Disney-Star-WarsWhen the news broke last night that Disney were to buy Lucasfilm and that a new Star Wars movie will be out in cinemas in the same summer as The Avengers 2 sent the internet as close to meltdown as I’ve seen it.

Rarely have I seen so many Photoshopped mash-ups (Disney Princess Leia, The Emperor’s New Groove etc) thrown out into the twittersphere so quickly. Few saw it coming and yet as the disbelief subsided there was an outporing of opinion and conjecture as to what this all meant.

Disney now own Marvel, Pixar (which begin as part of ILM) and now Lucasfilm and this summer’s The Avengers proved that Disney can deliver up a fine film, exceeding expectations of critics, the fans and their shareholders, in this instance by employing the right people to do the job. But is the continuation of the Star Wars series a good idea at all? Have we been let down once too often?

We asked our writers to posit theories on the future harmony (or not) of Disney and Star Wars, knowing that Lucas will still be somewhere in the mix as a creative consultant is certain to ensure continuity but many fans are hoping that’s where the influence will end. Are you excited by the notion of a new Star Wars? One under the hand of someone like Brad Bird perhaps, and in a world where Star Wars so saturates the market with a bloated expanded universe, beloved characters hawking phones in television adverts and a seemingly endless series of adaptations and spin-offs is a new film what we really need?

Have your say in the comments,

Robert Keeling

 I think it’s really exciting news. There’s clearly a lot of scope for continuing the Star Wars franchise but I think it needed a fresh viewpoint at the helm in order to do so. It’s a harsh but true fact that Lucas has proved over the years that he’s not really a particularly good director/screenwriter/producer….basically anything film related. Not just with the Star Wars prequels, but also with the fourth Indy abomination too, he just seemed to completely drop the ball and miss opportunities to make really enjoyable and exciting movies. With new leadership and Disney’s infinite pot of money, there’s no reason the Star Wars franchise can’t be reinvigorated and go on to flourish under Disney stewardship just like Pixar and Marvel have done.

Kenji Lloyd

If Disney take a leaf out of their own book from their dealings with Marvel, and give the keys to the kingdom to someone who really loves the franchise, then I think there’s every reason to look forward to Episode VII.

Joss Whedon raised the bar in a big way with The Avengers, and the first trailer for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 has proven that even with Disney distributing, the two studios aren’t afraid to go dark, which should be a good sign for anyone fearing the Disneyfication of a new Star Wars film.

If they can find someone with the kind of love-affair Whedon clearly has with Marvel and its Universe, then a new Episode – and most likely, at least one more trilogy – could be a big success for everyone, audience included.

The big question will of course be who that person is. For something like this, I’d personally love to see it go one of two ways – either a writing/directing duo/team who have a long history of collaborating together, or a single writer-director who can take control at the helm (à la Whedon with The Avengers). Or, if he wants the job, then give the kingdom’s keys to Drew Goddard.

Gary Phillips

However much I get excited about the potential of a 7th Star Wars film the more I ponder on the thought that former stars of the series (Hamill, Fisher, Ford) will be brought back to try reprise former glories of the once loved series. Nostalgia will take precedence over  a strong idea and storyline and we will be left with another heart ripping return to Star Wars.

My other fear is that Lucas will still be heavily involved in the film and that he has no doubt already pitched an idea to Disney.. I dread the thought of him still having any control of its production.

Craig Sharp

This is obviously part of an ongoing business strategy on Disney’s part – first Pixar, then Marvel and now Lucasfilm. They’ve become the archetypal “big company”, instead of building new franchises, they’re buying them up. This to me says they’re painfully aware that the Disney technicolour dream is crashing around them, they need other properties to expand.

Second, I see they’ve got three ways to continue with the Star Wars franchise:

They can create a direct sequel trilogy, based on the “expanded universe”, giving them the pick of existing stories and continuing the saga of the Skywalkers. This gives them a possible advantage in so much as there’s already an audience – the expanded universe fans. My thoughts would be either the Thrawn trilogy or even better, Dark Empire.

They could disregard the expanded universe entirely and create their own sequels to the existing films. This would cause an endless amount of online flaming right up until the point of release – I can smell the carnage already!

They could create a new trilogy, set after the expanded universe story. Say, 200 years after ROJ? This would serve to keep all the books and comics and canon, while enabling them to create their own story and characters – this would be my preferred option as a Star Wars fan.

Whatever they do, they’ll make a bucketload on the first movie, if not the first trilogy. But there’s a wider franchise to consider. Books, comics, cartoons – they’ll already be counting their cash just from these franchises, and that’s not considering the toy merchandise.

Then of course there’s the MMO, it’s due to go free to play in the coming weeks, and so will likely see an influx of players, even more so given the news. Personally I wouldn’t say this deal is as big as the Marvel purchase, but then I’ve not seen  the balance sheet for everything other than the movies – that’s always been where the money is for Star Wars!

Barry Steele

I’m excited about new Star Wars films. As a fan of the originals, I was disappointed by the prequels, but I’m over it. The beauty of new films is that you can choose to watch them or ignore them. Everyone is pointing to the success of the Marvel acquisition, but it’s important to remember that Marvel knew what they were doing, and Disney let them get on with it. With Star Wars, the last 3 films were screwed up.

Yes, control is passing away from Lucas, but it is passing to someone from within his camp, with his treatments, and with his continued creative input. If Disney were going to hand the property over to great creative minds, it would be more promising, but as it stands, I don’t think the decisions are necessarily going to be far enough removed from Lucas.

We also need to bear in mind that if Disney do have more input, that isn’t necessarily a plus either. Their live action output, from recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies to John Carter, has been poor at best.

Joe Cunningham

Here’s my two cents.

I couldn’t care less about Star Wars, but there are two fun observations about the deal:

Disney now own Marvel and Lucasfilm, which means that it is impossible not to remake Howard the Duck!

Disney now own The Muppets and Lucasfilm, which means that it is impossible to not make a sequel to Labyrinth!

As someone who couldn’t care less about the Star Wars franchise though I do find it fascinating seeing fans so utterly confused over whether to be happy about this or not. There can’t be any group of fans who have been screwed with more (apart from Leeds United fans) and I can only imagine the mixed emotions right now. Also, 2015 with The Avengers 2, Justice League and Star Wars VII is going to be a box office bloodbath.

Tracy Ladd

I don’t see this as necessarily a bad thing per se….If this were 1983 again and I just walked out of Return of the Jedi, I’d be all for another trilogy and seeing the continuing saga.  Now that it’s 2012, I’m not so sure.  This acquisition is going to cover a lot of ground with marketing, theme park rides, film, television, and too many others for me to name here.  It could turn out to be for the best, or it could turn out to be a disaster.  I think if the right people are involved, a new trilogy could be great, but I’m not holding my breath.  I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic about it.  I guess I’m cautiously indifferent at the moment.

I know one thing for sure….if we have to have another trilogy, I don’t want to see it go the way of Episode I-III.

Colin Hart

Do we want to theorise story lines where The Sith see the error of their ways and after a tearful reconciliation they rebuild the universe together while singing catchy songs accompanied by small, furry life forms…..

Can someone draw a cartoon of that?

Dave Roper

It is still unclear what if any creative involvement or influence George Lucas will retain once the buyout of Lucasfilm has been completed, but for my money Lucas shot his creative bolt and for that matter much of his artistic integrity long ago. Star Wars characters whored out for every tacky advert going, Star Wars prequels that tied themselves in knots trying to fit in with canonical continuity and losing any narrative coherence in the process (trade embargoes, tax wars and dying of a broken heart – Noooooooooo! indeed) and the mutilating of Indiana Jones into the sci-fi genre (“the space between space” is balderdash).

It is easy to dismiss Disney as a viable new custodian for these properties, in view of the media behemoth that they have now become, but even with as gargantuan a corporation as Disney, hopefully some fresh creative input and some new pairs of hands can bring something good out of this. It can’t be any worse than Jar Jar Binks and a flying saucer in an Indy film.

Steven Neish

As a great, misunderstood man once said, “Nooooooooooo!”

While the success of Marvel’s Avengers Assemble under The House Of Mouse does go some way to alleviate the Force-grip-like dread, there’s no denying that there is also the possibility that things could all go a bit Pirates of the Caribbean. Sure, another trilogy would be nice — particularly if it drew inspiration from one of the better expanded universe stories — but Disney’s plans for the franchise are unlikely to stop there. You only have to look back to The Phantom Menace to see the die-hard fan-base’s reactions when their beloved franchise was re-tooled for a new generation. Even if the third trilogy does somehow meet expectations (which already seem to be growing), the chances of a sprawling, endless tangle of ongoing storylines managing to avoid the law of diminishing returns about 45600059 to 1. Better the Sith you know; I’d rather see Star Wars live on through Lucas-sanctioned Special Editions and video-games than straight-to-DVD animated sequels and underpaid theme park assistants dressed as Wicket the Ewok.

Kelly Alyse

I’m not a massive fan of the news, but then again, I’m not a massive fan of Star Wars (don’t hurt me). Disney buying LucasFilms is a massive commitment and probably the biggest news the film industry has seen for a while, positive or negative. One good thing to come of it is that Star Wars is being introduced to a whole new generation. No, they won’t have the memories of being in the cinema when the very first film was brought out, but they will be able to create new ones if these new 3 films work out. They’re being introduced to a whole world the film industry has created.

Now, arguments could be that they should watch the originals, which I’m all for, but some kids just don’t want to do that. They’ve grown up in a different film world to us and want 3D along actors they know, recognise and love. Disney may well be in for a whole lot of abuse, but their aim is (and always has been) to introduce children to loveable and endearing characters. Star Wars is possibly one of the best examples of this. By creating the new Star Wars films only emphasises what Disney believes. Yes they will inevitably be making a lot of money, but Disney is a business after all – Not just a place where ‘dreams come true’.

It may not be what original lovers of the franchise want, but think about the kids!