Roundup: No, it wasn’t a wish your heart made, Disney really did buy Lucasfilm yesterday

Now that the dust is settled a little from yesterday’s bombshell, we can all take a deep breath and… Continue to freak out about how there are going to be more Star Wars movies. Um.

A good place to start would be Slashfilm’s roundup of yesterday’s conference call with Russ Fischer. It addresses and expands (and yes, in some cases, speculates) on some of those lingering questions you may have on Indiana Jones, Episode VII, Industrial Light & Magic and more.

One thing I haven’t seen widely reported – though I may very well have missed it in the conference call – is Bleeding Cool’s report that Fox retains the distribution rights to the existing films.

One take I found rather interesting – if a bit paranoid – is from The Daily Intel’s Kevin Roose. He speculates that the deal is a financial dud and that Disney is getting Lucasfilm “for a steal.” I doubt this is the last we’ll hear on the financial side of this – and it’s clearly written from the perspective of a Star Wars cynic – but it’s something to keep in mind, at least. In another corner of New York Magazine, Vulture’s Kyle Buchanan and Margaret Lyons have 7 questions about Episode VII.

But overall, I think the reaction has been fairly positive, as Disney is able and – apparently – willing to let fresh eyes take on the franchise

Of course, there’s speculation on the new trilogy everywhere. ThinkProgress’ Alyssa Rosenberg weighs in on how Disney could make Episode VII awesome with 5 ideas plucked from the pages of the Expanded Universe, while Forbes’ Alex Knapp has three options and AMOG’s Keith Veronese has five. (IGN even pulled one up from their archives.) I’m sure we’re going to be seeing everyone and their vat-grown clone throw their favorite book/comic/Boba fetish into the hat for the foreseeable future. We talked a bit about this on Tosche Station last night, but you’ll just have to wait on that one!

Outside of the news sites, we’re seeing lots from the fans – and pros! – on this as well. Author Jason Fry took to Tumblr, as did Bria and Jay. Fansite proprietors at Geek My Life, NJOE and Knights Archive. And, of course, SF/F godfather John Scalzi had some thoughts as well.

Disney buys Lucasfilm, plans sequel trilogy to start in 2015

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Yes, it’s official and it is 100% for real: Disney has acquired Lucasfilm. (Here it is on StarWars.com.) We’ll know more details in a few minutes but some of the points from the press release and conference call:

  • George Lucas to be “creative consultant” on franchise; Kathleen Kennedy will continue to lead company under Disney.
  • Offer is for 4.05 billion dollars – half in cash, half in Disney stock.
  • Star Wars: Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015 with more films in the future – “every 2 to 3 years.” New movies are in “early stage development.”
  • Parks, games and television ARE on the menu. Disney “really likes” the franchise’s potential on TV. Speculation: Live action series on ABC? Star Wars folks on Once Upon A Time? Eek!
  • Lucasfilm’s value is almost all on the Star Wars franchise. Shocking!
  • Indiana Jones has “encumbrances” due to Paramount, so I wouldn’t expect to hear anything solid quickly.

Here’s a video where George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy talk about the future of the movies:


  Per the release employees will be remaining at their currently locations, so hopefully this is all great news for our friends at Lucasfilm. On the official blog, Pablo Hidalgo writes a bit about the winds of change; Steve Sansweet has weighed in as well, and J.W. Rinzler looks at the ‘history’ of Episodes VII-IX.

Rent the house where George Lucas apparently wrote The Star Wars

Curbed LA spotted this Craigslist entry for a Beverly Hills one-bedroom “once occupied by George Lucas,” claiming he “wrote the script for Star Wars here. But that was back in 1974 and the house, although habitable, is now very old and needs work.”

Curbed did a little digging to verify that Lucas had indeed rented a house on the street in question back in the day, and 1974 is indeed the year he wrote the first draft of the movie that eventually became Star Wars.

The house needs a lot of work and the owners are looking for a long-term tenant with a handyman streak. For $2000 a month, (it only cost Lucas $80) it could be yours.

Brenda Chapman leaves Pixar for Lucasfilm

The original director of Brave, Brenda Chapman has left Pixar for Lucasfilm. She’ll be consulting in the animation department on “something new.” Is it something as obvious as the Seth Green comedy project, or something else we haven’t heard about yet? After all, LucasFilm Animation “is also focusing efforts on feature film animation and other new intellectual properties.”

Chapman has an impressive resume. She has writing credits not only on Brave, but Disney’s The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, as well as directing The Prince of Egypt for Dreamworks – the first American woman to direct an animated feature film from a major studio, according to IMDB. Learn more about her career and Brave in an interview she did with Pixar Portal last year.

Whatever Lucasfilm has brewing, Chapman certainly has the chops!

A fifth Indiana Jones? Frank Marshall points to “not happening”

Interviews with producer Frank Marshall seem to indicate that Indiana Jones 5 seemes unlikely to happen. Marshall is likely to be pretty close in the loop on such things, as one of the producers on all four films in the Indiana Jones series and husband to Kathleen Kennedy, fellow Indy producer and recently named to be George Lucas’ successor at Lucasfilm.

Talking with Collider, Marshall responded that there’s no MacGuffin for a fifth film, and that Lucas, who is retiring from the reins at Lucasfilm, isn’t that interested in another flick for the archaeologist:

“Yeah, no he isn’t [hungry to do another Indiana Jones]. And he’s obviously passing the baton to my wife, so.”

Earlier in the week, Marshall told Crave that Lucas wasn’t working on the screenplay to an Indiana Jones film, claiming that a “really good story” is “hard to do”. With Lucas not at the helm of the franchise, does this mean that that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was Indy’s last hurrah? Marshall seems to think so:

“I say, for me, [Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is] the last hurrah.”

Meanwhile, the Blu-ray release of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (there’s a fitting title if Marshall’s talk proves correct) comes out September 18.

SDCC: Lucasfilm brings out live snakes, Well of Lost Souls for Indiana Jones Blu-ray

COBRA!!!!!!Lucasfilm will be promoting the upcoming release of the Indiana Jones quadrilogy on Blu-ray by having a recreation of the Well of Lost Souls at Comic-Con, with live snakes. WITH LIVE SNAKES! Talk about a ubercool photo op for fans of the Harrison Ford adventures. or uberscary, if you are an ophidiophobe. Lucasfilm’s snake pit will be located at booth #2913. Those who pre-order the set will also get a $25 gift card to Sideshow Collectibles.

Check out the Indiana Jones Blu-ray trailer at the LA Times Hero Complex. They also report that, in time for the Blu-ray release on September 18, the Indiana Jones and the Adventures of Archeology museum exhibition will be finally hitting the States, starting off in Orange County’s Discovery Science Center (which just recently finished the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibition).

No telling whether your photos will also have the tell-tale glass between you and the cobra, but at least you’ll get to say “Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?”

George Lucas is really retiring this time: Kathleen Kennedy named Lucasfilm co-chair

George Lucas has been talking about going off and making smaller movies for years now, but we’ve seen little concrete evidence to make up his statements. But earlier this week, he told Empire:

“I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.” Does he really mean it this time? Only time will tell.

But today, we have real some real evidence to back up his statements: Kathleen Kennedy, a producing partner of Steven Spielberg, will become co-chair of Lucasfilm. Lucas will remain as co-chair and CEO of the company.

The two worked together on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Kennedy said she would like to look into “the possibility of [Lucasfilm] making more movies.”