Disney Buys Lucasfilm, ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ to Release in 2015!

The force is strong with Disney!

Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.05Billion.  Holy crap that's a lot of money!

Disney announced today that they will be acquiring Lucasfilm.  Lucasfilm is the global company founded by George Lucas and home of the Star Wars franchise. In addition to getting the rights to all of Lucasfilms franchise, they're also getting the rights to all of Lucasfilm’s operating businesses – including Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound.

Disney has some killer plans to continue the epic Star Wars saga, beginning with 'Star Wars Episode VII' which is expected to release in 2015.  They plan to continue with the Star Wars saga and come out with new movies every 2-3years for the foreseeable future.  No need to worry though, George Lucas will still be a part of 'Star Wars' he will serve as a creative consultant on the new movies.

George Lucas was quoted saying:

 

 

For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next 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.

 

I think we can expect to see some great things happen from this! If you'd like to read more here's a great article I found on Disney's website, it gets into the details about what all Disney has planned for Lucasfilm!

Here's a video of Bob Iger (chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company) and George Lucas discussing the huge announcement.