Disney could sell Lucasfilm ?

[el toro]

Although I have posted several times I don't think I've made it clear I don't believe Lucas will buy back LFL, ltd.

BUT, would Disney consider letting Sony (or another major studio) license Star Wars for a period of time, say 10-15 years? Before you dismiss the idea Sony is working with Bad Wolf to make Doctor Who for the BBC, and the BBC has a limited role inputting ideas. Would another studio want such an arrangement with selected Disney properties?

Would it win back fans if new creatives were in charge of Star Wars?

This is all nothing more than speculation on my part. That said, Disney is in trouble. I do think they will need to make some tough decisions, and I could see them selling or licensing out IP.

I’m sure that idea has popped into Disney’s collective brain. Although the target buyer is probably not Sony, b/c of their competitive nature. Spider man is a different beast b/c in that case Sony holds the film license.
Anyway, I agree that I can’t see Disney selling Star Wars. Licensing makes sense so that someone can rejuvenate the brand name while that company can pay Disney for that right. Then Disney can take back control or establish a co-investment instead.
It also allows someone else to reboot the storyline. I think Disney’s trapped themselves into a corner with their current storylines, and really need the new movies to establish another dynasty. Without that, Disney will be slowly running into high-budget Syfy movies territory. Entertaining, but long term fans tend to be cultish rather than generational.
And I agree with some of the other posters that Disney believed their treasure trove of cash and resources could produce an extraordinary product on a consistent basis. But how many times have you seen a well-funded and staffed project (in the industries of sports, business, entertainment) blow up in the founders faces? It happens unfortunately. The issue is recognizing poor decision making and realistically assessing them. However, for some, the only option is doubling down on their bad decisions, b/c the other choice means waving a white flag in defeat. There is a human aspect to management, and an individual’s pride and career is at stake.

 

[el toro]

Unfortunately, Lucas is at the age where the mileage itself rapidly catches up with you. There's really not much time left for the blue-sky Lucas version of Star Wars.

So, here's a thought... why doesn't Disney/Lucasfilm just HIRE GEORGE to Produce or Direct the next Star wars film?!

This makes almost too much sense! If Disney didn’t like Lucas’s ideas, then it’s their right as new license holders to ignore them. But at least listen and consider his ideas more seriously. He is the maker, who has been so wrapped up in Star Wars to the point he has eschewed creating anything novel outside of Indiana Jones. Disney made the mistake of assuming that lucas’s current ideas are dreadful. That’s not the issue. Rather, the specific issue is whether Lucas can write fluid and engaging dialogue. His ideas are (generally) on point, and he can assume (on behalf of Disney to some extent) any perceived flaws that are the fan base levels at him. His presence also lends legitimacy to any project. That legitimacy has it limits, but it’ll go further than Rian Johnson’s or Jj Abrams.

I know many disagree, but I thought Disney should have asked George about starting a completely new galaxy from scratch. Not rely on a story that seemingly ended when alec Guinness, Frank oz and hayden Christensen (er…Sebastian Shaw, uhh James Earl Jones, hmmm… David Prowse, Jake Lloyd, Bob Anderson?) waved goodbye for a final time.

Even Lucas’s proposal for Maul and his female apprentice as the bad guys sounds more original than the ST final product.

 

[CopperRevan]

One of my favorite movies of all time and for some reason it speaks to me about this current issue...I'll leave it up to the audience to figure out what "Troys Bucket" symbolizes. As i child, i never wanted Goonies to end or Star Wars...As an adult i'm glad Goonies never saw a sequel. I was able to join with the other kids in my neighborhood where we'd go on adventures throughout the day...used our creative minds because "Goonies Never say die" and then go over to each others house and watch the movie all over again and talk about the next adventure that awaits us tomorrow...brings happy tears to my eye's. Now i have kids of my own...2 are grown and living out on their own. I see a lot of the adventurer in my youngest, like i was. His generation will have an all new set of memories and adventures that await him. I have to encourage him to grow..to keep exploring and not just be ok on my moisture farm that could possibly be sucking his hope dry. I can guide him but he has to discover things for himself too in order to learn. Our generation seemed to have a lot longer leash when it came to adventure...the world has changed a lot...more danger, more evil...so we tighten our grip a little more...yet more seems to slip through our fingers in the process. The magic of movies that was our generation can never be duplicated but that doesn't mean we get to break the spirit of our youth coming up...if anything, we are responsible to foster the right environment with the knowledge we have...It takes very skilled surgeons to do this and we all could use the help.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Oh, now I am so glad my first SW experience wasn't so good. I would have had such a limited scope of the story possibilities that I couldn't see a grand future.

Star War(s) doesn't need to be as one dimensional as the Skywalker saga. Out of millions of planets, there are trillions of lives to explore. Some may even be interesting. Just because the largest story (ostensibly) has been told, doesn't mean that there are no other stories to be told.

What if the biggest story in the galaxy dwarfs the Skywalker saga? If you don't explore it, it will be missed.

One of the main features of SW has always been bigger-faster-more extravagant.

The story snowballs. The tiny writings in the novelizations were always constrained by the holding company afraid of damaging the brand. If only the writers' imaginations had been freed, what would have been accomplished?

We will never know. Luke may be critical to the Skywalker point of view, but what other characters were of great importance? Until the focus shifts, we can never know. The story must progress in the template that Lucas established. That is what Star Wars is. Reducing it to one story kicks the (s) out of it.

 

[Psab keel]

In 46 years no one in leadership can think outside that context. If they can't do it with all that time available to them, it will never happen now.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Well, I'm not going to save them.

But there is a lot more to be told.

 

[janglesworthy]

isn't that what lucas said his ep7-9 was going to be? passing the torch and expanding the universe beyond skywalkers? Sounded like he was going to setup for the future so story tellers wouldn't be locked into the skywalker saga.

 

[robstyle]

From what's been seen of the actual "Lucas" sequel scripts it was about the children of Han and Leia with the remnants of the empire involved. It's my understanding the scripts were rushed as part of the sale of LFL to Disney. In other words, first draft quality. I'd like to think elements were ripped for rogue one and andor but maybe that would be too generous.

 

[HeartBlade]

Yeah, the discussion is evolving into a discussion on art vs business. If you want to preserve Star Wars as “art” aka not continue to beat a dead horse, then leave it as is. If you want to make money though, grind out the next sequel after sequel.

I personally think there are more stories that could he told that are set in the Star Wars universe from just one off movies to more comprehensive stories that dont need to be a galactic level war but Im not sure if they can do something good under Disney stewardship. The universe is big and I think there are stories that could he told (a story of a bounty hunter stuck in a war between hutts and rival gangs, a more personal story focused on slaves that maybe instigate a revolt and find salvation by wandering jedi, the conflict between jedi as neutral peacekeepers and being forced to get involved in galactic politics, etc.

Problem is this requires Star Wars to “mature” which may not be taken well given the criticism of the galactic politics scenes in PT and it makes for ripe fodder for the film maker to put in black and white/strawman arguements to uphold their political ideology when these stories require more nuanced and fair arguments on both sides to make a compelling story.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Something funny that I do have to point out….

The same “parent company is selling the franchise” rumors were generated regarding Paramount / Star Trek, a few years ago.

YouTube is where I recall hearing these rumors, for the most part…

 

[batguy]

Lucas's ST scripts -

- They were probably general outlines rather than full scripts. Lucas hates script writing and he knows his dialogue sucks.

- They were probably recent work in the creative sense. Many things point to that. In the 1970s-90s he didn't have specific plans for a ST like he did the PT.

 

[joberg]

Greed pollutes everything and everyone to the core

 

[Psab keel]

Lucas's ST scripts -

- They were probably general outlines rather than full scripts. Lucas hates script writing and he knows his dialogue sucks.

- They were probably recent work in the creative sense. Many things point to that. In the 1970s-90s he didn't have specific plans for a ST like he did the PT.

I recently saw that Lucas confirmed that he wrote story treatments for his version of the ST as a way to entice Disney towards the sale, indicating that these were conceived shortly beforehand, as opposed to having come up with them decades before. He also got the big three on board to further entice Disney.

 

[Joek3rr]

I recently saw that Lucas confirmed that he wrote story treatments for his version of the ST as a way to entice Disney towards the sale, indicating that these were conceived shortly beforehand, as opposed to having come up with them decades before. He also got the big three on board to further entice Disney.

Pablo Hidalgo basically said that, in a now deleted Tweet. He said that the Sequel Trilogy only came into existence to sell Lucasfilm. Prior to that George repeatedly said there weren't any more films. Even referencing the EU books as the story past ROTJ.

 

[CT1138]

Pablo Hidalgo basically said that, in a now deleted Tweet. He said that the Sequel Trilogy only came into existence to sell Lucasfilm. Prior to that George repeatedly said there weren't any more films. Even referencing the EU books as the story past ROTJ.

Ironically enough, the ST is just a slight tweak of the post-RotJ stuff:
Kylo = Jacen Solo
Imperial Remnant = First Order
Palpatine returns with a really flimsy explanation to try to possess a body
Eclipse = Xyston-class Star Destroyer
Han dies instead of Chewie

And I didn't even like it all that much the first time.

 

[ScourgiousJinx]

Ironically enough, the ST is just a slight tweak of the post-RotJ stuff:
Kylo = Jacen Solo
Imperial Remnant = First Order
Palpatine returns with a really flimsy explanation to try to possess a body
Eclipse = Xyston-class Star Destroyer
Han dies instead of Chewie

And I didn't even like it all that much the first time.

Even with all of its flaws I'll take the EU above anything Disney Era.

 

[janglesworthy]

I think if lucasfilm ever wants to be great again they have to stand on their own as an independent. Right now they can afford to fail over and over again, cut the chord and let them stand on their own.

 

[Psab keel]

Ironically enough, the ST is just a slight tweak of the post-RotJ stuff:
Kylo = Jacen Solo
Imperial Remnant = First Order
Palpatine returns with a really flimsy explanation to try to possess a body
Eclipse = Xyston-class Star Destroyer
Han dies instead of Chewie

And I didn't even like it all that much the first time.

I agree with this, though the major difference is under Disney's tenure they destroyed any semblance of heroism for the main three in the end. As repetitive, boring, or contrived as the EU got (and believe me it certainly did) they never stooped to turning them into broken down cynics. That's the reason why so many fans loathe the Disney material. This popular trend to deconstruct every modern hero just doesn't work for Star Wars. Certain stories? Sure. But Star Wars, whose entire inspiration was to reject cynicism, going full bore to embrace it simply does not work. That's why the Disney material doesn't feel like Star Wars to so many.

Though to your point, yes they used a lot of elements from the EU just reworked into their canon. No question. Which makes it that much more odd that Kennedy claimed there was no source material post ROTJ. Curious.....

 

[CT1138]

I agree with this, though the major difference is under Disney's tenure they destroyed any semblance of heroism for the main three in the end. As repetitive, boring, or contrived as the EU got (and believe me it certainly did) they never stooped to turning them into broken down cynics. That's the reason why so many fans loathe the Disney material. This popular trend to deconstruct every modern hero just doesn't work for Star Wars. Certain stories? Sure. But Star Wars, whose entire inspiration was to reject cynicism, going full bore to embrace it simply does not work. That's why the Disney material doesn't feel like Star Wars to so many.

Though to your point, yes they used a lot of elements from the EU just reworked into their canon. No question. Which makes it that much more odd that Kennedy claimed there was no source material post ROTJ. Curious.....

Didn't Luke's grandson become a drug addict because he couldn't handle the legacy associated with his name?

 

[Psab keel]

I couldn't say because I stopped reading the EU in 1999. Had I read that I would have hated that idea too.