Okay. Before we get into speculation and thoughts and other assorted bullshit, here’s what we know:
? Star Wars Episode 7 is due in 2015.
? It will be part of a trilogy.
? Lucas has done story treatments for Episodes 7, 8 and 9.
? He will not write them or direct them, but merely be a “creative consultant” on them.
? E Online has a source that says the movies will be original stories, and not based on any Expanded Universe novels or anything.
? The Star Wars 1313 game is still coming out, and the live-action SW TV series is still too expensive to make.
And that’s about all we know. Anything else Disney plans to do with Star Wars — in conjunction with the parks, Pixar, or Marvel — is all complete speculation at this point.
First things first: Disney buying Lucasfilm. It’s another great get for Disney, and makes total sense for them. While it’s a bit unnerving to have them control so much of the nerd world at this point, they’ve let Marvel do their own thing, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t let Lucasfilm do the same.
As for a new trilogy… god help me, I’m actually a little excited (I know, I know: “He’s not like that anymore! He’s changed! Besides, he only ever hit me because he loved me!”). Look, I know the potential for disaster here, but the biggest problems with the prequels were 1) Lucas’ scripts and 2) Lucas’ directing (with subcategory 2A, Lucas’ hard-on for complete greenscreen). If Lucas is gone — well, that’s not a guarantee of improvement, but it opens of the possibility of improvement. After The Phantom Menace, we all knew the later prequels would only be so good. Now? They could be anything. They could even be great. And that possibility makes me tingly. You may all laugh at me when my dreams are crushed in summer of ’15.
As for them being original stories, I approve mightily. I thought the Thrawn trilogy was pretty good, but I’d much rather have a completely new saga for a couple of reasons. Mostly because I think recasting Luke and the other OT characters would be a complete disaster. Let’s just move on. Start fresh. The only thing worse would be bringing back Hamill, Fisher and Ford. Let’s not see old Han Solo trying to toddle out of the Falcon’s cockpit. That was sad enough in Indiana Jones, but it would be completely depressing in a Star Wars film. I don’t even want to see Artoo and Threepio, although I imagine they’ll end up being the thread that ties all the SW movies together).
Moreover, like I said before, a new story opens the possibilities completely. I’d much rather take a chance that we could get something great than get something we’ve already read and thus already know will only be pretty good. Look, I know I have no reason to hope here, but I do. There is a huge part of me that still wants to love Star Wars like I did when I was a kid (and from 1995-1999, until The Phantom Menace came out). Sure, I may get hurt again — and I probably will — but unlike the last to movies, I don’t know for sure. God help me, I actually have a new hope.
And if nothing else, think about this: Disney likes money. Disney is not incredibly bitter about Star Wars fan boys who hate the prequels and have been demanding/begging for the original Original Trilogy on Blu-ray (or at least anamorphic widescreen DVD). I would be shocked if we don’t have the pre-Special Edition movies on Blu-ray in our hands by Christmas of 2015. And that, if nothing else, is a reason to celebrate. Yub fucking nub.
