Disney pays $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Gamester81

 

Disney announced earlier today that they are buying Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.  Disney CEO Robert Iger also announced plans to release a new Star Wars movie (Episode VII) in 2015.  Iger explains, “our long term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years.”

Disney plans on paying half the deal in cash, and the other half in 40 million shares of Disney stock.  The 68 year old George Lucas will remain as a consultant but plans to ultimately retire soon.  “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 CEO of Lucasfilm, in a statement. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”

This deal makes it the forth largest deal ever for Disney.  Disney bought out Capital Cities/ABC (ESPN) for $19.7 billion in 1995, paid $7.6 billion for Pixar (ironically started as a computer division at Lucasfilm) in 2006, and dished out $5.2 billion for Fox Family in 2001. In addition, only several years ago in 2009, Disney paid $3.96 billion for Marvel.

Both Disney and Lucas have had a long history working together with Star Wars cross merchandise, and with the Star Tours ride at the Disney Parks.

What does this mean for the future of the Star Wars franchise?  Is this a good thing, or is Disney taking over the entertainment industry?

About Gamester81

John "Gamester81" Lester started playing video games at a very young age. His first ever console that he played was a Colecovision, quickly followed by an Atari 2600, and his passion for video games hasn't stopped. In 2008 John decided to start a video game review show on YouTube called Gamester81 by reviewing rare and retro video game systems and games. His show quickly grew in popularity, and he became friends with many other gamers in the YouTube community. He is also one of the hosts of the All Gen Gamers Podcast which is a bimonthly podcast for people and video games of all generations. Some of John's other hobbies includes collecting Star Wars memorabilia (YouTube channel Starwarsnut77), playing classic arcade games (YouTube channel Gamester81Arcade), watching sports, and listening to music. John is a big fan of the 80's and 90's and in 2009 started a YouTube channel called NEStalgiaholic where he talks about nostalgic items and memories from his childhood. To see some of John's video's in 3D visit his YouTube channel Gamester81in3D. Favorite Systems: Colecovision, Commodore 64, NES, & SNES. Favorite Games: Donkey Kong Arcade, Atari Star Wars Arcade, Super Mario 3, Final Fantasy II, & Goldeneye 007