Disney, Lucasfilm, "Star Wars," merger. Everyone pretty much heard last October that The Walt Disney COmpany was planning to buy Lucasfilm from George Lucas. Turns out the deal did go through in early October and that Disney would hand over $4.05 billion in stock and cash for the company.
If Lucasfilm isn’t already a household name, it should be. The studio has created the worlds of “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” for the enjoyment of the public. The same studio made both Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher household names. I love “Star Wars” and was a little hesitant when it was announced that Disney had every intention of releasing new “Star Wars” movies. I literally almost cried. I am a huge believer in the idea of not ruining a good thing, and to me, sequels really do suck sometimes. Sorry to be so bold and blunt. Although, I believe Disney has done a very good job at making some of their sequels quite good. “Toy Story,” for example, had excellent sequels.
I know “Star Wars” lost a lot when its creator, George Lucas decided to step down after years as the leader of Lucasfilm. Now, I am not saying that Lucas made the wrong decision in stepping down, nor am I saying that “Star Wars” will suffer without him. But, I am saying that he knew what he was doing when he created the first six films, and I hope he will at least be a consultant on the next set of movies, if only so huge “Star Wars” fans like me do not pull all their hair out.
The real point behind this column is in regards to the decision that was announced early last week. Apparently Disney is planning to shut down the video game development portion of Lucasfilm in order to help save costs. The video game unit of Lucasfilm was responsible for such games as “LEGO Star Wars,” and “Star Wars Battlefront.” Because of this decision, Disney is going to have to start laying people off almost immediately.
Now, I do not play video games as much as some people do, mostly because I have zero skills when it comes to game controllers. I mean I cannot even play Nintendo Wii without looking completely stupid. But, then again, I really do not care what I look like.
The shut down for that portion of Lucasfilm also means that Disney will have to start looking for other companies or eternal partners to take over the games that are already in development, such as “Star Wars 1313” and “Star Wars: First Assault.” Part of me really has to wonder if that is what Lucas had in mind when he decided to sell his company to Disney; although, it is not like there is that much he can say about it now. Everything is pretty much set in stone at this point.
A part of me really worries about the future of some of my favorite movies. But, then again, there is this little thing called trust. Trust and faith in the things that you have no control over. There is a lot of that in life these days. Upon reading about all this Disney “Star Wars” take over jargon, I realized that Disney cancelled “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” last month.
That show was awesome. It kept the light alive for so many of us die hard “Star Wars” fans. Maybe my faith will be restored one day, my faith with the future of Lucasfilm and the future of “Star Wars.”
Apparently, I am not the only one who is scared for the future of the franchise. When it was first released that Disney was shutting down portions of Lucasfilm, people were already saying that Disney’s handling of the company was a little skeptical because of the cancellation of the “Clone Wars” animated show and the shutting down of the video game portion of the company.
I really am trying to keep the faith alive, and I am hoping that others stay optimistic too. “Star Wars” is not just a collection of movies. It has a real cult following, and no one wants to see the studio that brought us that amazing set of movies go to shame. I just want to see Disney make good decisions for the future of Lucasfilm, decisions that many people will be happy with. There are so many people looking forward to the future of “Star Wars,” and I hope Disney does not disappoint.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
