Disney Buys Lucasfilm

[Keith]

I got a feeling some parts of the Star Wars expanded universe is going to be shafted with episode VII, especially if it's about events following the death of the Emperor. Imagine the fan rage.

Good riddence, the EU stuff is garbage to begin with.

[TehPW]

It means Lucas' war with the WGA and DGA will be over. He'll have creative control but won't have to Direct or Write anymore, which he's never wanted to do but had that issue with the guilds from the 80's... Could be good. I like the idea of movies every few years kinda like Bond. Hoping for Mark Hamil in an Obi-wan style role training an all new cast without much reference to the other characters. It'd be nice if they threw the oddball reference to the EU without being completely beholden to it (IOW, a "certain point of view" treating certain novels and comics like they were from the SW equivalent of The Onion.

Not sure if it can be a Real™ Star Wars movie without the 20th Century Fox intro, though.

explain more please? im pretty non familiar with any back story about Lucas (other than he got retarded along the way as a professional). you mean there was a reason he made his later movies painful?

[myk]

Good riddence, the EU stuff is garbage to begin with.

Lol, heartily agreed...

[Duke Togo]

This is neither good nor bad news, it is irrelevant news.

The last truly great Star Wars product was the Tie-Fighter game (X-wing vs. Tie-fighter was pretty good too), it hasn't really been able to deliver since in my eyes.

So I don't care what happens to it.

I assume you never played KotOR.

[myk]

Rogue Squadron games were pretty cool, too...

[Duke Togo]

Rogue Squadron games were pretty cool, too...

Well, really, his entire statement is rather silly. If it were truly irrelevant, it wouldn't be generating the kind of discussion it is on the Internet.

It's a bit like jumping into a discussion and telling everyone that "no one cares," when clearly the person posting such a message cared enough to post it.

[Mommar]

Good riddence, the EU stuff is garbage to begin with.

Every last word? There's some good stuff in there too. It's not all garbage.

[Duke Togo]

Every last word? There's some good stuff in there too. It's not all garbage.

I'll admit, it's been a long while since I read any of it, but outside of the Thrawn trilogy it was all pretty bad (atleast it was back in the 90's).

Edited November 1, 2012 by Duke Togo

[Duke Togo]

Interview with Hamil;he and Carrie Fischer have known about the sequels since this summer when George took them to lunch. Edited November 1, 2012 by Duke Togo

[Hoptimus]

Props to George.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-deal-george-lucas-will-384947

My wife is a teacher..

[Duke Togo]

Something to keep in mind: Kathleen Kenndy is calling the shots on this film. If you don't know who she is, take a moment to look her up. There are few who are better suited for this task.

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, a good portion of the EU is really a mess, and it keeps causing certain authors to write fixes into their books to help mitigate the nonsense (the whole Callista mess in particular). I've never even bothered with anything after the publisher switch, since Vision of the Future seemed like a pretty perfect way to close out things.

I have to give major credit to Zahn for one aspect of his Hand of Thrawn duology though.. he pretty much slapped the entire rest of the EU upside the head for making certain characters so force-overpowered. There was just so much nonsense going on in some books... oy.

I know Zahn and Stackpole collaborate to keep their characters and stories consistent, and while I'm not sure if Allston is so connected, his X-Wing novels are some of the best (and funniest) books I've read. I can understand people's gripes about them, but I just enjoy reading about the characters they've written. They're not great literature or anything, but they're entertaining.

Plus, you know.. I was looking through some old computer games and realized where I'd seen Allston's name before. He wrote the original "magazine" manual for Wing Commander I.

[derex3592]

Something to keep in mind: Kathleen Kenndy is calling the shots on this film. If you don't know who she is, take a moment to look her up. There are few who are better suited for this task.

+1 on this. I have high hopes for Star Wars going forward. Mad props to daddy George for the charity thing. Good Man. A true Jedi move.

[Mommar]

Yeah, a good portion of the EU is really a mess, and it keeps causing certain authors to write fixes into their books to help mitigate the nonsense (the whole Callista mess in particular). I've never even bothered with anything after the publisher switch, since Vision of the Future seemed like a pretty perfect way to close out things.

I have to give major credit to Zahn for one aspect of his Hand of Thrawn duology though.. he pretty much slapped the entire rest of the EU upside the head for making certain characters so force-overpowered. There was just so much nonsense going on in some books... oy.

I know Zahn and Stackpole collaborate to keep their characters and stories consistent, and while I'm not sure if Allston is so connected, his X-Wing novels are some of the best (and funniest) books I've read. I can understand people's gripes about them, but I just enjoy reading about the characters they've written. They're not great literature or anything, but they're entertaining.

Plus, you know.. I was looking through some old computer games and realized where I'd seen Allston's name before. He wrote the original "magazine" manual for Wing Commander I.

I'll agree, a good portion is pretty bad. But you even admitted there's some joy to be found and I would argue that means it isn't all garbage. Despite the writing in the X-Wing novels the idea is brilliant and the execution was a lot of fun. That's, IMO, what a live action Star Wars television show should be personally. And I think that the Zahn novels right after the original trilogy have a lot of good ideas. The state of the galaxy after a war of that magnitude and a charismatic, genius leader in Thrawn who isn't at all a Jedi but still a huge threat. Things don't have to be word-for-word recreations they just need to borrow the good ideas and I believe there are many.

[taksraven]

I enjoyed "Splinter of the Minds Eye". VERY non-canon but a good read and one of the earliest if not *the* earliest EU work.

[renegadeleader1]

I enjoyed "Splinter of the Minds Eye". VERY non-canon but a good read and one of the earliest if not *the* earliest EU work.

It was originally written as a low budget script sequel ordered by Lucas should Star Wars not do well at the box office. It is in fact the earliest EU work if you don't count the original marvel comics.

[taksraven]

It was originally written as a low budget script sequel ordered by Lucas should Star Wars not do well at the box office. It is in fact the earliest EU work if you don't count the original marvel comics.

Yeah, they detailed that on the "Empire of Dreams" doco or whatever the hell it was called on the original DVD release.

Pretty good doco for info about the trilogy. Pretty bad doco from the way it tries to portray George Lucas as a "Rebel Leader" fighting agains the "Evil Empire" (Hollywood studio system) to get his films made.

[troyness]

Disney's out to get me.., but seriously I hope they don't change the costume designs for Howard the duck reboot.

[Keith]

At this point, Clone Wars is pretty awesome, so I'm more than willing to give some new flick's a go. Also, I'd be damn surprised if it didn't come out at some point that Lucas has cancer. Terrible if true, but i can't think of any other reason for such a drastic decision.

[myk]

At this point, Clone Wars is pretty awesome, so I'm more than willing to give some new flick's a go. Also, I'd be damn surprised if it didn't come out at some point that Lucas has cancer. Terrible if true, but i can't think of any other reason for such a drastic decision.

That's what I'm thinking also. I hate to pull out my Junior X Files investigator badge, but short of a conspiracy theory or someone putting a gun to Lucas' head I don't see how or why Lucas would have given up his baby; maybe Disney DOES know the dark side....

[Duke Togo]

At this point, Clone Wars is pretty awesome, so I'm more than willing to give some new flick's a go. Also, I'd be damn surprised if it didn't come out at some point that Lucas has cancer. Terrible if true, but i can't think of any other reason for such a drastic decision.

It's been no secret that the continued fan backlash has really upset him over the past 10+ years. I think he just got worn out by it all.

[sketchley]

It's been no secret that the continued fan backlash has really upset him over the past 10+ years. I think he just got worn out by it all.

I've read a couple of articles (BBC news, etc.) that make the point that he's giving it up exactly because of that.

I don't blame him, given some of the comments in this thread (e.g.: how does one's body weight have anything to do with movies/comics/novels/video games?).

[big F]

I'll admit, it's been a long while since I read any of it, but outside of the Thrawn trilogy it was all pretty bad (atleast it was back in the 90's).

Now I have one of the Thrawn books (the second one) and although I never read it, he does come off as a bit of a bad guy you 'd love in the bits I Skipped through, but the thing that flys in the face of the whole Empire thing, is that out side of the EU ALL the screen time bad guys are Human.

Its the whole undertones of supremacy of humans and the almost Nazi like nods of the empire, like why would the Humans only club have a blue guy in charge ?

That said if they do use any of the Thrawn stuff it would be good material.

Look on the bright side now Disney owns it it will mean next time my local supermarket has a buy on get on free on Disney Blurays It'll be Starwars BluRays for me

[azrael]

At this point, Clone Wars is pretty awesome, so I'm more than willing to give some new flick's a go. Also, I'd be damn surprised if it didn't come out at some point that Lucas has cancer. Terrible if true, but i can't think of any other reason for such a drastic decision.

He is diabetic, but we've known that for a while.

I've read a couple of articles (BBC news, etc.) that make the point that he's giving it up exactly because of that.

I don't blame him, given some of the comments in this thread.

See what anonymous fanboy-rage does to people. Lucas had probably decided long ago (in a galaxy far, far away) that he would enter some state of retirement by this year.

[Chronocidal]

Now I have one of the Thrawn books (the second one) and although I never read it, he does come off as a bit of a bad guy you 'd love in the bits I Skipped through, but the thing that flys in the face of the whole Empire thing, is that out side of the EU ALL the screen time bad guys are Human. Its the whole undertones of supremacy of humans and the almost Nazi like nods of the empire, like why would the Humans only club have a blue guy in charge ?

Actually, they do make a point of explaining this, and expounding on the whole "humans only" deal throughout those books. There's been more books, and a few short stories that go into explaining more of his backstory as well, and just why he wound up in the Empire to begin with.

The funny thing to think about though is that Thrawn and Pallaeon were both used as characters in the Tie Fighter game, and possibly other places, so they have appeared in semi-official content (unless LucasArts games are considered part of the EU as well).

I don't remember how much of a role Thrawn had during the campaign, but I believe he may have been leading the fleet you were part of during some of the expansion packs. Pallaeon isn't specifically named, but Thrawn's right-hand man in the opening cutscene is definitely a guy with a big bushy mustache, which Pallaeon was written as having.

[JetJockey]

I guess I’ll add to the Net with my feelings on Disney owning Lucasfilm. Long story short, for the most part I’m indifferent. I only hope to get the original trilogy on Blu-ray one day from this deal. But from my research an original print would have to be restored. Something George Lucas claimed didn’t exist. And he was against it anyway. Plus, Disney will have to clear up the legal stuff that I’ve recently read about.

Long story:

George Lucas was the guy who did it right. He owned his creation. No longer would a corporation change his vision because of a focus group or committee/business decision. The creator would control it. But something happened. He joked once that he made the prequels because he needed to get his money back after a divorce. Also, that like Darth Vader he was doing something he didn’t want to do. Run a corporation. When you run a corporation it needs money. You bring in money easily by making something known. The Star Wars prequels and Indiana Jones 4. The Phantom Menace was obviously a kid’s movie. I think Lucas said he made it for his kids. I knew it had problems but I was willing to let it slide if Episode II was good. But going by many scenes in Phantom Menace including the glaring funeral scene where not one Jedi realizes that a Sith is among them. I knew something wasn’t right.

Attack of the Clones was a romantic movie with a detective story. It was ok but it was the first quality movie that had scenes that took me out of the movie. This movie was where I knew Revenge of the Sith would suck. Revenge of the Sith felt like a corporate/product movie. Every chance to do something cool in the movie was missing. It was a financial success and creatively it looked amazing. In fact, in many ways everything was right except the story. In the scope of the original trilogy, Revenge of the Sith cemented the prequel trilogy’s failure. The sad thing is, the prequels didn’t have to be like this. The original movies were the blueprint. George Lucas had all the resources he needed. I believe the prequels were profitable before release with all the product deals. Why cut corners? That big battle scene in Attack of the Clones on Geonosis should not have been full of extras playing Jedi but similar to when The Avengers come together in the city battle.

Indy 4 wasn’t that bad probably because of Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and the other high quality actors involved. But it wasn’t as good as the originals either and Crusade’s ride into the sunset is still the perfect ending. And make no mistake, even though Disney doesn’t mention rebooting the Indy series, something I thought would never happen. We are now a step closer to that happening as you know people are working behind the scenes to clear up the legal problems.

With these prequel movies, we shouldn’t need a skit of a murderer/felon, kidnapper of hookers, and overall scumbag explaining to us what is wrong with them. It’s become a big joke now and even though George Lucas says he doesn’t read reviews. He had to know that things weren’t right.

Now with the Disney takeover, some are happy about this. That’s fine. But to me Star Wars became a product. Disney will make Star Wars 7, 8, and 9. Will they reboot and erase material that was actually good about the future Skywalkers and Star Wars adventures? I would prefer that they created new adventures. But George Lucas already has outlines for parts 7, 8, and 9 so who knows. If Disney got people who actually cared about Star Wars to direct, produce, etc. it could be good. It turned out well for Avengers, not so much for Tron Legacy. But how come George Lucas didn’t do this? The stories in between the Clone Wars are great. They actually try to fix all the stuff that’s wrong with the prequels right up to the point where they have to tie into Revenge of the Sith. Which is why I lost interest in the cartoon, as it doesn't matter how good it is. The story will still have to match up to the crappy movie. Also, George Lucas’ net worth was around 2 billion during the time of the prequels. Surely, he could take 1/4 of that to finance his movie, TV, and other company projects? He could have made his own Star Wars theme park. It’s like the guy who managed to get things the way he wanted with full control over his creations is now is saying I don’t want it that way after all. Regardless of what happens with the Star Wars movies, what George Lucas did is the very definition of selling out his creation.

As I said in the opening, I’m just indifferent. I barely care. I only want a few more Star Wars things because the whole thing has been milked dry and the stories overlap at times and ignore events that were canon. Characters that were awesome are made to be silly. It will take a lot from Disney and the people in charge to change my opinion and make Star Wars cool again.

Edited November 2, 2012 by JetJockey

[Duke Togo]

JetJockey, SW became a product the second George decided to merchandise the hell out of the first movie. The whole thing stopped being pure (whatever that means) once it hit theaters in 1977. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

[renegadeleader1]

So, how long will it be before we get muppet star wars?

[Duke Togo]

So, how long will it be before we get muppet star wars?

32 years ago. Try again.

[renegadeleader1]

32 years ago. Try again.

I remember the pigs in space skits from the muppet show, and how muppet babies had entire episodes dedicated to it, but what I meann is an entire film like Muppet Treasure Island or Muppet Christmas Carol.

[JetJockey]

JetJockey, SW became a product the second George decided to merchandise the hell out of the first movie. The whole thing stopped being pure (whatever that means) once it hit theaters in 1977. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

Maybe. But the original trilogy was still cool. Now even actors that were in the prequels know they aren't good. Ewan McGregor mentioned on Top Gear once that the originals were classics and that the prequels were just those movies he was in. And he did a good job in them too.

[myk]

JetJockey, SW became a product the second George decided to merchandise the hell out of the first movie. The whole thing stopped being pure (whatever that means) once it hit theaters in 1977. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

Agreed. You know I hear a lot of people talk about the "purity" of a product; movies like SW, music, art, etc. Now I'm not an actor, a musician or an artist but when I look at people who do have those talents and have been profitable because of those talents, I find it really hard to believe that they sat down and contemplated how their skills would contribute to man's legacy in art. I think like anyone else with a potentially lucrative proposition they planned on making their idea as marketable and as profitable as possible. If they weren't interested in money and fame then they would've just left their skills and ideas in their dreams. I think Lucas came up with a brilliant idea and rightfully made a looooooot of money off of it, and I really wish people would stop thinking as if he "owed" people something, or needs to "get back" to something; he's in it for the money, and always has been.

On another note, thinking about Star Wars reminds of this: if you guys ever have a good idea put it out there! If I had done that Yukikaze would've been MY baby, not Masahiko's...

Edited November 2, 2012 by myk

[Duke Togo]

I remember the pigs in space skits from the muppet show, and how muppet babies had entire episodes dedicated to it, but what I meann is an entire film like Muppet Treasure Island or Muppet Christmas Carol.

They had Star Wars episodes of The Muppet Show, well.

[Mog]

I remember the pigs in space skits from the muppet show, and how muppet babies had entire episodes dedicated to it, but what I meann is an entire film like Muppet Treasure Island or Muppet Christmas Carol.

So essentially, you're asking for a Yoda movie.

Edited November 3, 2012 by Mog

[Omegablue]

Good riddence, the EU stuff is garbage to begin with.

Totally and utterly agree!