Huge news in the entertainment business this week - even for non-Star Wars fans. Why? Because not only is Disney getting the rights to the Star Wars franchise, but it is also getting the landmark technical and special effects houses owned by Lucasfilms, plus the Indiana Jones franchise.
Hefty stuff.
When Disney bought Marvel in 2009, there were a lot of outraged fans. And yet, apart from canceling WatXM, the changeover has brought nothing but good. Just look at the Whedon-helmed third biggest film ever: "The Avengers." Thanks Disney!
And then on the other hand, we have the reality that while George Lucas is a great visionary, fantastic concept guy, and dedicated producer, he really should not ever direct a movie or write a screenplay. That's why episodes V and VI of Star Wars are the strongest (written and directed by others), and the prequel trilogy are not only the weakest, but the often reviled.
As long as Lucas stays involved in some manner at the top, story concept throwing around phase, I think things can only go up from here.
The question is, what direction are they going in? Disney spokespeople have said both that they are not using material from the novels, but also that the Star Wars universe is huge with plenty of stories to tell (and yet much of that universe is due to the novels and comic books, not the movies).
George Lucas said back in the 80's that he'd love to bring back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill when they are in their 60's to play older versions of their characters. I don't think it would be at all a bad idea to utilize this in some form to 'pass the torch' on to a new generation of stories. Just think of Leonard Nimoy's appearance as old Spoke in the Star Trek reboot. Something along those lines would work well, I think, and get fans excited.
What do I think? Frankly I'm excited about seeing a new Star Wars film in 2015. I think it has the potential to be good, and I'm ready for another trip back to a Galaxy Far Far Away.
(What's that? Nooo I totally didn't order some of the EU novels from the library, what are you talking about?)
1 comment:
RE: story material. I don't think that they ought to be beholden to the EU.
I actually dug around a little, and found this article, which goes into detail about the hierarchy of canon, because it is an absolute mess of stuff.
(I mean, basically, he said "you people, go out and write what you want"...so that's sorta what I'd expect.)
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