The Muppets Take The DeathStar? Tatooine Princess: The Musical? The Rebel Dumplin' Gang? I don't which would be worst, but another "Star Wars" movie is planned for 2015...Disney-style.
From the press release:
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.
You'd think if they couldn't kill the franchise with The Star Wars Holiday Special, an obnoxious 8-year-old and an alien-minstrel embarrassment or replacing Yoda with some shimmering light, then nothing could but I don't know if you'd be right.
"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."
That's just what the Empire needs...
organization.
Wed Oct 31, 2012 at 5:52 PM PT: Alyssa Rosenberg over at ThinkProgress happens to hold the same opinion I do (from the comments)about Joss Whedon.
It’s worth remembering, for example, that Whedon’s main accomplishment is revitalizing and critiquing the horror genre, and that he’s actually weak when it comes to one of the most important components of truly transcendent action filmmaking. He often seems relatively indifferent to actual action sequences. The fights in Buffy and Angel (which I’m working my way through now) are almost deliberately indifferent and schlocky in a way that robs tension from them.
Too warm & fuzzy.