George Lucas Lets Go…
Talking about Han’s last appearance for a while will have to wait until Monday… What follows are some thoughts about George Lucas’ shock announcement of the sale of LucasFilm (including Star Wars and Indiana Jones) to Disney.
The immediate reaction from many was to assume that Disney Star Wars means cutesy, even cheap, renditions of a once great franchise. Queue the inevitable jokes and internet memes sticking a Star Wars reference on any iconic Disney imagery. While I have little doubt that we WILL eventually see Princess Leia join the Disney princess pantheon in merchandise for young girls, I would think we all know that the studio has produced good (sometimes great) movies; particularly in the last decade. The announcement of Star Wars VII in 2015, and the curious goings on with George Lucas himself, have been overshadowed by unnecessary vitriol toward the sale to Disney.
Disney makes few animated films these days. Although I’m not a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean or the National Treasure franchises, movies like Tron: Legacy, John Carter, and Avengers show the respect and effort Disney is capable of investing into a property. In these cases, they worked with directors and writers that had passion and extensive knowledge of the property. In addition, Pixar know how to put story and characters first, something the Prequels struggled with. Star Wars, in film and television, can benefit from this relationship.
That said, I’m unsettled on another front. Leanne yelled the news from the living room and the first thing I thought about was Disney: The business empire.
Disney has every right to go after companies making money off their characters without a license. I personally can’t stand the fly-by-night T-shirt companies that try to walk a fine line between Fair Use of pop culture and outright infringement. However, in 1989 Disney went after day care centers that had Disney characters as murals on their walls. Not everyone who gets hit by the legal department intended infringement. LucasFilm had an active relationship with fans, but corporate giant, Disney has an ominous shadow. For many of us, as fans of Star Wars, our estranged father has just turned us over to either a cold stepmother or loving uncle… or something halfway in-between.
Blue Milk Special is a fan-made parody of Star Wars, essentially a hybrid of fan art and fan fiction. Although we could exploit Fair Use law, we respect LucasFilm’s rights. The spirit of this fan webcomic is to celebrate and have fun with the characters and stories that are dear to a whole generation. For that reason, Blue Milk Special remains a free fan project and so we will not publish it for sale. It’s the best way to ensure we get to complete the journey, plus we feel better about ourselves this way.
I think Blue Milk Special will be fine.
I don’t think George Lucas is a sellout, but I don’t think he’s happy either. Giving up LucasFilm and movie-making? He must really have been hurting to let go of everything he has built in the last four decades. I think George is tired and exhausted on several fronts. The most obvious burden would be the jokes and hatred from some quarters, and the sheer size of the cultural and financial impact of Star Wars. But even inside the Skywalker Ranch bubble, exposure to the growing criticism of his decisions must be impossible to escape.
It’s not just fans, it’s the movie-making business too. In May of this year, Lucas abandoned a 25 year battle with his rich neighbors over his plans to build a huge independent movie-making studio on land he owns in the North San Francisco Bay. Lucas Valley would have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to the area and provided a place for independent films to flourish. Tired of the “not in our backyard” campaign, George is now planning to turn the property into low-income housing to benefit those that need it most. Five months later, he’s giving up LucasFilm and movie-making altogether and donating the majority of the $4 billion from Disney to benefit education.
I suppose it should not be a total surprise that he doesn’t want the responsibility anymore. By selling LucasFilm to Disney, he’s ensuring continuity for his former employees and their livelihoods with a huge, stable, company in the same line of business. That makes sense.
I just didn’t expect him to let go of Star Wars.
I think selling LucasFilm at all, regardless of who the buyer was, is the most surprising thing about all of this. Before Tuesday this week, George was either going to his grave at the head of LucasFilm, or he was going to pass the baton on to someone else. But could LucasFilm have survived intact with no clear plan in place beyond George Lucas himself?
Interestingly, Disney almost collapsed in the ensuing decades after its founder, Walt Disney died in 1966. It survived a shaky period to evolve into the diversified entertainment giant it is today, but LucasFilm might not have been so lucky.
I believe George when he says he wanted to leave Star Wars in a safe pair of hands. He’s entrusting his life’s work to someone that can promise it a future. Disney’s Kathleen Kennedy mentioned protecting the characters, which sounds ominous, but is probably music to George’s ears. Financially, Disney in the 21st century has the power to protect his creations for eternity, successfully lobbying congress to stretch copyright laws to suit their interests.
Most other corporations lack the institutional stability of Disney to guarantee a company like LucasFilm has longevity. Selling to Disney means that the ideals George expects them to maintain for his former properties will endure without the risk and uncertainty of less secure corporate entities. In addition, Disney has a reputation for family entertainment and will guarantee Star Wars remains approachable for that audience.
It sounds like he will remain as a sort of executive producer or consultant, perhaps in a similar capacity as he did on a film like Labyrinth. George will still be around, but probably in the capacity in which he has served best in recent times, as a guiding light. I just hope he can find a little of the magic that once made him passionate as a filmmaker. Part of him has to be emotional about making this decision, and I think it shows. He looks so sad in all the press release photos in recent years.
As a fan who makes a Star Wars webcomic, I can’t be the only one feeling unsettled about how the relationship with Disney/LucasFilm might change. How will this impact Dark Horse comics Star Wars license? A license they have held for almost 20 years. Given that Disney owns Marvel Comics, and Marvel originally had the license in the early 1980s, I expect the days of Dark Horse Comics retaining the license are numbered.
Another thought is whether Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi EVER enter public domain now that they are owned by Disney? Disney is infamous for lobbying Congress to extend copyright protection, using their money and power to reshape the laws that were established to foster the innovation and evolution of ideas. Perhaps Disney’s legal contortionism, and ability to protect their “Intellectual Property”, was one of the attractions for Lucas when looking for Star Wars’ new home.
How will this affect the fans? LucasFilm has sponsored Fan Movie Awards, hosted Star Wars Celebration conventions, and generally been very tolerant of fandom in its various forms. Disney somehow seems less personable and approachable. The 501st Legion / Rebel Legion should be fine although Disney may have stricter rules than LucasFilm which charity organizations are obliged to follow.
We will unlikely be able to fund our appearances at conventions as Blue Milk Special, due to the costs. We’re definitely not going to cross Disney. If you want to support the upkeep of the site, you can commission a sketchcard and check out our professional non-Star Wars work like Leanne’s art books and Once Upon A Super Hero.
I’m looking forward to Monday’s Blue Milk Special, because the parody of Empire Strikes Back continues to move forward, and it’s what I enjoy about Star Wars. I’m already worn out with all the Disney / Star Wars news. I have no real concern about the quality of future movies. The prequels already lowered my expectations and Disney has a good track record for story-driven entertainment outside of its animated features. The chances of a movie that captures something of the spirit of the originals are at least better now than they were before the announcement.
I feel bad for George. We wish him a happier future, not simply as a Star Wars consultant, but as the visionary that brought us Star Wars with a team of the best movie-makers in the 20th century. He is the philanthropist behind Edutopia, part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Finding ways to boost education and make improvements to society is a noble project and it is praiseworthy that he is making this his focus in later life. We also wish Kathleen Kennedy and Disney the best of luck reinvigorating and upholding a universe that we still want to escape into.
Bye, George. Thanks for dreaming.
I was actually excited to hear about the sale. I think one of the problems the prequels had was a little too much Lucas control (sometimes you just need someone around who isn’t afraid to tell you “no”). New Star Wars movies might capture a little more of the original feeling.
Also, Disney seems happy to release their older, original movies. Maybe we’ll finally get a remastered blu-ray for the non-special edition trilogy.
I feel the same way about new movies. I’m just pointing out that, from the point of view of a fan who makes a Star Wars webcomic, the news of new movies was diluted somewhat by concerns over the future of BMS. Hopefully Disney continues LucasFilm’s tolerant attitude toward Star Wars fandom.
Where have i been. This is most intriguing i wonder if 7 will go to lukes kids? like tron moved to flynns son. alls i can say is I hope Disney takes good care of Georges work.
Mmm, I good read, with some very interesting points. I’m sorta of the same opinion, like I’ve mentioned on your FB page, I have no doubt the movies will be good, what I’m worried about is the EU and whether or not Disney will just simply choose to ignore it. I have lost one of my favorite novel series, Republic Commando, due to Clone Wars ignoring previous cannon. Now the series that got me into extended universe, X-Wing, is on the line with these new movies… So it’s a mixed bag, in my opinion I would have preferred if these movies were never made, considering that all the main plot points after RotJ have been covered in EU novels and comics for the next 40 years, universe wise…
The expanded universe books were always going to be a spin-off universe, regardless of Lucas originally paying them lip service as being “canon”. That’s because he wasn’t heavily involved in the shaping of the expanded universe so it evolved well beyond his own personal vision of Star Wars, giving him no reason to feel beholden to it when finally returning to Star Wars himself. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the future Disney canon as a separate spin-off universe of its own. I don’t even watch Clone Wars and I certainly don’t pay attention to their retconning. The bottom line for me has always been the original trilogy. That is the core. Everything else is a bonus and has its own merits or failings, but doesn’t matter in the long run to me. I’m happy to give Disney a shot to impress me after the Prequels, but it won’t be Star Wars without a lot of the key imagery and concepts. They can’t just make a new sci-fi franchise (300 years in the future of Star Wars, slap the Star Wars logo on it and expect me to accept it, or to care about it). We all want to RETURN to the Star Wars universe, not some new universe that has little resemblance.
The news where shocking at first, George selling his lifework out. But now, I see the chance it has. With Disney paying 4 billions $, they want to get the money back and with this, we were going to see a lot new of Star Wars. Slowly I get the exciting feelings, I had when the PT came out. Only the thought of Leia as a Disney-Princess makes me afraid. Leia is a strong- willed , independ woman, who didn’t need to be rescued and Disney- Princesses are not. And her standing next to them, with flowers insted of a blaser in her hand, a crown on her had and glitter all over her dress, it won’t fit her.
Leia becoming part of the Disney Princess pantheon is likely to only be used for merchandise aimed at young children. Coloring books, young reader storybooks, posters for little children, etc… If Disney ever makes a Star Wars cartoon for younger audiences, it will probably be its own universe. Look at Marvel Super Hero Squad. They have heavily cartoonized versions of their super heroes in adventures aimed at young kids. They still have more mature animated shows starring their characters, as well as successfully live action movies. I’m sure Leia will be fine.
I must say Rod, I too had thought of Superhero Squad too and Star Wars mini-galactic heroes toys – or whatever they are.
Great strip, even greater article. Well done both of you.
John
Thanks!
This is a really well written article. My first reaction was one of dread. I think the reason being that I loved the original trilogy so much and I was so excited when the new films appeared. I was so disappointed when I watched them that I don’t want that disappointment again. Having said that, there have been good to come out of it – the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars were really well done – much better than the films. I hope Disney don’t go so overprotective of it though and BMS can keep going as long as you want it to.
Me too. By the time BMS reaches the end of Return of the Jedi, Disney will likely have owned Star Wars for a whole year. Who knows what they might do to “protect” it in that time.
Well put, Rod.
I have no qualms about the acquisition. Disney has proven itself with Pixar and Marvel and, yes, their litigation tendencies are formidable, but they are just exercising their clout according to established TM laws. Not saying I like it, but I understand their reasons.
I’ve made no secret of my distaste for people who have spewed vitriol in George’s direction in the past, and even his astonishing philanthropy will do nothing to abate the haters, but I too sense a tinge of sadness to his decision. Nobody ever thought he would do this, but enough is enough.
Let’s not forget Disney acquires everything under the LFL banner, including ILM, Lucasarts and Skywalker Sound. This will have an impact across many fronts.
Oh, and terrific strip today 🙂
Heck, we could very well see an Indiana Jones animated series someday. And it could be set during the 1930s, like it’s supposed to be!
I feel sorry for the enormous disappointment he probably feels.
He probably shouldn’t have tried Directing again. He tried something new with ‘Red Tails’ – as if to prove to himself that there’s more to him than Star Wars – and it appears to have failed from what I’ve read about it.
A real shame for a creative person and for the creator of possibly the most loved and influential film ever.
John
Didn’t Kathleen Kennedy produce all of Speilburgs best stuff?
Han’s last appearance. 🙁 That sucks. Good strip though.
As for the news, I wouldn’t worry about Celebration too much. I don’t think. Disney had a big presence there this year, selling merchandise and their own Celebrtaion shirt. And they were running the Jedi Academy. I suspect we might see the rest of the Celebrations in Anaheim or Orlando now. 🙂
Thanks, re: the strip. It’s going to be forgotten about with this LucasFilm news. :-/
I sure hope that even though this strip is obviously a parody that Disney does not see a Smoking Leia as an issue. I doubt it, but after seeing your Welcome to Disney strip it just stuck out. Which you can curse Disney as it is easy to see how things can be Disneyfied.
We’re a fan comic and we make it clear we’re for older readers. But yeah, there is the potential for Disney to start dictating things, even to us. As far as I’m concerned, Princess Leia is part of pop culture now and that means she’s open to parody like this. That doesn’t mean it will stop Disney from trying to “protect” the characters, or attempting to bend the laws of free speech and fair use.
I have to say the news came unexpected, but I do think George did a smart thing, regardless of what he spends the money on. Disney does take good care of it’s property, even if they overdo it a bit at times… And thy do generally make nice movies.
I do feel bad for Dark Horse. Their licence may indeed go back to marvel, which is really a shame, as to my mind they are in large part responsible for reviving Star Wars in the early 90’s. Still business is business.
I accually like all the cross-over fanart. The whining not so much.
Like you, I hope George has a long, fruitfull and happy future, just as long as he remembers Han shot first. He gave us a lot.
Well said!
I will say that having worked at Disney during the Henson debacle I have the utmost faith in Disney to do what is right by the franchise.
When you really look at the similarities of Henson and Lucas they were both stagnant franchises. While I LOVE them both they aren’t making large products that effect consumers beyond the base. They are still manufacturing toys and products and books and they are still a popular brand but there is no expansion. This also shows in the value of only 4.05 billion. Pixar sold for 3 billion more because they had an active line up of future projects and were expanding the franchise where as Lucas and Henson were not expanding.
Disney also had learned one major thing about building their empire. After the Henson sale they sat too long on the franchise and didn’t produce anything of any significance for nearly 15-20 years. This is why the latestes muppet Movie wasn’t being pushed as hard because they didn’t know if the brand had finally collapsed into being worthless.
However when they bought Pixar they learned from that mistake and instantly released plans to expand the brand and piggy back on it’s success and popularity. Now some of the best movies are being produced at Pixar, by the same artists, who were originally there. The quality never was compromised.
I think that is why they are planning to do the next three movies so fast. They know they have to build the franchise or it will fall flat and there may never be hope to recoop their investment.
One movie will recoop that investment and I am really excited not for what Disney will do for they will probably be really hands off, but what Kathleen Kennedy will do. Is she going to bow to the Lucas vision while he consults or is she going to embrace her own vision and take the franchise in a bolder direction.
I can’t wait to see what is next!!! This is very exciting…
What a great response! Some ideas and thoughts in here that are really interesting. I thought the new Muppets movie was good. I didn’t love it, but as a post Henson Muppet movie, they definitely rekindled much of the magic. I can’t help but be excited about a new Star Wars movie with a change in “management”. I know lots of people are worrying about the expanded universe, but this is an opportunity for people like me to maybe get something closer to what we had originally hoped for with a continuation of Star Wars in film. We will see.
OK, this is my favorite strip now. After all Han did for Luke, attacking the Death Star when he didn’t want to, riding out into the freezing Hoth night, gutting a tauntaun, he had the right to expect a rescue of his own. Way to go, there, Luke.
Oh, and the Disney thing is very interesting.
Disney has already shown that it can make a good sci-fi epic. In 1979 they released THE BLACK HOLE which scored their first PG rating. It failed to live up to its budget, but any sci-fi epic sandwiched between ANH and ESB was pretty much doomed to obscurity. For the time, it probably had the biggest special effects budget ever and delivered wonderfully, and it has a soundtrack that is awesome in its own right. I highly recommend it.
I remember seeing The Black Hole when I was young and finding it mind numbingly boring. I suppose, an as adult, I should give it a second chance. I’ll definitely check out the soundtrack. Always looking for gems.
At first I was pleased, because we need less “George” involvement in Star Wars development. His total-control method produces no new innovation and stifles the quality of the work. Areas where he has little or no involvement turn out the best.
Then I realized he’s not taking the Long Walk into the Cursed Earth. He’s still the majority shareholder of Disney and will probably be nearby for most projects.
At first I was worried about how Disney would affect Star Wars, now I’m terrified about how Lucas will affect Disney.
No spoilers here, but next week’s strip? Bahahahahahahahaha!!! X D
Well, that’s a very well written article indeed… and strip, of course, though it is sadly somewhat overshadowed by the recent news.
The news really surprised me when I heard. I couldn’t quite acknowledge that Lucas had sold the empire he’d built over the past couple of decades and more importantly, that he’d sold Star-Wars. His child. His legacy, really.
I do worry, though. Mostly due to the impersonality of Disney. I’d always felt that LucasFilm put in a great deal of heart and effort into everything they’d done, with the exception of certain toys and the Clone Wars tv seires, they always felt like they cared and wanted to be involved. The video games for instance always seemed to have a fairly high quality about them, and just a feeling of involvement and care from LucasFilm/LucasArts.
Wheras Disney I’ve never felt they’ve quite seemed so… caring. They always just seemed to be in it for the money for me, as opposed to any amount of love for what they were doing. (They made ‘Cars 2’ for goodness sake.) Of course LucasFilm were intending to make money every company has to, but for Lucas himself I always felt he’d just made something that he loved and would have liked to have seen in the cinema and the fact that people actually paid to go and watch it was a happy coincidence.
But, Disney’s involvement will undoubtedly cause a reinvestment in the franchise. If we can look past the smattering of money-grabbing products and series aimed at children – like the inevitable incorporation of Leia into Disney Princesses – there’s every chance and possibility that Star Wars ep. 7 will be brilliant, so long as it’s picked up by someone within Disney who cares for it, and that George isn’t wholly excluded.
I found it surprising that after the initial panic for the sake of Star Wars itself, I was worried for the future of BMS. BMS is a wonderful, funny, well written and drawn comic which never sullies itself by dipping into the tempting honeypot of particularly crude or dirty humour and I’d hate to see it shut down due to some ill-conceived lawsuit from a global empire.
So er…
Star
FETT
Wars
anyone?
John
Yeah, I can see them turning to Boba Fett. Perhaps that’s a good idea. Vader is gone. The Stormtroopers might be gone (unless they go down EU lines with the Imperial warlords fighting amongst themselves). There’s a lot of imagery that kind of ends with Return of the Jedi, if it is left as it was intended, to conclude the fight against the Empire with the victory of good over evil. I personally, would love to see more of the smugglers, the fighter pilots, the bounty hunters… I’m tired of Jedi. Jedi were exclusive and mysterious in the OT because there was only Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda. You didn’t have to have a lightsaber to be a hero… Han Solo, Princess Leia, Lando, Chewbacca. New movies will probably involve the training of new Jedi, but hopefully that does not have the consequence of again swamping us in lightsaber land.
I think you know that we’re in strong agreement on that:
” I’m tired of Jedi. Jedi were exclusive and mysterious in the OT because there was only Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda.
… hopefully […] not […] the consequence of again swamping us in lightsaber land.”
I know, it bores the hell out of me. Deflect lasers, force push, make stuff fly through the air, sit around talking like monks. Yaaawwwwwn…
As long as the new movie is told only once I’ll be cool with that. 😉
Love the Disney “Extra” Strip. 🙂
Poor Han, never assume that because you have someone’s back that they will have yours…
Very true.
Note: Disney is also getting Skywalker Sound, and ILM as part of the deal. Point of fact, Lucas could have sold either of those for $4m alone. I gotta wonder why he bundled the Lucasfilm IP’s in there as well. On the other hand, donating the cash to education? Probably the classiest thing anyone involved in Hollywood has ever done.
There is one thing that no one has discussed yet, and it’s the thing that disappoints me/disturbs me the most. George Lucas has, from the very beginning, been the shepherd of the creative Independent movement. He managed to talk 20th Century Fox to leave him alone during production of the first film, and made all kinds of promises to get funding for the movie, and to launch the merchandizing business. He’s made FOX a mint, and that’s before we count what went into his pocket, and how much change he brought to the industry. He did this mostly on his own, without bending to corporate demands or bullying, and while the quality of his last films are questionable, there is no denying the impact his franchise has had on the world, not to mention his production companies (listed above) on the industry.
So, the greatest solo flier of Hollywood has sold his livelihood and entire legacy to one of the world’s biggest and unfriendliest entertainment conglomerates. That, right there, is what breaks my heart. He was the shining example for those independent creators (who’s ranks I am trying to join), and he sold *everything* to that which we often consider the enemy.
I’ve mixed feelings on the entire thing. I can only hope that the fans, the most innocent involved in this transaction, do not suffer. And I *really* hope this comic is left to run its course. I am dying to see what you guys do with “…Jedi”.
Im not too sure how I feel about lucasfilms being sold to Disney, but whats done is done. Who knows what the new movies will be like. All I know is that I will forever be a fan of Star Wars and while it saddens me to see George Lucas selling his franchise I am happy to see that his characters will continue to live on and that the money he will be getting will be going to those who need it. Also all those employed by his company will get to keep their jobs and wont just be ousted.
I for one hope that BMS will be able to keep going and be able to complete the original saga I feel copyright laws sometimes enforced a little to stringently in many cases.
Another great strip today!
I do have mixed feelings about the sale to Disney. It worries me that VII, VIII & IX may be more profit-driven than about the story. What’s even more worrisome is how anything fan-related (like BMS) would be affected by the Disney behemoth.
However, considering the hue & cry that erupted when Disney tried to sell a Mickey Mouse shirt based on the cover of Joy Division’s album ‘Unknown Pleasures’, and how quickly said shirt was taken off the market…..perhaps there’s hope.
http://stereogum.com/930921/weird-merch-alert-disneys-joy-division-t-shirt/news/
Even with the changes that George Lucas did to his movies (it is his sandbox we get to play in, at least until the sale goes through), they didn’t upset me too badly, except for two: Greedo shooting first and the removal of the older Anakin Force ghost. Sorry, Sebastian Shaw should still be at the end of ROTJ!
Thanks for the new strips…they brighten up my days, especially on Mondays. 🙂
I think Joy Division would get more media attention than a dinky little fan webcomic like ours. That’s the trouble with corporation vs the little guy. The story has to grab attention for the media to take an interest. Joy Division has a lot broader appeal and reputation as an influential synthpop band than BMS has as a webcomic. Even though PvP and Penny Arcade are huge in the webcomic world, I’m sure even they would have a fight on their hands.
Maybe we need to underground and stop promoting BMS altogether.
I would have been far happier if Lucas had done what most corporations do— have his board pick someone in the industry that could do it justice.
I’m not happy with the sale. Disney is no longer kid-friendly. Families can’t watch their movies together.
The quality at Disney crashed when the Disney family was pushed out, the last one being Roy, who gave up in disgust at the garbage that was going into the movies. Disney began to push this or that agenda. And so their audience has largely ended. It’s not like the 1970s when most people watched movies. About 20% of the American public ever goes to one, mainly because of the content. That’s down from 30% in the 1980s when Hollywood still tried to claim they produced what people wanted.
There were exceptions: many people who never went to movies made an exception for Star Wars films and for Star Trek films (before ST5, anyway. The franchise is just about hit the wall from bad writing).
I’m reminded of 1987. I had just graduated high school and was looking forward to the next Lucas film. After all, he’d promised 20 of them.
And we got Howard the Duck. Fans were livid.
We got nothing else until the end of the century.
I really wish Lucas had stayed on track. If he’d produced a new movie every 3 years, we’d have 11 films.
Unlike Lucasfilm, which seems relatively honorable, Disney has no such reputation.
So, it’s Howard the Duck once again… This time with Donald.
Goodbye George. While you failed to deliver on what you promised, you left us some very good memories.
I miss the days when one could go to a movie and not worry about what was in it. Watch and see how Disney fills the new movies with garbage that turns the stomach of viewer.
Great write up. Very concise and a nice break from the above average Lucas bashing that permeates so many Star Wars rants from fans.
I agree with the consensus regarding the substandard prequel movies and most if not all of Red Letter Media’s reviews of the prequel films, but to me, there has always been a sense of sadness regarding George’s departure from directing and movie making and into the role of custodian of the Star Wars Universe. It is true that he went on to produce many different films with varying success, but I think when he stepped away from the role of creator and director we may have lost a prolific movie maker. He went from rogue film director that hated the studio system stepping out of the director’s chair after the original Star Wars in 1977, and didn’t direct another film until Phantom Menace in 1999. To cut off that creative outlet and isolate all of your efforts into managing other people’s creative flow in a universe you created had to be frustrating. And when he finally gets a chance to direct again, the results were… less than encouraging.
Now he sees a blowback from fans of the series that he has spent a great deal of his life protecting, overseeing, nurturing, et al. I am not sure anyone can really understand how Lucas must feel after that. So it was refreshing reading your write up of his various endeavors, including many that I was unaware of.
The only thing that sticks in my craw of the various statements I have heard regarding the positive outlook on Disney’s buyout of Lucasfilm, both here and a few made by my own friends, is that a lot of people use the Marvel films, including the Avengers, as an argument at how well Disney is doing in making movies. Here’s the thing. Disney didn’t “make” the Avengers. Disney bought Marvel Studios, and they did buy the distribution rights from Paramount, but they did absolutely nothing to interfere in the running and development of the picture. The film was first financed by Marvel Studios, along with others, off of a loan they financed from Merril Lynch in 2004.
When Disney bought Marvel, they agreed to run the film studio as an independent subsidiary. The accolades and credit for making the Avengers should not lie with Disney in the slightest. The only thing that they did was not interfere with the studio, and in 2011 fire most of the marketing department from Marvel saying that Disney will now market all of their films. The Avengers was made by the same people that were behind the bulk of Marvel movies made up until now.
This is a small petty argument, but it does rankle me a bit. The good news is from what I have read this is the same arrangement that Disney is setting up with Lucasfilm. (Except I don’t remember seeing Mickey dressed up as Spiderman during the announcement of the Marvel sale.)
I will remain skeptical until the director and production teams are named for the new film. I think should Gore Verbinski be named as a director and Jerry Bruckheimer be brought on as a producer the fans might start singing a different tune.
On a completely different note: Won’t it be weird not seeing the 20th Century Fox logo w/ music on the screen before “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
Oh, and no way are they stopping at 9.
(it might be a while, but still…)
As I received the news “Disney bought Star Wars, and guess what?! They’re making more movies!” I just thought of the long parade of a suck-fest that is the direct to the $1 DVD bin-sequels of the greatest Disney movies ever. But I hope that practice was left back in the dark Eisner-90’s…
Your blog post was illuminating. I didn’t know about Lucas’ charity projects. I’m just as conflicted about this acquisition as I was about Marvel, Pixar and The Muppets but they seem to be allowed to do their own thing the way they do it best, with better financial security I guess. I still dread further movies though. As much as I love building a universe around a single story the prequel movies are not good. The story is sound but basically everything else about the movies and TV show is crap. Sometimes you just have to let a story stand on it’s own. Lucas got away with the prequels by describing Star Wars as the Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. I like that. Let that be it. Let the fans make their own further stories, which is what the Expanded Universe is great for. But a sequel trilogy only smells like more Disney-dollars for The Mouse.
Great strip! 😀 Poor Han thinking he will be saved but then disappointed.
As to the news, I was in shock for the rest of the evening and I’m quite conflicted about the new movies. I’m afraid they will trample over the EU, which I do love.
Honestly I would much rather have seen a series of Old Republic movies and then have left the Skywalker/Solo family be. I feel there’s much more potential in the OR era(s) and much more creative freedom for the writers and movie makers. I’m still going to hope for some OR movies in the future.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Captain Antilles, Mon Mothma, a younger Ackbar, and Bail Organa kicking some ass. I’m seriously considering doing a flashback storyarc in BMS starring that group and more.
Isn’t it kinda funyy/sad? it was hateful “fans” that drove poor Lucas to sell, and now the same haters hate on that. It’s like the unnessecary prequel-hating all over again. doesn’t matter how good or bad ep7 would/will be, haters gonna hate just because it’s something new, like the PT :/
I’m not surprised. George had a vision and kept adding to his films to meet that vision as the ability to do so became possible. All he got was ranted at for it. He went back and created the prequel trilogy, and while the younger audiences loved it, so many of the long term fans, having completely forgotten what it was like to see Episode IV back in ’77 for the first time panned it and ranted at him for it. I think the only thing that Lucas did wrong was relying too much on the CGI in the prequel trilogy. To me, as someone who had been a fan since 1977, I went to see a Star Wars film when The Phantom Menace was released and that is exactly what I was delivered and I loved it. It wasn’t perfect, nor were the 3 follow up films, but then the originals were hardly perfect either. Time has turned them into something mysical to some, when they are only just a bunch of cool sci-fi movies, and many fans lost sight of that.
Going forward I am hopeful that Disney will give new life back to the franchise. As someone else pointed out the Star Wars name has been riding on its past glories for some time now. We have an animated TV series now and continued talk of live action, but no movies in the queue. There was nothing to really hook the *next* generation into the Star Wars universe. Since they are talking episode VII it is clear they are not planning to do a Star War reboot as was foisted off on Star Trek fans. Thank the maker for that!
I have been a diehard Star Wars fan since my dad came home from a business trip and handed me 1 of each of the original 12 kenner Star Wars figures in 1977. I haven’t looked back. With the exception of the Holiday special (ouch!!!!) and the two Ewok adventures, I love everything Star Wars, even the Prequels. I have decades worth of novels set in the universe. Some are exceptional stories (like Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy), but some of them are just terrible, but I still enjoy them. These days as a member of the 501st I am able to bring my joy with this universe to others and help to keep it alive for myself as well.
With this sale the future is pretty much open and inviting for Star Wars fans again. Should be an interesting ride to say the least! I’m still planning to be marching with the legion at Hollywood Studios for Star Wars weekends for years to come. 🙂
Great write up, Skriker! I’ve always thought trooping in costume had to be tough with the heat, but I don’t know how you guys manage it in places like Florida and California.