Disney buys LucasArts. Announces Star Wars Episode 7...WHAT?

10 years ago I would have shit myself when I read the news, but seriously -- whatever. For all we know this will lead to better Star Wars products than any we've had in the last... uh... 30 years?

It's interesting that the buying price for all of Lucasarts, the Star Wars IP, ILM, etc., was just over half of what Disney paid to acquire PIXAR recently. (Also: PIXAR animated Star Wars? Mind melt).

And think about this: Warren Spector. Star Wars. BAM! Deus Ex Star Wars we've wanted forever could be right around the corner.

@BonOrbitz said:

@flindip: That's the last I read before reading that the series got shelved because it was too expensive to create at the moment. I'm curious as to how he would influence any Star Wars material after Lucas' full retirement. I've always had the impression he was a "yes man" (though who wasn't) to Lucas, except he liked to curse like mad.

Producers are typically supposed to be yes men. At least the good ones. The producers job is to organize the financial end of production. They don't typically have much creative influence in the actual product.

If a producer spends his time telling you how to do things creatively and your production goes over budget. He is a shitty producer.

@rebgav: yeah but it seems to me they are like DS games and the such. I'm sure they will make some Star Wars games. But I think Disney is probably going to pollenate the franchise among a few developers. But, who knows?

@flindip: Huh. I guess I always thought they had more input than that, unless I'm thinking of "Executive Producer".

@BonOrbitz said:

@flindip: Huh. I guess I always thought they had more input than that, unless I'm thinking of "Executive Producer".

Well, an executive producer may have some creative oversight because they have to act as liason between production divisions. Basically so that they are running efficiently. If they are not they are costing money. So if the special effects department is having a problem. The Executive producer will go to them and usually bring in more people to help. Its basically a people management position pertaining to resources.

For Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas was the executive producer. So he spent most of his time fighting with 20th Century Fox(also because Gary Kurtz sucked at his job).

But he was also in a creative position on Empire because he was the franchise creator and co writer to the script.

To be honest I'll watch it when it comes out. Been a long time since a star wars film and I'm interested enough about where there going to go with it to go watch it.

From the perspective of a relatively new Star Wars fan:

The original trilogy is pretty awesome for its age.

Some parts of the prequel trilogy sucked pretty badly, but in the whole it was OK.

The expanded universe is a mixed bag, but I enjoyed what I've read by Timothy Zahn.

With the sequel trilogy, I'm a little concerned about them undoing years of expanded content (aforementioned novels, games like Jedi Knight, etc.) but otherwise these should make some pretty interesting viewing material. I say keep 'em coming!

Forbes had a more fleshed out article on this stuff, as well as some other sites, but they basically say a lot of stuff like this:

This may assure some fans but older, diehard Star Wars obsessives may need more convincing, judging by the chatter on social media sites. “The complaints are coming from a relatively small audience that falls outside the target demographic,” said Jeff Gomez, chief executive of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a “transmedia” company that extends well-known film franchises into new media platforms.

A generation of young people has grown up with Star Wars cartoons and toys, he added. “Disney has to be aware that the target audience for the [new] films isn’t going to be 40-year-old men who grew up with the first trilogy, but kids who have grown up with the Clone Wars cartoon and Lego Star Wars.”

Now, I'm no 40 year old man. I was eight years old when The Phantom Menace came out. I don't even own any of the films, but what Disney and various people in the know have said doesn't portend well for the kind of movie these guys are going for.

@FengShuiGod: Wouldn't worry about it, the new Star Wars movie could very well suck. But it has nothing to do with what audience its marketed to(boys between the ages of 7-14). Guess what else was marketed to that same group, the Avengers.

Star Wars movie are fairy tales and they have always been targeted for children. However, if its well made everyone can enjoy them.

@flindip: I'd say Young Adults is the main target group, but I guess there's a little of everything in these movies and that's what makes them appealing. I hope that continues on.

@Funkydupe: Nah, young adults don't buy action figures. Well, at least not as much as children or prepubescent teens.

@Scrawnto said:

I just want to know if they are going to bulldoze decades of expanded universe fiction that chronicles the events after the movies.

haha good point

I saw this news yesterday while I was in my second class and I was like WHAT

I'm personally not down but if Disney does this correctly it could either be the greatest movie ever or it could be sh!t

Yeah I don't know how I feel about this. Can it get possibly worse?  
 
Also with the casting, are they going with the 2009 Star Trek route and bring back the old characters, but get new actors in playing those roles because the former actors are too old? Will they have new and younger Han Solo meet with old Han Solo played by Harrison Ford in some weird time travel scene? Hopefully Disney can prove most of us wrong and actually make something worth watching, even if as of right now it doesn't seem to be the case.

I personally believe that they'll do something good with it.

Look at what happened with the Movies Marvel tried to make before it was bought out. Terrible is the best word I can find.

Maybe Disney can bring us back from the prequel debacle.