Disney to acquire Lucasfilm

[Batman]

When was the last time that has stopped Hollywood? Note that LSMx didn't say that was in any way a good idea-just that somebody is going to think there's money in it.

[LMSx]

I wonder for how long the Special Editions took wind out of the sails for a reboot? Now that the IP is nested in Disney's warm busom, I would think that 10-15 years out there's going to be some antsy shareholders who want to see it reinvented.

There is no reason to reinvent what has been done. Especially with Star Wars. Do you honestly think there is anyone out there that can recreate the magic that the OT captured? It wasn't just the movies, it was the place we were in as a society. It was also the fact that nothing like that had been seen before on screen in that way.

No, Star Wars is a big place just do some new shit and don't even reference the OT/PT unless as legend or as prophecy.

My question isn't about artistry, it's about somebody in the 2020s in the Disney corporate structure eyeballing a bottom line. Now that I think about it more it seems like Star Wars is more like Harry Potter than a superhero film or Star Trek, in that each movie is designed as part of a bigger whole. So maybe rebooting something like that is less likely than I feared.

[Broken]

I can't say I'm certain if this will be a good thing or bad thing in the long run. It does seem very abrupt and unexpected of Lucas to sell so suddenly. However, I don't think the 2015 film date is realistic unless there is already a fairly advanced script being worked on. A bit over two and a half years to write and polish a script, casting, primary filming, edit the film, special effects, re-shoot as necessary, and then get it into theaters? Especially when you want the first Disney-Star Wars film to knock everyone's socks off (reestablish the brand, reassure the vocal fanbase) and not derail a potential, long-term cash-cow. The time frame is cutting it real close. As for the EU, they can toss that trash and start over for all I care (there are a few decent diamonds in the rough, but most of it is better off forgotten). Better to ignore it then try and wipe it out or use it though.

[Arawn Fenn]

It wasn't just the movies, it was the place we were in as a society.

To be fair, the PT also reflected the place we were in as a society.

It's just that it was a crappier place.

[Havok]

1999 was not a crappier time than '77 in the US.

[Simon_Jester]

Economically, no, socially, no.

But part of the "place" society is in is about power relationships, about the nature and scale of society's dreams, things like that. That's when we start talking about decadence, rise and fall of empires, that sort of thing. Arawn might be right, or at least coherent, if he's talking on that level.

It might well be that art reflecting the zeitgeist of 1999 would be worse art than art reflecting the zeitgeist of 1977, even if you'd be better fed and happier in 1999.

[LMSx]

Howard the Duck: 2015!

[Batman]

Hey, I liked Howard the Duck.

[Havok]

You know, Howard the Duck wouldn't be a bad thing to bring back.

[Batman]

Okay, that was unexpected.

[Sidewinder]

I have a baaaad feeling Episode VII will end up like 'Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest'- with Episode VIII ending up like 'At World's End'- i.e., with such a hack writer for the screenplay, I want to deny the movies' very existence, to preserve what fond memories I have for the original film(s).

[Sidewinder]

It does seem very abrupt and unexpected of Lucas to sell so suddenly.

You said it. I wonder if Lucas has age-related health problems that led him to decide, "It's time for me to retire and... spend the rest of my days counting money."

[Batman]

I have a baaaad feeling Episode VII will end up like 'Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest'- with Episode VIII ending up like 'At World's End'- i.e., with such a hack writer for the screenplay, I want to deny the movies' very existence, to preserve what fond memories I have for the original film(s).

So...kinda like everything past the original Highlander?

[TK-984]

All they really need is one of the big three to hand it off like nu-Trek.

[Darksider]

They did some pretty convincing CGI people in Avatar. With modern tech, if Hamil doesn't have the right "look" for Luke anymore, the can have a CGI Luke with him doing the voice. Then he really will be just like Yoda.

[DesertFly]

I hope they ignore the EU* and make new movies that are good above all. I would love for some of the original cast to reappear, although honestly I think that (with the exception of Anthony Daniels) it should only be as cameos, perhaps as Luke being the wise old mentor who sends our new hero out on his (or her) adventure.

*Although I am not against them name dropping characters or borrowing the rough ideas of existing plots, I don't want any adaptations being made or the EU even being taken into account when planning the movies.

[ray245]

The worse thing I've heard so far is there is going to be more Star Wars film. I could not care less if the new movies are going to follow the EU stories or not, what concerns me is that there are going to be MORE Star Wars stories.

EU has already done a pretty good job destroying the Star Wars series by having Luke and Co fight a new war every 2-3 years. We do not need more movies to do the same thing, creating a never ending amount of wars for our heroes to fight.

Do we really need to see more Star wars stories on the big screen?

[Stark]

Well, if you buy something for a heap of money, you probably want to make some money out of it. Disney didn't buy this stuff to admire it on the mantlepiece.

[Pelranius]

The worse thing I've heard so far is there is going to be more Star Wars film. I could not care less if the new movies are going to follow the EU stories or not, what concerns me is that there are going to be MORE Star Wars stories.

EU has already done a pretty good job destroying the Star Wars series by having Luke and Co fight a new war every 2-3 years. We do not need more movies to do the same thing, creating a never ending amount of wars for our heroes to fight.

Do we really need to see more Star wars stories on the big screen?

The sequels don't necessarily need to have Luke and Co. hanging around at all.

[ray245]

Well, if you buy something for a heap of money, you probably want to make some money out of it. Disney didn't buy this stuff to admire it on the mantlepiece.

I'm not saying they should not attempt to make more money out of the Star Wars franchise. I just do not know whether I want to see Star Wars Episode 7, 8 and 9.

The box office of the next Star Wars movie will tell us whether the movie going public is exhausted with more Star Wars movies.

The sequels don't necessarily need to have Luke and Co. hanging around at all.

Doesn't mean the directors and the writers of the next Star Wars will think the same.

[RogueIce]

So did they scrap the rereleases? Because ANH would have been set to come out in 2015. So Disney would have ANH 3D, Avengers 2 and Episode VII all in 2015?

Well I don't know if that would work but it'd certainly be ambitious of them.

[Havok]

Yeah three movies made by two different studios would be a very very difficult task.

[jollyreaper]

I agree with the sentiment stated a few pages back, denying Lucas the rights to Flash Gordon was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Star Wars has been thoroughly mined out. It needs to be left fallow for a good, long time before anyone revisits the universe. Maybe that shouldn't ever happen.

So much of what works in mythic storytelling is revisiting old ideas in new guises. As a kid I bought the church line about everything in the book being the divine revelation of God. It was quite a different kind of revelation to discover how the crafty old Israelites were violating the IP rights of other, more ancient religions. Likewise, as a child I approached Star Wars as a singular work of genius and had no awareness of what had come before.

The stories that speak to us use the emotional levers that are all part of the human condition. The old tropes were laid down when there there were still other hominid species competing with us. They only feel cliche when we have become used to them; to the young they are still novel and lively. New stories with new characters help to make them feel less shopworn, finding new twists and turns to explore.

By way of comparison, I think there's still room for remaking the Star Trek tropes of pro-science, future-positive thinking. There's a need for hopeful scifi, a universe where problems have solutions. I really didn't care for the JJ Abrams reboot and I don't even think we need Trek in particular but i think the role of a Trek needs filling. Given enough time and space, we might be ready for another Star Wars. But something that feels new, not reheated and chewed over.

[Guardsman Bass]

I'll bet Disney would love having three almost guaranteed blockbusters released in a single year. They could schedule the ANH release on May 25, so that it comes out on the anniversary of ANH's first release. Then do Avengers 2 in July, and finally Star Wars VII in the Christmas season (possibly on Christmas, which is a huge movie day).

[Havok]

I'm telling you guys,,, they are going to release EPVII in May. If something gets bumped it will be Avengers 2, but there is no reason to. Both movies are going to be seen by millions and millions of people and almost no one is going to have an issue paying to see both.

The issue with me is Disney now has to buy the "Fox Fanfare" to put at the beginning of the movie.