Star Wars Universe Thread: May The 4th Be With You

[CP1708]

Spoiler

Global leader in high-quality family entertainment agrees to acquire world-renowned Lucasfilm Ltd, including legendary STAR WARS franchise.

Acquisition continues Disney's strategic focus on creating and monetizing the world's best branded content, innovative technology and global growth to drive long-term shareholder value.

Lucasfilm to join company's global portfolio of world class brands including Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and ABC.

STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 feature film targeted for release in 2015.

Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

"Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "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."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and "evergreen" Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world's top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.

thats crazy. disney now owns marvel, lucasfilms and espn. Almsot everything I love

edit: I guess its a good thing, because Lucas wasnt going to make any more Star Wars movies. Im keeping my fingers crossed that somewhere along the line an Old Republic movie will be made

Yeah, if you take out every single thing except Maul and the music, it's not too bad.

Please tell me what's wrong with it? I don't think it's a good Flim or even decent but what makes it that bad to you?

I’m doing this off the top of my head, so bare with me.

The opening 5 minutes of the movie, I was already furious. The Viceroy’s, look, and dialogue. Atrocious. Horrible accents, horrible lines, horrible costume look. They looked like evil muppets, but worse.
Obi Wan’s dialogue.
The “Humor” and I use that term VERY loosely. They tried to be funny, to kids. They used the same someone just stepped in **** joke like 3 times, NONE of that belongs in a Star Wars movie.
Watto, same as the Viceroys. Horrible dialogue, horrible speech delivery.
The king Gungan in the underwater city. Yet another horrible speech and delivery. If you look at Jabba as an ugly, fat, terrible looking puppet, at the very least they changed his language so that he was unique. These guys, they just gave terrible accents and called that good. **** that.
The podraces. So freaking pointless.
Midi Clorians. Really?
The blockade. A bunch of ships in a circle. Hell, you are the galactic alliance, you could send 50 ships and surround those bumbling idiots, but no, send two Jedi instead.
Qwi Gon. Useless, ineffective, and pointless. The OG trilogy gave us the map, Obi Wan says flat out that he tried to teach Anakin, and that Yoda was the one that instructed him. Well then what the **** do we have this useless Liam Neeson for?
The title, Phantom Menace, which speaks on none other than Darth Maul………who trains for years to become a Sith, and has all the anger and hatred within him……….kills a single Jedi, then dies. Kiss my ****ing *** George. A Sith, trained all those years, and kills one guy. Are we serious? And ironically, the Jedi “leadership” that is Yoda and Mace are confused, was he the Master, or the Apprentice? HE KILLED ONE DUDE GUYS, HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THAT WITH ALL YOUR JEDI “WISDOM”??????
Anakin, an 8 year old boy. The leader of the planet Naboo, is a 14 year old girl. Really? A planet full of people, is ran by a 14 year old girl, and I’m supposed to be ok with this? Princess Leia was 18, and a bad *** and she didn’t run no damn planet. Give me a freakin break.
Anakin, saves the day, randomly flying one **** to destroy an entire blockade. But the freaking Galactic Alliance couldn’t have done that.
Jar Jar

Jar Jar, son.

The big, stupid, fish. Absolutely terrible.
Green Screens, on green screens.
“Humorous” droids. Roger Roger.
One little ship gets away, oh but a part is failing, have to land on Tatooine, and we’ll try to find the one part in the galaxy to fix it, at a junkyard. Instead of just calling for another ship to come pick them up, being a Queen and all. With an entire Jedi Order of people you can trust, or other Senators, a billion other planets, etc etc etc. Come on.
Anakin has no father now. Born of the Force, oh God.
Jedi are a bunch of sensitive do gooders. But Qwi Gon has a temper and doesn’t follow orders, Obi Wan doesn’t follow orders, Anakin doesn’t follow orders. None of the Jedi follow orders, in the Jedi Order. Ok.


Here’s what they got right.
Darth Maul’s look, and “menace”. Perfect. Dude was insane with it. Every time he was on screen (all 18 minutes) I had goosebumps.
Maul’s lightsaber. One of the greatest enhancements from the OG. A duel lightsaber. Brilliant
The force fields randomly coming down during the fight. Maul, pacing back and forth, full of anger, hitting the field with his lightsaber, angry, like a caged animal, a true Sith. While Qwi Gon sleeps on his knees, a sensitive Jedi, feeling his force. (absolute great way to show the difference between the two sides, Jedi v Sith. Easily one of the only things George got right, and I guarantee it was by accident. )
The underwater city was beautiful, and a great idea. They just ruined it with Gungans.
The droid army, forcefield, etc. Loved the look of it. Needed better than Gungans fighting them tho.
Palpatine running the Sepratists, and the Alliance at the same time. Terrific setting there.


The movie was terrible, and yet was loaded with so much potential. It could have been a great start, much like A New Hope, to get the trilogy off on the right foot. Instead they had a child defeating a blockade, a 14 year old girl running a planet, a Jedi out of nowhere they killed for no reason, a Sith out of nowhere they killed for no reason, Yoda still talking backwards, and Samuel L Jackson.


I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting, but that’s because I’m trying to forget that movie, and just live with the “real” movie in my mind. The one that should have been made.

ROTJ is my favorite film and I can't even give you a reason why.

As for ROTS, I just don't really mess with it. It is solid but I feel it was poorly executed.

For a long time, ROTJ was my favorite as well. The story had been elevated, stuff was completed, filming was improved.

As I've gotten older, I have learned to appreciate Empire so much more, and it was clearly the cleaner, more polished film, and certainly darker, but outside of the Ewoks, Jedi was the "funner" film.

The battle at Jabba's barge, the Rancor, Sarlacc, Boba Fett, the battle of Endor, Luke v Vader, the battle at the Death Star, and the Emperor shooting lightning out his finger tips was all incredible stuff. In 1983 no less!!!

If you look at the first battle at the Death Star in ANH, compared to ROTJ, it's not even close how much better it was in Jedi. More ships, more speed, everything was faster and more elevated.

The only thing that harms Jedi is the tone lightened, and the damn Ewoks came. If they would have kept the mood dark, like Empire, but still finished everything off with the good guys winning and what not, it would have been much better received. Killing Fett as they did, killing Jabba as they did, the Ewoks, all made it too light and fluffy.


ROTS was tremendous, considering the amount of garbage it had to follow. In theory, if I would have done the first two movies, ROTS should have been the best film of the 6, BY FAR. But Lucas completely screwed the first two films, and created a huge hole to dig out of in ROTS, but I'll be damned if he didn't do a pretty good job getting out.

Now, I surely would have liked to have seen more. For instance, had he done better in 1-2, he could have had Anakin become Vader within the first 45 minutes of Sith, and spent the next hour and a half killing Jedi in a way that would have probably killed me with happiness right then and there. I mean, from the very first movie, the first 35-40 minutes, Ben Kenobi tells us of Luke's Father, who was a great Jedi and fighter pilot, who was murdered by Darth Vader during the Clone Wars. That lore sat with everyone the entire time from 1977 to 1999, and somehow, he couldn't get it right?

Vader should have been choppin fools down for 90 minutes in Sith, not killin kids and gettin his *** kicked by Owi Wan.


But like I said, despite all that, the tone was MUCH darker, the severity of everything was felt, the killing of all the Jedi, while done wrong, was still powerful. The creation of Vader was awe inspiring, my theater was SILENT while that **** went on. And when the breathing kicked in.......... *wipes tear*


I remember walking out, happy, feeling good, but also ANGRY that I knew this kind of stuff was still in him, in the franchise, and that he had wasted my ******* time with the first two prequels that completely let me down.


Star Wars was the beginning, and a HUGE moment in movie history.
Empire upped the ante and is one of the best 3-5 films in movie history.
Jedi was a fulfilling close, albeit a bit too fluffy.
Menace was a piece of crap, with Darth Maul
Clones was a piece of crap, with the start of a famous war that should have stolen my breath.
Sith was a solid conclusion, with much darker tones, and the right feel as the 6th film closed and you knew how 4 would be.


Had he just gotten 1 and 2 right.........

Revenge of the Sith could have been the best movie ever made. It would have made Empire look like a childrens book. It could have been the darkest, saddest damn story ever told. Shoulda sent Ben and Yoda hiding, scared to their cores. Could have seen Vader in his prime, young, angry, completely lost following Palpatine. Jedi slaughtered, Boba Fett helping Vader hunt down Jedi, a complete, utter altering of the galaxy, til closing credits. Knowing, the next film would restore all "Hope".

Damn it George.

[/quote]

Thanks guys.

It just amazes me that the man was able to screw up one of the easiest stories to tell in cinematic history, something that would have been so amazing, he would have probably tripled what he made anyways.

When you break it all down, the OG trilogy was Luke's story. Very simple, Luke Skywalker became the galaxies hero.
The Prequel trilogy was very simply supposed to be the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, who becomes Darth Vader.

How on earth do you **** that up?

Now look at the 3 movies as they are. First two suck, third one is much better. And guess what, Anakin, is a child in the first two. Hellllllllooooooo George.

While he was busy trying to fascinate kids, he lost what made the OG's so great. Story, fear, heroes, backstory, drama, and dialogue.

Ewan McGregor is a great actor. He was literally worthless in the first two films. Natalie Portman, Samuel L freaking Jackson. Liam Neeson. They all sucked. Not because they didn't do their jobs, the writers didn't do theirs. Horrible plots, dumb storylines, pointless scenes, just watered down, dumbed down, stupidity.

By Sith, the story was locked in, they had no other Jar Jar **** to screw around with, they stayed in the lane they shoulda been in the whole time, and guess what, all of them played MUCH better. Ewan was great, he really was Obi Wan. He was decimated by Anakin turning. Samuel was better. Portman was MUCH better. Even Jimmy Smits did solid work as Bail Organa. All because the story was clearer to tell.

Lucas completely screwed himself with all that sepratist crap in Menace, and podracing children, and born of the force, blah blah blah. Get the **** outta here.

#2 is Attack of the Clones. They fight for 12 minutes at the end of the film.

Darth Maul gets 19 minutes of screen time.

The story of Anakin, the rise of Darth Vader, and Vader gets 2 minutes of screen time.


How in the blue **** do you do stupid **** like that, in 7 hours worth of movies? My God, Lucas should be brought up on charges.


You start Menace with some Sidious, Maul, Padme in danger, upper teens/lower 20's promising young Jedi Anakin, they get together, battle some Sith, spaceships, mix in some political positioning, Senates, etc like the first one eludes to. Two sides opposing, creation of a clone army, on the brink of war, roll credits. My **** is hard.

Come back for 2, Clone Wars pop off (cinematic history!!!) Jedi fighting, Maul out there dancin, Anakin is able to take him, but has to dance on the darkside to get there. Stuff goes on with Padme, Sidious uses her as a pawn, gets Anakin viewing things differently, tension with Obi Wan, etc etc. By the end of the 2nd film, you can see Anakin is swaying, the Clone Wars are in full effect, mix in some other plot points/storylines, you close the film, we're all ready for the final chapter.

Sith, like I said, in the first 30-40 minutes, Anakin is turned. He faces off with Obi Wan, doesn't work out, black suit, Vader emerges, here we go. Boba Fett comes in, other bounty hunters, Vader hunts the Jedi down, kills them one by one. Hell, have him storm the freaking Jedi Temple with Sidious and Fett, and watch people like myself suddenly become one with the force and die in their seats. Yoda escapes, runs into hiding. Padme delivers twins, Vader doesn't know (nor care) and Ben takes Luke to Tatooine, Bail with Leia, no problem there.


The whole point would be, you would have 3 full movies of Anakin, just like you did Luke, only darker, sadder, and move evil. Vader in his prime, slaying Jedi would be about the most epic story ever told, and it would make more money than The Notebook on Valentines day. Prime Vader with his red lightsaber, not the old man that fought his own son 25 years later.


The story of Anakin, and we didn't get one single glimpse of Darth Vader and his red lightsaber doin work.


George. |I

One of the greatest convo's in the EU, ever.

Luke sighed. The impulse that had brought him here seemed no closer to revealing itself, and Daala clearly thought he was wasting her time.
“While we're waiting for the Force to announce its presence,” she said, “I did want to say something. I want you to understand, this suit is not personal. Even when we were on opposite sides, representing enemy forces, I had every respect for you. In reviewing your records, it became clear to me that you have had a significant and beneficial effect on the galaxy.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “But you still need so very much to make the Jedi a mindlessly obedient branch of the government that you're pursuing the trial.”
“It's not about obedience.”
“Oh, that's right. It's about not detecting a Jedi turning to evil. Which we should be able to do far more easily than, say, noticing an Imperial leader growing so callous that he'd obliterate an entire innocent world to convince other worlds to obey.”
Daala became very still. Her face gave away no emotion, but Luke could feel, just for a moment, the pain she had experienced long ago as her love, respect, and even understanding for Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin withered and faded in the wake of the atrocities he had committed in the Emperor's name.
Luke was sorry to make her relive that. But she clearly wanted to exchange blows, and Luke was not unarmed in this match.
She regained her composure a moment later. “It's not about that, either. You're as guilty of not detecting Jacen Solo's turn to evil as others were of not checking the excesses of Imperial officers. But that's not why you're being tried. It's just the argument that will allow us to convict you.”
“Why am I being tried, then? Give me the next layer of truth. Or the next layer below that.”
“It has to do with fairness, and responsibility, and the rule of law.”
“Things the Jedi have always supported.”
“Things the Jedi have always subverted, at least under your leadership.”
Luke couldn't keep his astonishment from his face or voice. “That's ridiculous.”
“Let me give you a hypothetical example. A Coruscant bar in seedy sublevels. Two patrons decide they don't like the looks of a third. They assault him. A Jedi intervenes, out come blaster pistols and a lightsaber, whoosh, whoosh, severed arms litter the barroom floor. Law enforcement officers are called, the Jedi gives them a terse statement and then flits off to his next adventure.”
Luke nodded. “That's a simplistic and overly colorful way of putting it, but, yes, it happens.” It had, in fact, happened almost exactly that way to him, with Luke in the role of the patron about to be assaulted, back before he was a Jedi himself, many years before.
“Do you not see anything wrong with the way the situation was resolved?”
“Not really.”
“First, there's the maiming of the suspects. Would it have been possible for the Jedi to have defeated them without cutting off their arms?”
Luke nodded. “Possibly. Probably. But once the blasters came out of their holsters, the situation became a lot more dangerous for everybody, patrons and Jedi included.”
“Could the Jedi have disarmed them with some use of the Force?”
“That does happen. But we know the Jedi in your example made the correct choice.”
“How so?”
“He was not just reacting to what he saw with his eyes and knew from his experience. He was in tune with the Force. The Force alerted him to the true level of danger and he responded appropriately.”
“Sad that the Force can never be sworn in to testify about the suggestions it offers to the Jedi.”
“True.”
“Or to the Sith. The Force talks to the Sith, too, doesn't it?”
Luke blinked. “The dark side of the Force, yes.”
“You didn't say your Jedi was only listening to the bright side—”
“Light side.”
“Yes, thank you. You just said the Force. But let's stipulate that the good Force is the only one our hypothetical Jedi listens to. It still suggests maiming an awful lot of the time.”
“Hardly a life sentence of disfigurement and handicap. Modern prosthetics are indistinguishable from flesh and bone.” He held up his own prosthetic hand, waggling its fingers at her, as evidence.
“Though they have to be paid for by someone—often the state, when the amputee is of the lower classes—and then maintained, at a cost in credits and technical skill in excess of the upkeep of an ordinary flesh-and-blood arm.”
“Granted.” Luke suppressed an impatient sigh. “Is that what the suit is about, then? A perception that arms are being cut off at a higher rate than the government recommends?”
“No, it's about the Jedi giving a cursory statement to law enforcement and then leaving. Or dashing off without giving one at all. Or just refusing to answer one crucial question the investigating officer asks. And, in every case, getting away with it.”
“I still don't understand, then.”
“I'll walk you through it. The officers show up and ask questions, the Jedi gives a fifty-word statement, the officers say, ‘Thanks, now we need to go back to the neighborhood station for a full statement,’ the Jedi says, ‘Sorry, I have places to be,’ and he's gone. Did the Jedi respond with appropriate force? You think so, but at the government level we never learn, because a short while later he's on Commenor dealing with an organized crime family, then in the Hapes Cluster …”
“Usually the Jedi does make a full statement. Does cooperate to whatever degree the local authorities require.”
“Usually, yes. I have a report here of a Jedi Knight named Seff Hellin who assaulted law officers just a few weeks ago. Whatever he needed to rush off to do, he never came back to offer full cooperation to the authorities. Did he?”
Luke suppressed the urge to fidget. He found himself wishing that Nawara Ven were here, though Daala was herself not being backed up by an advocate. “I can see how incomplete reports and investigations would be frustrating to the government. But you have to trust that we made the right choice at the right time. It's what we're trained to do.”
The smile she turned on him was as frosty as anything Luke had seen in the snowy outback of Hoth. “I do, do I? We'll get back to that. Grand Master, the hypothetical incident I described shows at a very minor, very frequent level that the Jedi are above the law.”
“Not true. Anyone in the bar situation you described could have intervened with lethal force to save the victim from his beating.”
“And then would have been obliged to make a full report, and stay in contact until the investigation was resolved. The Jedi don't respect that law, or any law they find inconvenient. And the choice to sever the arms comes dangerously close to a judicial sentence being enacted at the time of the intervention. Judge, jury, executioner: Jedi.”
“I'm sorry you have that impression.” Luke frowned. “I'd come here hoping that I could persuade you to drop the case. But now I'm wondering whether I should go through the whole trial just to demonstrate to the public that we do cooperate with the authorities. That we don't consider ourselves above the law.”
Daala nodded, her expression agreeable. “Let's talk about Kyp Durron.”
“Master Durron is a fine, responsible Jedi.”
“I'm not talking about the Jedi he is now. I'm talking about the teenager who destroyed most of the life in the Carida system all those years ago.”
Luke, his composure no longer entirely intact, shifted uncomfortably. “He was under the influence of the dark side of the Force at that time, affected by the mental sendings of a long-dead Sith Lord. And in the years since, he has proven himself to be courageous, a defender of life—”
“Yes, he has. I'm not questioning that. But I want to take you back a little over thirty years to shortly after he killed everyone who hadn't yet managed to evacuate Carida in the two hours he generously gave the population. Of course, the solar system he destroyed was an Imperial system, your enemy at the time, which does mitigate his crime in your eyes. Is that why you protected him, shielded him from legal ramifications, trained him?”
“No.”
“Why did you?”
“Because I could look into his heart and see that he had cast the shadow of Exar Kun out, that he was no longer an agent of the dark side, that he had repented.”
“He said he was sorry, and he meant it, and that was sufficient justice for the millions who died on Carida.”
“You're oversimplifying. I knew that he was on the right path again.”
“Because you have the power to see that. Because that's what Jedi are trained to do.”
“Yes.”
Daala sighed. “And because they're trained to do that, to see into people's hearts, sort truth from lies, see into the future where the criminal has reformed and turned to a life of picking flowers, they can decide who should be thanked and who should be cut down, who should be forgiven and who should be left for the ordinary officers of the law to convict. They protect the common citizen but do not answer to him. They do not pay for their mistakes. They obey government orders when those orders conform to their moral code and not when they don't. And that's wrong. Any other group exhibiting that degree of arrogance, that unconcern for the rule of law, would be classified as a criminal organization. That, ultimately, is what this case is about.”
She was wrong. And yet she was chiefly wrong from the Jedi perspective. Remove the Force from the equation, and she suddenly became right. That was jarring to Luke. It was so hard for him now to remember what it was like not to have the Force always contributing to his decision making.
It was then that he detected it: the evil that the Force had brought him here to see. He did not see it as a person or an object, but as a process, a trend—one that he was a part of.
Understanding things as much as he could through Daala's perspective, through the perspective of the common citizen, the one truth he could discern was that if the galaxy thought that the Jedi were above the law, abuses were sure to spring up from that notion as toxic weeds growing rapidly from a pile of manure.
Young Jedi, seeing the ease with which their Masters slid out from underneath common but inconvenient civic responsibilities, would come to think that such behavior was their right. A few, on the fringes of the border between the light side and the dark side, would discern that Kyp Durron had escaped any visible consequence of his actions at Carida … would accept Luke's assertion that Darth Vader had been redeemed, had died a Jedi instead of a Sith despite his many murders, and would not understand the true meaning of the story.
The answer settled across Luke like a leaden shroud. To prevent this evil from growing, he had to lose this case, to be punished. That was what the Force had brought him here to understand.
He met Daala's gaze again. “Will you be prosecuting Master Durron next?”
“I will not. But I could authorize extradition for him to the Imperial Remnant to face their charge of planetary genocide. Head of State Jagged Fel has rather reluctantly presented me with a proposal from the Moff Council on that very subject. But such a thing could be avoided, of course, if we had already set another decisive example.”
Luke gave her a slow nod. “I came here hoping that, face-to-face, without advocates whispering in our ears, we could negotiate a deal. Now, having heard what you have to say, I am certain we can.”
“Tell me.”

 

[CP1708]

Updated from within the thread

Ok, so this would be what I would do, or want to see, if I were working on Episode 7.

Start with the opening crawl saying something along the lines of having advanced 25 years since the battle of Endor, the New Republic has survived the threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and an alien invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong. (this allows the introduction of stories, you can use in spinoff films)

Luke Skywalker has rebuilt the Jedi Order and leads them as their Grand Master, including his sister Leia, her twin children Jacen and Jaina and Luke’s son Ben.

Former Imperial Admiral Dalaa has been promoted to Chief of State and has begun investigating the Jedi order with the help of Jacen whom she has given authority of the New Republic security forces soon after returning from his Jedi trials in which he discovered a new dark force in the galaxy.

Jaina and her fiancé Jagged Fel, were in pursuit of Boba Fett’s daughter when she was taken into custody by the New Republic Security Forces led by Jaina’s twin brother. Fett, who managed to escape the Sarlacc pit at Jabba’s palace 25 years ago, was also in search of his daughter with the aid of his granddaughter before being taken into Jacen’s custody.............


(obviously, have to fill in the crawl cleaner, but the idea is there) Gives enough to fill in something about Thrawn, Vong, Fett, names of offspring, Jagged, and Dalaa. All main players. All spinnable in other trilogies as well.




First scene of course will be a ship flying, we see a shuttle landing down on a very beautiful planet much like Earth. (will learn later it is the Hapan planet, Hapes) Jacen is there to meet with his secret girl, the Hapan Queen and Jedi Tenel Ka. Much like Anakin and Amidala, they meet in secrecy like they did at the start of Revenge/Sith. This lets you in on them being together, but keeping it a secret for some reason.
They speak of a secret that will eventually become Amelia, something that is troubling Jacen very much. He will be dressed in all black, boots, shirt, pants, and robe.

He will return to his New Republic ship and will go to interrogate Ailyn Vel, Boba Fetts daughter, and mother of Mirta Gev. During the interrogation with Vel, Jacen becomes extremely angry and force chokes the life out of Vel, killing her. His rage will be forceful, and powerful, while not lifting a finger. Damage to the interrogation cell, everything.


Luke will feel something in the force, and grow a worried look immediately reaching for his comlink to speak with Leia. She will ask when the last time she’d heard from Jacen was, and she will inform him it’s been a while, and he’s been pretty distant since getting back from his trials. Luke tells her something is wrong, they need to reach out to him, and find him. Ben, Luke’s son will enter with an older red head, his mother, and Luke’s wife, Mara Jade. Luke will tell them what he felt, and that they need to see Jacen as soon as they can.

Luke, Han, Leia, Jaina, Jagged, Ben, and Mara will meet up and head off in the Falcon to rendezvous with Jacen. Jacen is busy falsifying what happened to Vel and tells Dalaa he did nothing wrong. Dalaa is concerned, but not overly as Vel was a bounty hunter and won’t be missed by many, however, she being a politician will use the fact at a later time when dealing with Fett.


On another planet, (Kesh) we see a late teen’s girl, training hard, impressive, able to defend herself well and very cunning in her movements on her homeworld. She will be pretty, and strong willed, and appear to be a strong young Jedi. She will then return home, and upon entering, will encounter a strong, powerful looking man, who berates her, and belittles her as if she is nothing. She will be afraid, but bold, even when backhanded across a room. She is no Jedi, they are Sith. This will be Vestara Khai and her father, Gavar Khai. (The new threat, the galaxy knows nothing about…..yet)


(plenty of small talk, plot points, dialogue, on the Falcon, on Dalaa’s Star Destroyer, Slave 1, etc)


Luke and co reach Dalaa’s ship, and find out that Vel has been killed, and “mysteriously” at that. They of course are wise enough to figure out that it was Jacen. When approached about the subject, Jacen is disrespectful to his mother, his father, and his uncle, even tho he seemed like the same ol Jacen when they came aboard the ship. Dalaa watches from a distance.


Leia has to communicate to Fett that his daughter has been killed, knowing, what that will mean for her family. Jacen acts busy and shu’s them off ship, saying that he is very busy. As the Falcon leaves, Jacen orders his ship to fire on the Falcon, Han’s piloting the only thing that gets them away unharmed. They do not understand why Jacen is slipping, but they recognize the signs. Jacen as they know him, is falling.


Eventually the Falcon lands, and the family splits up. Luke, Mara and Ben go to the Temple, Jaina and Fel to his duties, and Han and Leia to their own place. All of them, trying to understand what is changing within Jacen.


Vestara is set to travel with her mentor on another training exercise. There, they encounter a strange force sensitive presence, that will become Ship. Mentally Vestara will feel Ship, and communicate with it, explaining to her mentor (and the audience) what it is Ship wants. To take Vestara and her mentor, off world. Something they have never done.


Jaina is torn about her brother, and after speaking with Tenel Ka, still cannot grasp what it wrong with Jacen, or what he went thru in his Jedi Trials. Slowly, she comes to realize that somebody will have to stop Jacen, as him being the leader of the New Republic’s secret police is a lot of firepower for someone that may not be able to be trusted fully anymore. At the same time, her twin Jacen is speaking with his #2, Tahiri Veila about his deceased brother, and her former love, Anakin who was killed in the war against the Vong. Thru his Jedi hold on her, he can take her back to the moment he passed, showing her (and the audience) what happened to the 3rd Solo child. This connection, will change Veila as well, from Jedi, to Jacen’s apprentice. Jacen still appears normal to the rest of the galaxy, a Jedi hero and a member of the famous Solo clan, but those close to him fear where he is headed.

Fett shows no emotion over the death of his daughter, outside of finding a way to get to Jacen. He arranges a meeting thru back channels to speak with Dalaa, and tries to get her to send Jacen out into the open so that he can take him down with the help of Mirta. Dalaa shows him a holovid of Jacen coming down a ramp with his black cape billowing behind him, and both of them have the same sense of familiarity. Dalaa will remark how that sure is an eerie sight. (resembling Vader but without the helmet) Dalaa offers to help, but only if Fett will provide her with Mandorian strength when she needs it. Fett doesn’t like it, but agrees, for the sole reason of getting to Jacen.


Jaina will reach out to Fett, who is surprised to hear from a Solo. She asks him for his help, which he laughs at. Eventually, he sees an angle, and decides he will help her. Jaina being Jacen’s twin, is the closest match to him in terms of Jedi ability, but as twins, she would not have the upper hand. She would look for that, in training with a Mandalorian, giving her a new way to fight, along with her Jedi training. Fett sees it as a win win, either way, one of Han Solo’s children will die. He no longer cares which one.


Luke begins searching where Jacen had traveled too, and what it was he went thru that has him changing from the dashing hero he once was, to the cold blooded killer he became when he killed Fett’s daughter and fired upon his own family. This will lead to a conversation with Dalaa, who will effectively drop some nukes on him about Jedi being above and beyond the government, and if she is ever truly going to have a New Republic at peace, the Jedi need to be reined in. (this will need classic dialogue, on both sides, that will be complete eye openers for both beliefs)

Jaina will meet with Fett on Mandalore, and begin training. This, of course, will not be easy for her as Fett will test her mightily. (The main purpose here will be to see Fett in his home environment, as well as introduce other Mando’s)


Jacen will lead a New Republic charge against another faction of government as he sees fit. A battle will ensue, that will show how good Jacen is in combat.


Ship brings Vestara and her mentor to a strange planet. Even as Sith, they will be hesitant, and proceed carefully thru a jungle. They will bring another group of Sith with them under her mentor’s control. One by one, some Sith will perish to an unknown inhabitant of the planet., or even the planet itself with various live organisms the Sith have never encountered. (will eventually be Abeloth)


Han and Leia try once again to speak with Jacen after his battle, to try and get him back. He acts like himself, but nevertheless refuses to agree to anything they ask. He is polite, and calm, but also cold, and Leia can sense he is hiding something from them. His actions speak louder than his thoughts, she tells Han they have to stop him, whatever it is he is planning.


Other members of the Jedi order are dispatched to the outter rim to investigate strange reports. Kyp Durron, Saba, Ben, Mara, Kyle Katarn, Kenth Hamner, and other no named Jedi travel out at Luke’s request while he tries to figure out what to do about Jacen. (Luke has not yet been informed of Jaina’s plan)

The planet the Jedi will head for, is the same planet the team of Sith are on, with Ship, and Abeloth. (unseen at this point)

The Jedi and Sith groups will eventually run into each other, and battle will ensue. To this point, the galaxy was unaware of any Sith still living, the Jedi will now have found a rather large group of them. Word will be sent back to Luke-Leia, causing even more concern for them.


Jaina’s training will continue with Fett, but will be interrupted, much like Luke's was with Yoda. He has been hard on her, and the Mando’s have treated her rough, but not to be jokesters, merely to train her (and cause her a little discomfort as she is Han Solo’s daughter) She will receive an alarming call from Luke who needs her help elsewhere. She will return to Fett (in the next film) and Fett will use the free time to make some moves of his own.


Sith enforcements will be sent to the aid of Vestara and her group, and we will start to see the Sith leadership for the first time. Luke, Leia, Corran Horn, and Jaina will also be showing up, meaning Jacen is still free to roam the galaxy. He has been having visions, troubling visions, that scare him and darken him each time. His control over Tahiri will bring her down with him, as she must follow him in order to “see” the final moments of Anakin’s life and hold on to him any way she can. Their path to becoming Sith will be going on, while the Jedi discover an entire species of Sith they have to deal with. Jacen will become, Darth Caedus.

At this juncture, Episode 7 closes, with a pause in the battle between Jedi and Sith, Abeloth still undetected and only hinted at, Caedus turning (and not yet known to the Jedi) as well as the secret Jacen was keeping. Dalaa’s deal with Fett has been introduced, but not yet enacted, and plenty is left on the plate for Episode 8. As I stated, this only the rough story I would follow, dialogue and further character development would be needed, the names of other random Jedi/Sith, Dalaa’s right hand man (I forget his name), the planet they will meet Vestara on, etc. All of that would need to be fleshed out. But this is the story I would put on screen, and would open doors for other spin offs to follow later. (like the Vong war, Thrawn, Anakin Solo, Fett post RotJ, etc)

So anyone that actually read this, would you watch this movie once it was cleaned and polished up?


(Eventually, the 2nd film would feature Jacen/Caedus killing Mara, and the 3rd film would be Jaina vs Caedus, while Luke meets with Abeloth. At the same time, the Jedi Temple being sieged by the Mandos, from Dalaa's request.) The close of the trilogy could “look” like Luke had defeated Abeloth, and the Jedi have repelled the Sith, but really, Abeloth would just be hiding, and taking another form. While the Sith slip back into the shadows, and later, more films could delve into those stories, including Ben and Vestara’s story. Amelia being the reason Jacen fell to the darkside, she was the vision he saw of a Jedi sitting on a throne, in danger, his daughter, with Tenel Ka, the Hapan Fleet etc.

.

List of EU Novels written before Disney sale.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Old Republic Era

5000-33 BBY
Lost Tribe of the Sith*
Precipice
Skyborn
Paragon
Savior
Purgatory
Sentinel
Pantheon
Secrets

3986-3964 BBY
Untitled Nomi Sunrider novel by Alex Irvine

3656 BBY
The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams

1003-1000 BBY
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn

1000-999 BBY
Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn

Rise of the Empire era
67-65 BBY
Darth Plagieus by James Luceno

33 BBY
Darth Maul: Saboteur by James Leceno (an e-book novella later published in the paperback edition of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

32.5 BBY
Cloak of Deception by James Luceno
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves

32 BBY
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks

29 BBY
Rogue Planet by Greg Bear

27 BBY
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn

22.5 BBY
The Approaching Storm by Alan Dean Foster

The Clone Wars Era

22 BBY
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore

21.5 BBY
Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover

21 BBY
The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes

19.5 BBY
Jedi Trial by David Sherman and Dan Cragg

19 BBY
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover

Imperial Era

18-11 BBY
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno

Rebellion Era

0 BBY
Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope by George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster

0-3 ABY
Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
Choices of One by Timothy Zahn
Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster

3 ABY
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut

3.5 ABY
Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry

4 ABY
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi by James Kahn
The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers

New Republic Era

5.5 ABY
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by
X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble by
X-Wing: The Krytos Trap by
X-Wing: The Bacta War by
X-Wing: Wraith Squadron by
X-Wing: Iron Fist by
X-Wing: Solo Command by

8 ABY
The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
A Forest Apart by Troy Denning (an e-book novella later publiched in the paperback edition of Tatooine Ghost)
Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning

9 ABY
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn
The Last Command by Timothy Zahn

11 ABY
X-Wing: Isard's Revenge by
Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson
Dark Apprentice by Kevin J. Anderson
Champions of the Force by Kevin J. Anderson
I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole

12-13 ABY
Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly
Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson
Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly
X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by

14 ABY
The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre

16-17 ABY
Before the Storm by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Shield of Lies by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Tyrant's Test by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

17 ABY
The New Rebellion by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

18 ABY
Ambush at Corellia by Roger MacBride Allen
Assault at Selonia by Roger MacBride Allen
Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger MacBride Allen

19 ABY
Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn
Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn

22 ABY
Fool's Bargain by Timothy Zahn (an e-book novella later published in the paperback edition of Survivor's Quest)
Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn

New Jedi Order Era

25-30 ABY
Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore
Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael Stackpole
Dark Tide II: Ruin by Michael Stackpole
Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial by James Luceno
Agents of Chaos II: Jedi EclIpse by James Luceno
Balance Point by Kathy Tyers
Recovery by Troy Denning (an e-book novella)
Edge of Victory I: Conquest by Gregory Keyes
Edge of Victory II: Rebirth by Gregory Keyes
Star by Star by Troy Denning
Dark Journey by Elaine Cunningham
Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston
Traitor by Matthew Stover
Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams
Ylesia by Walter Jon Williams (an e-book novella later published in the paperback edition of The Joiner King)
Force Heretic I: Remnant by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic II: Refugee by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic III: Reunion by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
The Final Prophecy by Gregory Keyes
The Unifying Force by James Luceno

35-36 ABY
The Joiner King by Troy Denning
The Unseen Queen by Troy Denning
The Swarm War by Troy Denning

Legacy Era

40 ABY
Betrayal by Aaron Allston
Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
Tempest by Troy Denning
Exile by Aaron Allston
Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
Inferno by Troy Denning
Fury by Aaron Allston
Revelation by Karen Traviss
Invincible by Troy Denning

41 ABY
Crosscurrent by Paul S. Kemp

43 ABY
Millennium Falcon by James Luceno
Outcast by Aaron Allston
Omen by Christie Golden
Abyss by Troy Denning
Backlash by Aaron Allston
Allies by Christie Golden
Vortex by Troy Denning
Conviction by Aaron Allston
Ascension by Christie Golden
Apocalypse by Troy Denning

 

[qtnettles]

i don't want anymore star wars let the franchise stay a classic. A reboot will soil the legacy

 

[Sinner]

Oh man... I just don't know.  I'm all for more Star Wars but I won't be able to deal with another "Prequel-quality" of films.  

Don't &$#@ it up.

 

[blakep267]

i don't want anymore star wars let the franchise stay a classic. A reboot will soil the legacy

I dont think they would reboot it. but there are tons of novels that take place after the original trilogy, plus they can always go back before

and also disney isnt afraid to hire real directors to do stuff, unlike Lucas.

 

[luong1209]

i don't want anymore star wars let the franchise stay a classic. A reboot will soil the legacy

OG star wars is good with or without a reboot.

However, kudos to Disney!

 

[CosmicGhostRider]

Crazy move by Disney!

Makes sense for Lucas...they could only milk the original 6 movies for so long.

 

[jaypesoz]

Wow, this is crazy. As a Star Wars fanatic myself, I'm actually extremely excited just at the tonight of more live action Star Wars movies on the way. Now can Disney please let Joe Johnson film his Boba Fett movie???

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Obi wan in Kingdom Hearts 3

They should have left the original series alone. No need for episode 7

EDIT: Lucas is DONE with this franchise. After further review it's time to rejoice!

I also realized that Disney now owns Indiana Jones as well

 

[king of chicago]

Oh my, this is

 

[blakep267]

Now the article did say Episode 7, but Im not sure if they mean a 7th movie or a prequel etc. The movie could take place thousands of years after Jedi. who knows

 

[CP1708]

There is like 75 full novels they can go off of. I could write 20 films off the top of my stupid head there is so much material to choose from. There are comics they can go off of, there are the clone wars cartoons you could base off of.

They could jump ahead years after Jedi, they could jump back hundreds of years and start pre Vader era. They can do ANYTHING. Long as it has Sith, Jedi, lightsabers, and **** like that, they can just have my money.


I NEVER thought Lucas would sell. This is unbelievable. I'm so freaking geeked right now.

Thrawn, Mara Jade, Yuuzhan Vong, planet of the Sith, Talon Karde, Palleon, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin (not that one) the characters are ENDLESS.

This is an amazing day.

 

[nazdrowie]

Crazy move by Disney!
Makes sense for Lucas...they could only milk the original 6 movies for so long.

indiana jones titles as well. 

 

[blakep267]

Now I just need Disney to somehow find a way to buy back the movie rights to Spiderman and the Xmen, then life will be complete.

indiana jones titles as well. 

ehh, maybe they should leave that 1 alone. lol

Thank God!
New star wars movies w/o Lucas there to F it up. And now maybe that TV series will get made.
2015 - Justice league, Avengers 2, and Star Wars 7, year of the geek

he's still there as a consultant, but I dont want him near the directors chair or writing table.

 

[mrkittles20]

I just read the "episode 7" book last week. It definitely needs to be the movie.

 

[100proof]

Thank God!

New star wars movies w/o Lucas there to F it up. And now maybe that TV series will get made.

2015 - Justice league, Avengers 2, and Star Wars 7, year of the geek

 

[airthompson]

I'm somewhat interested, but in the same token don't touch Star Wars anymore.

I say make a whole new saga with a new name, and dub it Episode 1.

 

[big j 33]

After the new trilogy and what Lucas did to the old stuff.. there's no risk of "ruining" anything. There's more than enough material out there and I'm sure plenty who are excited to give their take on the saga, I'm excited for what they come up with.

 

[Sinner]

Full statement.

http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd

October 30, 2012
[h1]DISNEY TO ACQUIRE LUCASFILM LTD.[/h1]
An investor conference call will take place at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT / 1:30 p.m. PDT today, October 30, 2012. Details for the call are listed in the release.

Global leader in high-quality family entertainment agrees to acquire world-renowned Lucasfilm Ltd, including legendary STAR WARS franchise.

Acquisition continues Disney's strategic focus on creating and monetizing the world's best branded content, innovative technology and global growth to drive long-term shareholder value.

Lucasfilm to join company's global portfolio of world class brands including Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and ABC.

STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 feature film targeted for release in 2015.

Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012  – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

"Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars  passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "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."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and "evergreen" Star Warsfranchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars  Episode 7  is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars  saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars  content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Warsfranchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars  resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks.Star Wars  feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars  one of the world's top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.

Note: Additional information and comments from Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, and Jay Rasulo, senior executive vice president and CFO, The Walt Disney Company, regarding Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, are attached.

Investor Conference Call:

An investor conference call will take place at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT / 1:30 p.m. PDT today, October 30, 2012. To listen to the Webcast, turn your browser to /investors/eventsor dial in domestically at (88 771-4371 or internationally at (847) 585-4405. For both dial-in numbers, the participant pass code is 33674546.

The discussion will be available via replay on the Disney Investor Relations website through November 13, 2012 at 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST.

About The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, interactive media, and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company with revenues of over $40 billion in its Fiscal Year 2011.

About Lucasfilm Ltd.

Founded by George Lucas in 1971, Lucasfilm is a privately held, fully-integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual-effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties; Lucasfilm Animation; and Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses. Additionally, Lucasfilm Singapore, produces digital animated content for film and television, as well as visual effects for feature films and multi-platform games. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

 

[huynher]

Disney taking over da h0e gawt damn world.

 

[blakep267]

I kinda hope they dont go for the live action TV show tho. Thats kinda overdoing it, and saturating the market with a little too much. Im fine with just movies and possibly video games. But Lucas arts wasnt mentioned in the deal

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Gimmie a Shadows of the Empire movie or series and a KOTOR movie or series

 

[Fong$tarr]

I would think Disney is more happy to have the rights to selling merchandise. That seems to be more of a big deal then making films. Also I hope they make more Star Wars theme rides in the future. The new 3D versions of Star Tours are cool but they need something else.

 

[jonnyblazenyc]

Exar Kun ftw

 

[futuremd]

George Lucas is so paid.

Melody Hobson won.