Tuesday was an exciting day for Disney and George Lucas fans everywhere, as it was announced that the Walt Disney Company would purchase Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion. Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of Lucasfilm, including the massively popular “Star Wars” franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production.
“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company. “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.”
Lucasfilm’s legendary “Star Wars” franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth well into the future. “Star Wars: Episode 7” is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the “Star Wars” saga and grow the franchise over the years to come.
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| Robert A. Iger (left) and George Lucas signing paperwork for the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. |
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see ‘Star Wars’ passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “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. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, ‘Star Wars’ will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”
The Lucasfilm purchase follows Disney’s very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company’s unique ability to fully develop and expand the potential of high-quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology. The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing relationship between them that already includes integration of “Star Wars” content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.
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