Hero-of-Time Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd Global leader in high-quality family entertainment agrees to acquire world-renowned Lucasfilm Ltd, including legendary STAR WARS franchise. Acquisition continues Disney's strategic focus on creating and monetizing the world's best branded content, innovative technology and global growth to drive long-term shareholder value. Lucasfilm to join company's global portfolio of world class brands including Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and ABC. STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 feature film targeted for release in 2015. Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – 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 that Star 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 Wars feature 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 of innovative 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 have no idea how to feel about this.
Mr-Paul Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 I'm excited. Star Wars is like my favourite thing in the world. A new film is too exciting. As long as they don't fuck it up! And it means more Disney/Star Wars merchandise for me to buy probably!
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Having shortly fallen for a hoax about new Star Wars films not long ago, this just seems surreal.
Zell Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Jesus H Christ, WHY WON'T THIS SERIES JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY?! Everything since Return of the Jedi has been utter rubbish. That came out in 1983. Almost 30 years ago!
Mr-Paul Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Jesus H Christ, WHY WON'T THIS SERIES JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY?! Everything since Return of the Jedi has been utter rubbish. That came out in 1983. Almost 30 years ago! Your opinion is rubbish. Episode 2 is crap, but I love 1 and 3. I hope they build a whole Star Wars theme park now. That would actually be amazing.
Cube Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 But....what....em....huh....??? ?? It's not the 1st April, is it?
Hero-of-Time Posted October 30, 2012 Author Posted October 30, 2012 I wonder if we get singing and dancing Disney style in the new Star Wars films.
jayseven Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 [in reply to Dannyboy] ^That was my first thought. The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney’s very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel ... I mean come on! Disney basically owns everything. and $4billion+?! That's a mad sum of money just for George Lucas himself to get. I'm flummoxed by it all. I guess we'll see more Indiana Jones, too? I remember Lucas once stated that he always had the idea of 9 movies. Christ. Kathleen Kennedy's wiki page is an interesting read. 2nd most successful producer, co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, with an incredible list of movies to her name.
Mr-Paul Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 I've just decided. I'm no longer happy with this deal. My complete saga Blu-Ray boxset will no longer be complete
Cube Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Also, $4.05 billion for the entire Star Wars franchise (and more - like Indiana Jones) seems like a tiny amount.
Zell Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 I should predicate my previous post with the fact that I absolutely love the original Star Wars trilogy. They are part of my childhood. And it makes me sad thinking about how much the franchise has fallen from grace.
Retro_Link Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Great news IMO! For those who loved the original trilogy, well just stick with it. Ignore the other films and watch the original versions. For everyone else who likes to see the Star Wars universe expanded, I think it's great we're getting more! I too also enjoyed Episodes I and III. There's so many more stories out there and personally I can't wait to see where they take it and how they continue it! Avengers 2 and Star Wars VII in the same year! YES PLEASE!!
Cube Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Everything since Return of the Jedi has been utter rubbish. That came out in 1983. Almost 30 years ago! Episode 1 is enjoyable - Qui Gon and Darth Maul are amazing characters. Episode 2 has some decent action, but overall probably worse than Episode 1. Episode 3 is almost as good as the original trilogy. Also, The Clone Wars has been brilliant so far.
Mr-Paul Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Also, $4.05 billion for the entire Star Wars franchise (and more - like Indiana Jones) seems like a tiny amount. It's a bargain. But some of it is in stock, which will probably rise in value, and Lucas says he was more interesting in preserving the future of Star Wars, so it doesn't die when he does.
Mokong Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Yeah I remember Lucas saying he always had a Trilogy of Trilogies in mind, but after Eps 1-3 had put any plans for eps 7-9 down.... never thought it would ever happen. Wonder where it will be based in relation to Ep 6? Will they have Luke and Solo etc? Will they follow any of the expanded SW Universes books/stories?
Retro_Link Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Yeah I remember Lucas saying he always had a Trilogy of Trilogies in mind, but after Eps 1-3 had put any plans for eps 7-9 down.... never thought it would ever happen. Wonder where it will be based in relation to Ep 6? Will they have Luke and Solo etc? Will they follow any of the expanded SW Universes books/stories? Probably quite likely it will be generational again and [like a number of the books/novels] follow the stories of Han and Leia's children etc... It would be quite an ask but it would be incredible if they could get Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to come back and star in them as their old selves! Seems almost too perfect!
Cube Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Hmm...it's a slight possibility that they could get their shiny new consultant for the Avengers films to help out with Star Wars. Now it doesn't seem quite so bad.
mcj metroid Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 l I don't know. if they made this with completely new characters with slight throwbacks to the originals( I'm talking planet references) then it has a good chance, but if they have a CGI'd elderly Luke Skywalker training someone or some shit I will puke my ring. we all know george's problem was he had too much power and was surrounded by too many "yes" people that were afraid to challenge him whenever he made stupid decisions( you know like the entire episode of 2) With new younger blood this could be awesome but this NEEDS to be live action.
Cube Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 It would be quite an ask but it would be incredible if they could get Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to come back and star in them as their old selves! Seems almost too perfect! This just popped up on my Twitter “@DrWhoOnline: SW Ep7 The big question is can Carrie Fisher still pull off the slave costume? ” The real question is can she pull it on? With new younger blood this could be awesome but this NEEDS to be live action. Why are people thinking about this? Nobody was worried about Avengers 2 turning into a cartoon.
Hero-of-Time Posted October 30, 2012 Author Posted October 30, 2012 Hmm...it's a slight possibility that they could get their shiny new consultant for the Avengers films to help out with Star Wars. Now it doesn't seem quite so bad. THAT WOULD BE TREMENDOUS!
Hamishmash Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Yeah I remember Lucas saying he always had a Trilogy of Trilogies in mind, but after Eps 1-3 had put any plans for eps 7-9 down.... never thought it would ever happen. Wonder where it will be based in relation to Ep 6? Will they have Luke and Solo etc? Will they follow any of the expanded SW Universes books/stories? The thing is, those films were box office smashes and even critical reaction from reviews was mostly positive. It's only the fans that hated them.
Dcubed Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Wow! Leia is now a Disney Princess!!! Didn't see that one coming
Frank Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Never having grown up with the Star Wars movies, I never really got the whole deal with the franchise. I remember trying to watch the original film before and it was just really meh and I couldn't appreciate how goofy it was. I think I'll try again as this does sound interesting
Serebii Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 Best thing about it is that George Lucas isn't writing it. Means less clichés, less one dimensional characters, less lines like "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" You were supposed to bring balance to the force...all good no evil...that's no balance. 2 Jedi, 2 Sith...that's balance. Oh Lucas :p
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