Disney Buys Lucasfilm for $4B, Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015
Yesterday, Disney bought Lucasfilm for an estimated $4.05 Billion! With this Disney now owns both Star Wars and Indiana Jones brand. The purchase also includes Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. Disney claims they will be releasing a new Star Wars trilogy, starting with Episode 7 in 2015. Disney also states that you will most likely see a Star Wars movie every two years! What do you think about the Disney purchase, will it improve or ruin the Star Wars brand? 
Official Press Release:
BURBANK, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– 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 thatStar 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 Warsfeature 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 ofinnovative 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.
I think this will absolutely DESTROY the Star Wars story line and theme. However, I’m definitely going to see the new movie, it should be very interesting.
I love how everyone is freaking out about how Disney will “destroy Star Wars”. I don’t know if you’ve noticed guys, but George Lucas already did that with the Star Wars Prequels. The only good thing to come out of the Star Wars franchise film and TV-wise was the Original Trilogy. If you ask me, Disney will actually make a GOOD movie. After all they can’t do any worse than Episode III. Star Wars was good IN SPITE of George Lucas, not BECAUSE of him. The Empire Strikes Back wasn’t directed by George Lucas and guess what? It’s widely considered the best film in the series. Even if they put Mickey Mouse in there, that’s still better than Jar Jar Binks. The only way the Star Wars franchise can go from here is up. I rest my case.
You realize Star Wars wouldn’t even EXIST without George Lucas, right…?
And “I don’t know if you’ve noticed”, but not everyone hates the prequels. It just irks me when I see people who think everyone agrees with them and their opinion is fact. I’m sorry, but that’s what this comment seems to say.
I rest my case.
I’m not trying to start a flame war here, and two site CONTRIBUTORS having a petty argument looks particularly bad, but here’s what I obviously didn’t say in my comment that was important. If you like the prequels, that’s absolutely fine. No, really, I meant it, that’s great. But at some point you have to accept that OBJECTIVELY the prequels sucks and some of the negative opinions leveled at the film might have a point. I’ve read a lot of arguments from people who like the prequels and a lot of them seem to boil down to: “I liked the film DESPITE all the problems”. There’s no arguing with that, but OBJECTIVELY the prequels are bad films. Additionally, while we can thank George for the original concept of Star Wars and his role in making a great first movie in “A New Hope” can’t be underestimated, you have to remember that a lot of the worst ideas in the Original Trilogy were reined in by other people. If you look back at early interviews, there were some really awful ideas on the table for the first film and if George had been allowed to proceed with complete creative control it’s likely (but not certain) “A New Hope” would’ve been as bad as “The Phantom Menace”. So yes, George Lucas gave us Star Wars, but if we’ve learned anything it’s that a franchise flourishes when it is taken out of the creator’s hand. Look at Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry. Things didn’t really pick up until he was booted out. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. At this stage, it’s a good thing George has no control over Star Wars. And something that irks ME is everyone having the knee jerk reaction that Disney will ruin Star Wars. It’s already been ruined in my opinion and also, Disney owns PIXAR and they used to make great movies. Who’s to say they can’t do it again?
Well I kindly disagree that the films are objectively bad. They actually got pretty good reviews, except for maybe Episode 1. But even Episode 1 got just as many good reviews as bad, if not more. You’d think the critics (most of whom have studied film in depth) would’ve completely bashed a trilogy of films that are so “objectively bad”. Man, the sheer amount of HATRED that some people have for these movies is just astounding. They look for every single flaw they can find, which only makes them hate them even more. Lol, you’d think they’d have learned something from the Emperor in Return of the Jedi about hate, or does that not apply to this galaxy?