Captain Mayhem said:

I'm just catchging up on all this after getting power back from Hurrican Sandy. I just read the negotiations had been going on for almost a year and a half, and some Lucasfilm employees were told months ago to start preparing for an Episode VII. With all the links I've been reading I can't find this one off the top, but when I find the link, I'll come back to edit and place it in this post.

 At first, I wasn't happy. Then I realized, "You can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." And indeed, as one sun sets, another rises.

I am cautiously optimistic about the new movies. Especially if they continue off after Return of the Jedi (as the numerical order of the movies would imply). The big problem is that with the Emperor dead and the Empire destroyed there is no core bad guy. They could definitely include the Remnant as believable adversaries, maybe even Thrawn? I heard (though I don't remember the reference) that Lucas decided not to do VII-IX because the third installment was about bringing the fight to the Emperor, and that got moved WAY up into Episode VI.

Anyway, I guess there is no use speculating. Still, I think it would be cool to see Mark Hamill establishing the Jedi Academy. This would bring the saga full circle as the Jedi are in great numbers, than wiped out, then non-existant. To bring the Academy back would be poetic. This would, of course, destroy all established canon, but I think we can already expect that.

I am all for this buyout.

I was not very happy with Lucas in the past ten or so years. Basically since he began working on the new trilogy. Disney, on the other hand, makes pretty decent movies (really good ones actually). They also bought Marvel, and if anything, it made that company better. Avengers anyone? So, I am looking forward to what Disney does with the franchise, but I am confident that it will bring a positive change. I mean, they can't do any worse than Lucas did lately…

 It would be nice if Disney would release the original, UNALTERED trilogy on DVD/Blu-Ray. That's the biggest problem I have with all the stuff Lucas did from '97 on, is that he made the unaltered OT completely unavailable, except for that very limited DVD release in 2005 when they packaged them with the new versions. And even then, it was almost like an afterthought. Directors do stuff all the time where you have director's cuts, deleted scenes, etc. But they don't make the original versions of the film completely vanish. He called the new stuff "Special Edition" and that is how it should have stayed that way. There is no reason we couldn't have both. I want a nice Blu-Ray of the OT, with cleaned up picture and 5.1 sound. 

 Yes, the canon is out the window. They've already said that VII will be completely original and have nothing to do with any of the books or comics. They specifically said that Thrawn is out. They will not pursue that or any other established storyline. It makes me sad because the source of my fanhood has always been the books. I enjoyed the movies, sure. But the books are what made me a fan. I've been reading them since I was 9. The fact that something can be 'canon' and then just trashed is hard to swallow. I guess I'll try to keep an open mind, but initial reaction is just to pretend this isn't happening.

Well, first, I'm kinda okay with canon going out the window because apart for the exceptional Thrawn trilogy I didn't much care for it, anyway. Second, it must be faced, at this juncture Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford et al are pretty non-believable as action heroes. Love 'em, but sorry, that's Truth. Therefore, any Thrawn series/Truce @ Bakura/Prince Xizor etcetc route is out of the question without new actors… and THAT would be a killin' offense.

SO, I'm just plain ambivalent until more concrete information comes out. Right now, I'm just waiting for The Hobbit!

I say this is a good thing. Disney has a great record of protecting franchises, and helping to enhance them. I think the possibility of LucasArts, LucasFilms, and ILM joining with Pixar to continue the Star Wars legacy really excites me. You also should take into account how wildly popular Pirates of the Caribbean has become (a distinct Disney trademark). I say step back, and let this project have a chance to breathe .

CarlStrack01 said:

Man, I was ok with this until you mentioned Pirates.  I was all imagining Joss Whedon working on the next Star Wars.

I'm going to stick to Avengers as a good example of a Disney franchise…  Those middle two Pirates movies were horrible.  It's like they thought they had to make an epic since they were making sequels. 

Popular doesn't always mean good.

This is the best news I have heard regarding Star Wars since I found out that Lucas was finally making the prequels.  (Remember that was before we knew how much they were going to suck.)

I actually had a quiet dream that Lucas would die and his heirs would run out of money and give the franchise to someone who loved it and would do a good job. 

I would really like to see the Prequals remade.  (make them match IV-VI)  But Disney doing VII - and beyond is pretty cool.

At first, I was frantically surprised at the news.  But once I read a few articles and blogs (especially from Steve Sansweet on starwars.com), and watched the videos like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyqlTi7lkhY&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1 and this video sold me on the sale: www.youtube.com/watch, I entered a "wait-and-see" mode.

As for Episode VII - IX, I'm hoping for the Heir to the Empire Trilogy as live-action features.  And as for any other projects, I would like those to get the animated  treatment.  We just have to wait and see what happens.
 

Toqtamish said:

Lucas said he's written treatments for 7-9, and he's passed them off to Disney.  Whether or not they use them is another thing.

 NPR had a whole program on this. It was pretty good, answered a lot of questions about the buy and stuff. But one thing that did happen was that Lucas was heavily derided for being weak creatively now. 

They talked a lot about the next trilogies, and the time lines. you could get the podcast of it. Im sure. 

KarmikazeKidd said: