Director George Lucas has sold his Lucasfilms production company, responsible for the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney company . We answer five questions on the deal.
What are the details of the deal?
George Lucas has sold his Lucasfilms production company responsible for the Star Wars and the Indiana Jones franchises, to Disney for $4.05bn (£2.5bn). Disney will pay about half in cash and half in stock, issuing 40 million of Disney shares in the transaction.
The deal follows Disney’s acquisition of Pixar and Marvel comics for $4.2bn in 2009.
Why is Lucas selling his film company now?
After launching Lucasfilms in 1971, and producing the first Star Wars film six years later, Lucas wants to pass on his franchise so it can continue to live on.
In a statement Lucas said: “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of film-makers.”
Adding: “For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” Mr Lucas said.
“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.”
He will continue as creative consultant
What does Disney have planned for LucasFilms?
Disney plan to release a new Star Wars film in 2015, followed by episodes eight and nine and then one new movie every two or three years.
What has Disney said?
“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” Robert A. Inger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said in a statement.
“This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”
What do the experts say?
Josh Dickey, film editor at Variety magazine in LA, told the BBC she believes Disney are the perfect company to take over Lucasfilm:
“They’re so good at branding and brands. They’re so good at working with existing intellectual property and making it resonate with fans and marketing it very well,” he told BBC World Service radio.
“They’re not as good at creating original content, except for their Pixar division.
“I think if you bring together the minds from Pixar [and] the minds from Disney, the news that Disney is going to reboot Star Wars was a lot more exciting to fans than just ‘there’s gonna be another Star Wars’.”
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