I have to admit, when I first heard that Disney had bought Star Wars from George Lucas my first though was “Oh No – Jar Jar Binks 4 Life.” But, I have reconsidered and here is why…
A long time ago (this past fall) in a galaxy far far away (called Orlando)… George Lucas aka Lucasfilm Ltd’s. sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney for $4.05 billlllion dollars (cue the Dr. Evil pinky) and every single last Comicon junkie in the world gasped. Some shed tears. Some celebrated joyously. But all were stunned when it was announced that an new Star Wars movie, Episode VII is scheduled for release in 2015 which will undoubtedly be followed up by Episodes VIII and IX rounding out the third trilogy. The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC.
So after hearing this I was initially depressed. I mean Episode I and Jar Jar Binks were almost enough to ruin the franchise for me. The over glossification of the film the stale acting and the overabundance of CGI just about made every old school Star Wars fanatic that I know cringe. All I could think of was the following:
A Sneak Peak into Star Wars Episode VII: Iron Man, Leia’s grown child with Han (played by Robert Pattinson), Donald Duck and R2D2 team up with 101 Dalmatian styled Ewoks who live on Space Mountain to invade and destroy Cruella De Vil’s Evil Epocot Center Death Star. Sound About Right? This couldn’t really be happening could it?
But the more that I have thought about it the more that I like the idea. Here are a five reasons why.
• Now the Franchise Will Live on for Future Generations!
I think that it is amazing that I can talk to a 5 year old still about Luke Skywalker and light sabers and that they can still be as excited about the films as I was when I was their age. Companies like Lego have been carrying the Star Wars franchise in-spite of the various mediocrities of the prequel. Disney doesn’t do ANYTHING half-way anymore. This is good for the legacy of Star Wars and I bet we will see trilogy after trilogy. We may get new Star Wars films for the rest of our lives!
• Disney has the Money to make the Star Wars Films Better than Ever!
The Disney Corporation is worth 77.4 billion dollars and paid Lucasflim half of its owed $4.05 billion in CASH. That is a ton of resources and you can bet that no expense will be spared to make the new trilogy as high quality as possible. Pixar based graphics and imagination will bring life back into the series.
• Disney Will Probably One Day Freeze George Lucas in Carbonite!
C’mon you know you’d pay money to see him too. How much money did the Bodies Exhibit bring in? In 2007 alone, 7.4 million dollars. I’m sure they’ll put him right next to Robot Chicken Walt Disney. As far as I’m concerned – whatever is ethical and whatever keeps George Lucas at bay from taking over the entirety of the next three films. Heck even Wes Anderson’s version
might be better at this point.
• Some of the Original Cast is Coming Back!
Well at least the droids, probably Chewbacca, and even Darth Vader may be resurrected. Whaaaa? But what about the rest of the cast? Jeremy Taylor has some solid suggestions on this topic!
• Four Words: Star Wars Theme Park!
No longer will this just be a little section of Disney – now they can do it up. Cantina Bar, Ewok Village, Epocot styled Death Star. Jabba’s Palace with Carbonite frozen George Lucas, the Degobah experience, Cloud City – the Millennium Falcon ride – X Wing explosion – all pure awesomeness. And you will go and love it. True story.
So just with these considerations alone maybe Disney taking over the LucasFilm evil empire is a good thing? Or maybe it’s a second Death Star – I don’t know. Regardless though, Star Wars is back and even resting on the laurels of the original trilogy that is a good thing for all of us.
