Disney Buys Lucasfilm & New Star Wars Movie Set For 2015!

It seems that the force is strong with Disney and the legendary entertainment company has bought out another huge entertainment franchise. Back in 2009, Disney bought out Marvel Entertainment for 4 bliion dollars with hopes of taking Marvel's 5,000 plus characters to work in its television channels, video games, theme parks and movies.

Fast forward to 2012, only 3 years after, and Disney has thrown down another 4 billion to buy out Lucasfilm, as well as inherit one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time - Star Wars! Actually, the exact figure of purchasing Lucasfilm is 4.05 billion.

Like with Marvel, Disney has also inherited and purchased the responsibility of keeping some of the most loyal, fanatic, and die-hard fans in the world content. It's a huge responsibility since Starwars is such a global, pop culture phenomenon.

We are talking about fans who debate about who shot first - Han or Greedo, who make war with trekkies, who know the home planet of Chewbacca, and most every line from the original trilogy. They dress up as their favorite Star Wars for Halloween and Sci-Fi and comic book conventions, and even adorn their flesh with ink paying homage to the films.

I must admit that when I first heard Disney was buying out Marvel I was not so keen on the idea. When the movie Tron: Legacy came out and all the sudden I started seeing pictures of Marvel characters in Tron uniforms on their Facebook page, I grew even more concerned about the merger.

Now, however, after seeing what they and Marvel Studios has done with the Marvel comic book movies leading up to the Avengers, I ain't so skeptical. I know that some Star Wars fans are worried and have mixed reactions about this, but this time around I'm pretty hopeful of the situation and I'll give a few of my opinions as to why, of course!

Here's my first three reasons why Disney buying out Lucasfilm and taking control of the Star Wars franchise will be a good thing. You ready? Here they are:

1. Episode I The Phantom Menace

2. Episode II Attack of the Clones

3. Episode III Revenge of the Sith

I really didn't care for any of the last three Star Wars films whatsoever. I know many Star Wars fans were terribly disappointed with the last trilogy as well.

There was something that the last trilogy just didn't capture that the first one did. The characters were stale, the stories cluttered and complicated, and even powerhouse actors such as Liam Neeson, Ewan Mcgregor, Natalie Portman, or pretty boy Christian Hayden couldn't really salvage the series from being subpar.

Sure the special effects and visuals were amazing, but it really missed out on that magical chemistry that the first trilogy was abundant with. Plus, Darth Vader went from Galaxy Bad-ass in the first trilogy to sniveling, whiner in the last.

Yes, I thought Revenge of the Sith completely ruined Vader's mystic. In A New Hope, Obi Wan mentions to Luke that Vader hunted down and killed the remaining Jedi, but in the Sith he only butchers a bunch of Jedi kids, while we watch the clones exterminate most of the Jedi across the galaxy. What's up with that?

Keyword is "sometimes" here! Sure, it can go either way, but sometimes when you're too married to the material, your ideas may not be the best results. Star Wars is Lucas's baby, no doubt, but that doesn't mean a fresh injection of ideas won't be a good thing.

But that's not why Lucas decided to do this merger. In wanting to ensure that Star Wars could live on and pass down through the generations, Lucas stated:

“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. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

So far Disney has done well with Marvel in the cinematic world. They may be able to do the same with Star Wars and give us a new and fresh vision for fans. There's no doubt that Lucas will be a consultant, and from his words, he is confident about this move in passing the gauntlet.

So, like Kevin Feige is to Marvel Studios, Kathleen Kennedy will be for Star Wars. In the official press release, the once Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, will become President of Lucasfilm and report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn.

Quite an undertaking and no easy task to get the right directors who will do for Star Wars what Nolan did for Batman or J.J. Abrams did for the new Star Trek franchise. However, Kathleen Kennedy seems quite confident as well, stating --

"We are absolutely going to make 'Star Wars' movies, and we are in the midst of the really fun part of the process, which is we're sitting down with a couple of writers and we're starting to discuss ideas."

Apparently, Lucas already has story treatments for three new Star Wars films, and Disney has announced they plan to release Episode VII in 2015 and have Episode IX come out two to three years after.

And, of course, the new films will take up after Return of the Jedi left off. However, how much longer after Return of the Jedi will the new films take place?

Will we get to see the beloved characters of Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker after the defeat of The Empire? Or is that even a good idea? I'm sure that a whole new set of characters will propel the entirety of the new movies, but I think fans would love to see the magic of the original cast in the new films.

Harrison Ford, who once lobbied to have Han Solo killed off, is now changing his tune about reprising the role that launched his career. Sources close to the actor told Entertainment Weekly,

"Harrison is open to the idea of doing the movie and he's upbeat about it."

Ford's publicist had no comment on EW's reporting. Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are very keen to the idea of reprising their roles and the possibilities.

Oh, and with acquiring the rights to Lucasfilms, Disney also acquired the rights to the Indiana Jones franchise as well.