and then the rest all Episode VII sets.

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I wonder if we'll get any ghosts of Jedi popping up in any of the new films ? :wink:

More Hayden Christianson force ghost?

Errr I think I'll pass.

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Id like to see spin off moves. I really only want a move set around Boba Fett like Wolverine from the X-Men series but others would be OK as well. This could be a good idea, there is plenty of cannon out there.

I also read a few post back that we could see Star Wars Battle front 3, I've been waiting for this game for so long :wub: .

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Interesting. That is all I have to say for now. :tongue:

Just have to wait and see. I think Disney is doing a good job with Marvel so far, judging solely on "The Avengers" film. IM3 is going to be the next Marvel film released under Disney, so that should be a good preview of what to expect for future SW films. I also agree they should just start with new characters and not try and hash out any old ones (esp ones that are deceased). :grin:

And at the very worst they can't take away classic SW from us.

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AICN has a really curious piece theorizing that Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof are working on the current sequels.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59411

There's nothing to it, but it does raise a lot of interesting questions about how deep into development it would have to be in order to hit a 2015 release date. At the very least, the general story would have to be there, and the creative teams getting ready. Whatever you think of the prequels, they required a lot of design work to be completed before any shooting could begin, which requires a mostly completed script.

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Disney's been faithful by not screwing up anything from MARVEL, so for now I think it's safe to say the won't srew up Star Wars in any way.

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Got to say Disney buying Lucasarts must be good for lego star wars more films, more interest, bigger sales ,more sets and longer running theme :sweet:

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I am actually really pleased about it.

I'll try and explain why....

I've appreciated what Lucas has done and created, I'm talking OT here... but even there I've been highly critical in my thoughts on what exactly was Lucas's doing and what was 'handed' to him so to speak and fell on his lap in a sense... from the brilliant Ralph McQuarrie to many many others from set designers and model builders onwards... a lot of what I truly love in terms of visuals were not a product of Lucas but rather the team around him. I give him great credit for editing that and contributing to it I'm sure by giving focus and the platform more than anything for those ideas to flourish.

The story itself (SW)... (ANH if you must)... was simplistic and totally apt for the first film, it gave a solid shape and pleasing story arc for all ages and nationalities and combined with the real magic of the visual team was what propelled SW into the monster that it became. Not well known is the massive contribution that Lucas's wife at the time who was a renown film editor and script writer in her own right made to honing SW's script and dialogue and most importantly she is credited with putting in the humanity and humor and thus the emotional link to the film. She left Lucas after SW (but contributed to Empire) and at that point he was lost, or rather the saga was doomed to have the vital sounding board and person who could give direction to Lucas. The SW saga at that point was something that Lucas struggled with to continue in terms of ideas and imagination...he was frankly left to his own devises and that is poor script, poor imagination, and poor emotional connection. The key element that was and is needed (was the absence of himself).. and credit to him for having the foresight or luck to pass on the reigns to Irvin Kershner... and notably his estranged wife also made her last contribution's to the saga in Empire Strikes. The result his absence, his replacement by a capable director, and combined with his wife's vital input and of course the simply stunning creative team all combined to create the incredible and probably best of the saga Empire Strikes.

Then came Return of the Jedi... Lucas, what can he come up with... yep.. lets end it with a Death Star battle and destruction... ermm.gif the whole story is SW again. His entire life's imagination was all told out in SW. If you analysis the way things panned out after SW (and the 'making of' books are invaluable in this as are many others) he stumbled and fluked his way from that point on. What holds RotJ together is the visuals, the conclusion of that story arc, clumsy and unimaginative that it was and the great momentum that had built up over two previous films. The 'new' parts of the story (Ewoks, speeder bike chase etc.) were all in fact remnants of the previous films story lines and visuals that were discarded at the time.

Why do I say all this... well I want to show that I have always had (despite him being the creator) a sense of horror in a way that the whole SW saga and ownership was in his hands. He has always been the greatest thing (for inventing it) and also the worse thing (for taking it forward on it's journey) because quite frankly he has no vision or imagination or humbleness to seek out and find the best people to do that. Where he did step away from himself (visual concepts and the whole imaging team) or (Irvine Kirshner as the director) it turned out to be the greatest thing he done. The whole story and beauty of it all has always been from others not him.

I don't need to go into the PT, but suffice to say this trend continued into that... ANYTHING that he done from story, to editing, to getting an emotional journey from the actors, to drama was all a complete failure when he done it himself. ANYTHING that he left to others (costumes, sets, visuals etc.) came out a triumph (relatively speaking).

In fact when he does interfere in those areas, most concerningly with using CGI instead of actual sets and puppets he again caused damage to the franchise.

And to totally slaughter all that is good he has a weird propensity to annihilate anything that survives all that in the editing room.

Girl's Generation Jedi....

snsd-lg-3d-tv.jpg

But the franchise has grown into a monster that massively overshadows anything else in film history... it has grown and grown until now it is a part of society and the culture around us. It is to big to be left with the memories... it is a monster that needs to continue to grow... because if you discard the cultural and aesthetic reasoning into why that wouldn't make sense (and there is a valid arguement there without question) the financial reality of the behemoth that it now is requires that it continues.

Which puts me back to Lucas... for me he cause damage to SW, yet I want (or don't mind to see it continue) as I accept it's cultural and financial momentum. So a dream scenario for me would be that Lucas passes on the reigns for it to continue to someone else. I'm not in a position to say SW was my defining moment as part of my growing up and it shall remain there... that the OT was perfect and ANY addition to it now just tarnishes it, No, I accept that the saga has it's own continuing journey and some of it hasn't made me fall in love with it (PT), some I'm happy to watch along with for what's it's worth (current Clone Wars), some doesn't fit into my ideas of what the saga is and in fact offends me to a point (the childish LSW cartoon from last year with a young Han Solo for example, but many more) some I love, some I'm meh, some I'm whatever (books, comics, games etc.) so for a big part of my life there has always been a vast mixture of different mediums and stories with the whole SW saga that I've had varies interests and reactions to.

So I am not intuitively against more films as such (certainly not in a way to say, heh, I love it as it is and I want to preserve that), No, I'm an observer, a fan, a critic as the story continues around me.

What do I think of Disney itself buying it?.... I'm quite open minded about it really. I'm encouraged by the fact that they have absorbed Pixar who I find have a keener observation to character portrayal and development and hopefully something that Disney saw value in and absorbed. And of course more adult material in the Marvel canon that it bought, and happily so far it has kept the edginess of that genre as opposed to it's family orientated core business. In a way films like Pirates of the Caribbean capture that spirit that the first SW film had.

But certainly at a vast cost of over $4 Billion they are taking on something that they would have a great understanding of. It's no secret that the fans revile the ever changing additions and tinkering, and there is a yearning for the ethos and spirit of the OT. The general panning of the PT is common currency as well, and Disney must be in tune with those thoughts exsisting so I feel that it's good in a way that the franchise has changed hands. And Disney are no mugs where they will do a radical overhaul on such a expensive purchase. They surely must understand and appreciate the core values and appeal of what people love in SW so that makes me hopeful.

It's said that the dream of the big film studios is to have a enduring film franchise that spans the decades. The only one that has in fact done so is funnily enough not a Hollywood creation but the British James Bond. Studios have tried to create franchises like the Bourne films to a not conclusive result. Disney now have the only other enduring franchise. They are very serious at $4 Billion in making this work.

Disney are also at heart a traditional company, they are not radical pioneers... this is a monumental purchase that will shape the Disney company for years to come. They are really placing themselves in the market with SW, Marvel and Pixar. They will not treat any of them, but SW in particular lightly. They will extract all that is good out of it and let's be frank more than likely a lot of the executives and decision makers are I'm sure fans in their own right of SW and I'm sure SW has had it's own impact on their life's as well to a certain extent.

What value Lucas has, as a creative overviewer is the exact role that he will retain. Already that tells me that Disney understand where it needs to extrapolate Lucas's influence (script, ideas etc.) and where it see's a value for him (overall creative ok'ayer).

For sure Disney will have thought about this purchase for years and ideas and concepts will already be advanced in a lot of fields like timing and budgeting and general shape of a planned movie. They must have a general consesus on whether they will travel the EU line or go away from the Skywalker saga altogether.

Which brings me to my last point. I was surprised that they announced that a new film is panned for 2015 release. That just seems so close. It tells me that the thinking and structure for that is already thought out.

The only thing I don't want is cameo cameo cameo... and I just know there will be loads... :laugh_hard:

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Won't 2015 be a huge year? It seems there is an Avatar, Pirates, Hunger Games, Avengers, Justice League?, Ant Man, and then Star Wars. Potentially a lot of competition that year for SW, so I would imagine they were already planning something by the time they said that release date. Especially with editing and CGI these days.

We'll wait and see.

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Brad Bird?

That's an interesting idea, although I think he is already attached to an unknown film at Disney called 1950-something. You know it'd be

weird if that was really just it's working title, and he really is working on it with Lucasfilms?

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Was there ever a contest to this "fact"? Did anyone challenge the supremacy of the Original Trilogy in the SW movie lore? It's a well-accepted viewpoint among all SW fans (including the younger PT and CW fans) that the Original Trilogy is the best there was, the best there is, and the best that there will always be. Whatever the turnout of the new movies will be, it won't change that "universal fact", so OT fans need not get "threatened" by the new direction the SW franchise is heading to.

I'm not "threatened" by the new direction the StarWars franchise is heading in. Maybe I wasn't clear, what I'm trying to say is that it will be very hard for Disney to produce something that will be at the standard that the OT was at, hence why I said that the OT was the best in my opinion. Will they be able to do it? Who knows. I must admit my hopes aren't exactly high about this but I am willing to give Disney a chance. I'll save my ranting and raving till after the movie is out :tongue:

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Ten years ago I would have been appalled by this news. But now, I think this is a good thing. Lucasfilm will still do their own thing just like Marvel, Pixar, Miramax and the many other companies Disney owns. Disney has done good things with their properties. Personally I've enjoyed all the Pirate movies and Prince of Persia. I even enjoyed John Carter. Are they perfect movies? Definitely not; I just know I enjoyed them. And while I liked Avengers, I didn't think it was the be all/end all of movies that so many people heralded it as. Lego Star Wars will continue as Lego has a relationship with Disney outside of Star Wars (i.e. Pirates/Prince of Persia).

Having said that I'm with a lot of other folks that's worried the entire Expanded Universe will be stricken from Canon. I'm a great fan of the EU and would hate to see it go.

On the news of the new movies, I think they should begin with another Episode 1. Now, I don't mean remaking Phantom Menace. I mean a new Chapter 1 of a new series. Such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Episode 1 - The Rise of Darth Revan. Just an example, we know that will never happen.

Edited by kboleen

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They say that the movies will be original stories. That's fine by me, but don't change existing canon. And rather than think of new aliens reuse some EU ones. And we need more comics: I've tons from, like, 2004, and not one from this year.

Also to follow up, I think that, just to see how it would turn out, redo the entire saga, not like, spend 20m $ on each new movie, just add stuff, juice, cut content, like AotC, I want know what Anselmi look like.

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I think this is excellent news.

In the first place, I'm thrilled by the idea of three new films. Think of all the kids out there who have grown up loving SW, but never had the opportunity to see a new film in theatres. Re-releases don't count.

In the second place, I'm relieved that someone other than Lucas will be at the helm. A fresh perspective is exactly what the brand needs. Lucas has a first-rate imagination, but as a writer of dialogue and a director, he's sub-par at best and horrid at worst. Why do ESB and ROTJ have the best acting out of all the films to date? Because they were directed by different people.

And in the third place, I sincerely hope Disney, the producers, the writers, and the director ignore the EU completely if they so choose. Who says they have to adapt a piece of existing fiction anyhow? Grown-up fans? Please. Again, I think the best course of action is to start out on a completely blank page. Set it in a time that doesn't interfere with any pre-existing EU fiction, but doesn't curtail to it either.

In the end, no matter what comes down the pipeline in 2015, there's no way everyone will be happy with the film. Some fans will rejoice. Others will gnash their teeth. Such is life.

BUT WE WILL GET NEW LEGO SETS.

And that is unquestionably a good thing. :)

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Brad Bird?

That's an interesting idea, although I think he is already attached to an unknown film at Disney called 1950-something. You know it'd be

weird if that was really just it's working title, and he really is working on it with Lucasfilms?

Well, I linked to the article. If you read it, you'll see why his name came up. I think he'd be a fabulous choice though.

<snip>

I pretty much agree with all your sentiments.

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Well if those choices or writer and director are true I'm... a bit worried. They're random people who have done a few things notable... that one guy did a lot with Lost...

I was kind of hoping (unrealistically) we'd see Abrams and/or Whedon on it. Specifically the "And" part. Heck, lets throw in Nolan and Jackson too. ;)

Collab!

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Well if those choices or writer and director are true

It's nowhere near true, merely plausible at this point. Whedon most likely won't be directing since he'll be directing another movie for release in 2015. It's called Avengers II, maybe you've heard of it? :wink:

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I wonder if we'll get any ghosts of Jedi popping up in any of the new films ? :wink:

It'll never be the same without the likes of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, etc. Episode 7 is definatley a "No-No" for me.

I hope this won't effect BFIII, I'm just glad I still have BFII for PS2.(Tears of joy) :cry_happy:

Edited by YouShouldNotHaveComeBack

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You know, the more I think about it - it's not as sad as any other time that Uncle George tried to change the Star Wars universe.

Star Wars is alot like comics these days. For example, it's not so easy to just say you like Batman. Do you like Silver Age Batman? Dark Knight Batman? Who is your favorite Batman artist? Who is your favorite Batman writer? The same is very true with Star Wars. Do you like the old '80s VHS verions? Special Editions? The '04 DVD edits? The Blu-Ray edits? This Disney era is just another example of Star Wars being taken in a new direction. Granted, I won't really be going along for that ride, but I can still watch and appreciate classic Star Wars anytime.

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Very cool news in my opinion! Im really looking forward to Disney's take on star wars, and hopefully this guarantees the continuation of Star Wars Lego for many more years to come! :sweet:

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I wanted to be repulsed by this idea but I find myself apathetic. Not even ambivalent. What difference does it make at this point? Hey, if these new movies are cool (which I consider unlikely,) then that's swell. If they're not, we still have our OT. Maybe we'll even get proper OT releases sans Dewbacks? Basically what I'm saying is, my expectations are lower than zero. And that's a good thing, I suppose.

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Disney makes relativley good movies, especially recently. I don't think they would risk screwing up a huge franchise like Star Wars. Disney has a good marketing team and will find out what the fans really want, (no more Jar Jar type characters please, Disney.) Yes the fans' opinion does count because that's the demographic spending the most money on the franchise. Compared to crap like Ep 1, you know Disney could do it better with their eyes closed.

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This is sickening!

OK, This news has had time to sink in, and I've read a lot of the posts here... some mentioning OT fanboys who weren't happy with what GL was doing with Star Wars and are now moaning about someone else taking over - I freely admit, I kind of fall into that category. However, I'm not so much sickened at the thought of Disney taking the reigns as I am at Episode VII. I can only imagine this movie being bad, but ever the optimist, I hope to be proved wrong.

As an OT fanboy what I would rather see Disney do could seem quite radical or even controversial; I'd prefer a complete re-boot starting from Episode I with a decent and coherent story running through how ever many films they decided to make. Of course I'd complain that Episodes IV, V, and maybe even VI aren't as good as the originals but at least we could get improved versions of I, II & III and maybe some good new films to boot. And of course (Art-Apples) this new series would require lots of cameos :wink: - maybe Samuel L. Jackson could play Lobot :grin: .

If enough time has passed to re-start Spiderman then enough time has passed for a Star Wars re-boot but (unfortunately?) that's not going to happen yet.

Edited by Praiter Yed

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