New Star Wars trilogy announced after Disney buys Lucasfilm
LOS ANGELES — A decade after George Lucas said Star Wars was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy is destined for theatres as the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. for $ 4.05 billion.
The seventh movie, with a working title of Episode 7, is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The new trilogy will carry the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond Return of the Jedi, the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new Star Wars movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies.
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas, chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm Ltd.
“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.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger said Lucasfilm had already developed a storyline on the next trilogy, and Episode 7 was now in early- stage development.
The Walt Disney Co. announced the blockbuster agreement to buy Lucasfilm in cash and stock Tuesday. The deal includes Lucasfilm’s prized hightech production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, as well as rights to the Indiana Jones franchise. Lucas was hailed as a cinematic visionary when the original Star Wars came out in 1977. But he had become an object of often- vicious ridicule by the time he released 3- D versions of all six films in the Star Wars franchise earlier this year.