Disney Star Wars

I consider myself one of the biggest fans of Star Wars that most people are likely to meet, but I have to admit that I have misgivings about the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm. I think I've been waiting for my 1985, a time where Star Wars would eventually fade and I could take stock of all the experiences and collectibles I've amassed since Star Wars roared back with the Thrawn novels and later the Special Editions and Prequels. Knowing that the brand is as strong as ever is exciting, but I'm also reminded that many people consider us to be getting further and further from the core of Star Wars, the trilogy that moved a generation. A decade ago, when a Trekker might say that their franchise had at least half a dozen television series and ten movies. I took some pride that my favorite property only needed about ten hours (Revenge of the Sith was in production). Yeah, I glossed over the mid-80s cartoons, the Ewoks movies and the Holiday Special, but the actual story of Star Wars used to be far meatier. Star Trek, which I love in its own way, was watered down and I feel like Star Wars is getting that characteristic too. I love many things about the Prequels, but push comes to shove, I'm an Original Trilogy fan, and the further we get from that point, the more I wonder if I can maintain my enthusiasm for the new.


Will I be at the opening nights of all the new Star Wars films? It's extremely likely. And a positive spin on the movies is that Episode III, the last theatrical outing for a live action Star Wars movie, is the best prequel by a good margin. Rumors that spin-off movies could replace the live action TV show model may really refresh the brand and Disney has the resources and the crowd-pleasing drive to really make some wonderful movies. I'm excited, but I'm cautious with my hopes.

I do look forward to seeing how Disney brings Star Wars further into the theme parks, and I've already fantasized about a Star Wars cruise aboard one of their magnificent ships. Disney certainly gives Star Wars the legs to be around for generations to come, and in a multitude of incarnations. I should probably look at it like I looked at collecting in the 1990s. Prior to 1995 we bought Bend-ems and toys from other brands just to get that fix of childhood like when we got action figures and school supplies and trading cards. Once Kenner began producing new toys and various other vendors made a plethora of new products no one could collect it all. You had to make choices and you got what you really cared about and had to pass the less interesting. Maybe that's what's happening with all sorts of fans at this point. There are certainly divisions of passionate OT fans, a generation that prefer the prequels, and some Clone Wars kids that ask, "There are movies?" Maybe this enormous selection will be good for all of us because we get to pick and choose those elements of the galaxy far, far away that mean the most to us. It certainly appears that there will be no shortage of choices.

Star Wars Spin-offs?

It would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago, but rumors now point to the possibility of spin-off movies in the Star Wars universe. With the success of Marvel's superhero movies, Disney could be positioning the Star Wars franchise in a very different direction than Lucas, who has often said that television was the future for Star Wars. Company shake-ups like this week's announcement that Rick McCallum had left Lucasfilm points to a bold new direction under Kathleen Kennedy's leadership.

from ScreenCrush.com:
Star Wars has entered a brave new world since its acquisition by Disney last month; it appears as though every day sheds a little more light on the fast-tracked remodeling of the Lucasfilm property. Most recently we learned that ‘Empire Strikes Back’ scribe Lawrence Kasdan is allegedly making a long-awaited return to the franchise; joining the cause as well is ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ writer Simon Kinberg. The thinking at the time of that news was that Disney and Lucasfilm had hired the screenwriters to commence work on Star Wars: Episodes 8 and 9, but a new report suggests something a bit more ambitious may be at play…

According to a new article in the Hollywood Reporter, Kasdan and Kinberg have indeed been hired to work on the ‘Star Wars’ franchise, but not necessarily the eventual follow-ups to ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′. Their scripts could end up being spin-off films, focusing on side characters not directly linked to the Skywalker saga. In other words, Disney might be giving several different characters in the ‘Star Wars’ universe their own movies, potentially leading to, one would think, the ‘Star Wars’ equivalent of ‘The Avengers’.

This is simply speculation right now, and naturally neither Disney nor Lucasfilm is commenting on the rumor. (They haven’t even officially confirmed Kasdan and Kinberg yet.) But knowing that Disney is focused on releasing a new ‘Star Wars’ movie every two-three years, it makes sense that they wouldn’t necessarily be tied to the just three new ‘Episodes’, but a vast tapestry of fresh storylines and characters. After all, it’s working out pretty well with those little Marvel flicks.

What do you think? Would you be up for ‘Star Wars’ spin-off films?