Disney buying Lucasfilm, Star Wars Episode VII coming in 2015

[D'Snowth]

wOOps.

 

[RedPiggy]

So, will this make getting the SW ep of TMS easier?

 

[jvcarroll]

I was initially apprehensive, but I think Disney could actually make fans happy. There are countless Star Wars fans who became filmmakers because of their love for the original trilogy. Disney would have their pick of talented people to helm a new trilogy in the classic spirit of Lucas' creation. That is, if they go that route. Let's be honest. They gave an animation director carte blanche to make John Carter without much meddling. That didn't work out, but their gamble with Whedon's Avengers sure did. Then there are the claims about the Muppets set. Who knows what really went on there, but Disney revived the Muppets to a level not seen in decades.

Lucas, like Jim Henson, understands where his family will be well cared for and they're in good company with Marvel, Pixar, the Muppets, Nightmare Before Christmas, ABC, ESPN, Mickey and friends.

Now, what will Disney do with ILM? That's a really big question nobody has asked. Oh, and how Donald Duck will feel about Howard the Duck...

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

*Clears throat*

...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Head for the hills! They'll be wantin' our souls next!

In all seriousness, I like Disney as much as the next animation history nerd/Muppet fan, but this just seems...excessive. If they have the $4.05 billion they're spending to buy LucasFilm, do they really need another company to make money for them?

 

[Drtooth]

To be fair, the John Carter problem was due to their marketing department. Why they didn't make any connection to the "Of Mars" title or Edgar Rice Burrows is beyond anyone's scope.

However, with Marvel and Star Wars, they KNOW that heck would be to pay if they screwed up. Lucas isn't safe from that, and we ALL know that. Considering there are still a bunch of predetermined rights with Marvel movies and TV shows, so I'm sure Clone Wars and the rest will go on as planned.

I do NOT have much confidence in Star Wars episode 7. They're trying to shoot for a 2015 date, and that means getting a Star Wars film out in 2 years. Who's writing the script? Is it an original idea Lucas had, or will it be something they made up entirely? Will they try harder to steer clear of wooden directing and crazy, borderline racist accents? How will this stand up to the last series of three movies? And how are they going to make us care to see more Star Wars films? Star Wars is a great series of movies, and everyone pretty much likes them, but the story is also finished, with the exception of the various different chapters in the expanded universe. Will those be part of this film, or will they be thrown aside?

 

[D'Snowth]

If they have the $4.05 billion they're spending to buy LucasFilm, do they really need another company to make money for them?

In many cases, such as this, it's not so much they're trying to make more money for themselves (though, that COULD be a motive), but quite often, what this is is a case of a bigger company buying another company and its physical and intellectual properties, simply for the sake of owning them.

EDIT: I am curious about one thing though... does this thread really warrant a sticky?

 

[Colbynfriends]

Now, what will Disney do with ILM? That's a really big question nobody has asked. Oh, and how Donald Duck will feel about Howard the Duck...

Haha, That's an interesting thought.
But that brings up a good point, because now, not only does Disney have the rights to Star Wars and Indy, they have access to ILM, one of the major animation/cg effects studios out there right now. I'm pretty sure that they'll meld together with their own studio(s) and Pixar and "trade secrets" as it were.

 

[KremlingWhatnot]

So Will We FINALLY See The Muppet Show Season 4 On DVD!!!

 

[jvcarroll]

To be fair, the John Carter problem was due to their marketing department. Why they didn't make any connection to the "Of Mars" title or Edgar Rice Burrows is beyond anyone's scope.

However, with Marvel and Star Wars, they KNOW that heck would be to pay if they screwed up. Lucas isn't safe from that, and we ALL know that. Considering there are still a bunch of predetermined rights with Marvel movies and TV shows, so I'm sure Clone Wars and the rest will go on as planned.

I do NOT have much confidence in Star Wars episode 7. They're trying to shoot for a 2015 date, and that means getting a Star Wars film out in 2 years. Who's writing the script? Is it an original idea Lucas had, or will it be something they made up entirely? Will they try harder to steer clear of wooden directing and crazy, borderline racist accents? How will this stand up to the last series of three movies? And how are they going to make us care to see more Star Wars films? Star Wars is a great series of movies, and everyone pretty much likes them, but the story is also finished, with the exception of the various different chapters in the expanded universe. Will those be part of this film, or will they be thrown aside?

John Carter's failure was not of marketing. Sure, the marketing was awful. It's a difficult picture to advertise. However, the reason that the movie tanked was due to its being overlong and poorly written. They tried to tell 5 stories in one movie without establishing any meaningful character connections. The director was not ready for live action. I bring up Carter because Disney really wanted its own Star Wars brand. That didn't work out so they bought the original!

Apparently the blueprint for a trilogy has been present for a very long time. There are decades of material and official fiction to draw from. It appears they're taking the story structure from Lucas and getting talented people to write it. Two and a half years is plenty of time to make a movie. The fact that this is Episode 7 means that they'll continue what went before. Hey, they'll probably even...ahem...release the original trilogy edit cleaned up on Blu-Ray! That's something Lucas would never do.

Lucas already kind of sullied the franchise with his CG Clone Wars program (not to be confused with Tartakovsky's brilliant traditionally animated vignettes). I have little doubt that Disney will try to steer this back to its classic roots. Of course, there will be a lot of CG. Let's hope the mix in some practical puppet effects too.

 

[Drtooth]

Lucas already kind of sullied the franchise with his CG Clone Wars program (not to be confused with Tartakovsky's brilliant traditionally animated vignettes). I have little doubt that Disney will try to steer this back to its classic roots. Of course, there will be a lot of CG. Let's hope the mix in some practical puppet effects too.

Clone Wars has gotten much better (so I'm told). They've even devoted episodes to salvaging Jar Jar Binks as a character. Not even Lucas himself did that. I can't say I like the look in CGI, but after that rocky pilot movie, the show found its direction and has become far superior to the prequels. So I'm told. I have to start watching those more. But as I always say, instead of just pasting CGI on top of live action, make the whole thing CGI.

But as for a 7th movie, I don't think we really need it. That's kinda why the film series went backwards instead of forwards. Someone somewhere on Cracked explained it. The film series ended with Darth Vader and the emperor's defeat. They do not show the inevitable vacuum of power that leads to still surviving sanctions of the Empire trying to take back over and another pair of Darths rising. We're not supposed to think about how hard the Rebels would have to work to get the galaxy working and how difficult it's going to be for them to restore order in the absence of the Empire. There are various things like that the expanded universe takes care of, but I don't think anyone wants to see as a film. The Rebels got rid of Vader and the Emperor, and everything looks hopeful with a happy ending. That's how a film series should end.