Don't Worry: George Lucas Still Destroying Your Childhood



Heads up everyone-- George Lucas is off the Skywalker Ranch again and running his mouth about childhood favorites he plans to ruin. This time he's not only talking about the never-ending plans to make a fifth Indiana Jones movie, but how he plans to continue tinkering with Star Wars until his own personal Death Star takes him away.

First up in his conversation with Coming Soon, who caught him at the American Cinematheque's tribute to Samuel L. Jackson, was Indy; luckily, he seems no closer to getting the fifth movie made. "We're looking for a "MacGuffin," which is an object that he goes after. They're very hard to come by!" Perhaps so difficult that you'll let this idea die once and for all?

As for Star Wars, he's still denying that he wants to make new ones, but now wants to re-release the old ones-- again!-- in 3D. "The technology is very difficult. It exists - it's just extremely expensive, and so what we're trying to do is figure out a more practical way of pulling it off." I can't deny I would be interested in seeing Star Wars in 3D, but if it makes the entire movie about technology the way the last three films were, then forget it. In fact, forget all of this George-- keep doing visual effects, make some more movies, and let the past stay where it belongs.

George Lucas: ‘Avatar’s’ Technology Could Make 3-D ‘Star Wars’ A Reality

George Lucas has yet to work in the new 3-D technology that is sweeping Hollywood, but the director told Access Hollywood that the success and achievements of “Avatar” could help bring “Star Wars” into the third dimension.

“I liked it. I make movies like that, [so], I can appreciate what [James Cameron] went through to do it,” George Lucas told Access Hollywood at the HBO Golden Globes party on Sunday.

”[I’m] happy it’s so successful, and worked very well in 3-D,” he continued. “Haven’t been a big fan of 3-D, but that movie definitely improves in (the field of) 3-D.”

George was so impressed with the movie’s technology – which took home the trophy for Best Motion Picture – Drama at the 2010 Globes – that he thinks it could help pave the way for creating 3-D versions of his “Star Wars” movies.

“We’ve been looking for years and years and years of trying to take ‘Star Wars’ and put it in 3-D,” George explained to Access. “But, [the] technology hasn’t been there. We’ve been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen.”

First up, George is writing and producing “Red Tails,” about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

yawnzzzz... he should let someone direct his SW franchise...

Star Wars Announced for Blu-Ray

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox officially announced today that all six live-action Star Wars films will arrive on the Blu-Ray format in Fall 2011 as a commemorative box set.

The news, part of this week's Celebration V festivities, promises "the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives."

“Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition,” said George Lucas of the release, “The films have never looked or sounded better.”

At this time it is unclear what versions of each film will appear in the set. Past Star Wars home video releases have focused on the updated special editions, though fan demand led to a later, unrestored release of the original theatrical version on the DVD format.

Sauce: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=68780

Sauce: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=68780

Lucas premiered one of the long-lost deleted scenes which will be included in the release, a scene from Return of the Jedi which involved Luke Skywalker assembling his new, green-bladed lightsaber prior to infiltrating Jabba the Hutt’s palace, and stashing it in R2-D2’s dome. The scene has completed visual effects and music because it was cut right before the final edit of the film was made during post production. Someone has captured the scene on video

Sauce: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=68780

wonder how much its gonna cost for the box set that comes with all six live-action Star Wars feature films, with the highest picture and audio quality,” along with extensive extras like “documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives

Is That Mark Hamill Or Not In The New Return Of The Jedi Clip?

This past weekend “Star Wars” nerds everywhere, myself included, crapped their pants over a long-rumored deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi” that screened at “Star Wars Celebration V”. The footage shows Luke Skywalker assembling his green lightsaber in a cave on Tattooine. Everyone was psyched and fanboys worldwide giggled and watched the clip repeatedly.

As it turns out, that might not actually be Luke Skywalker, or at least not Mark Hamill. Geeks of Doom found video from Comic-Con 2009 where an interviewer from OriginalPropBlog.com asks him about that specific scene. At that time Hamill said he didn’t remember shooting such a scene, though he introduced the clip at the celebration.

Did Hamill legitimately not remember shooting this when he was asked? It’s possible. It has been a few years since “Jedi”, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he legitimately didn’t recall it at the time. Hell, I don’t remember what I did yesterday, much less 27 years ago.

Now the question is, if that isn’t Hamill in the clip, does that make it bullshit? Just because it isn’t him doesn’t mean it isn’t from “Jedi”. After all, the scene where his hand is being repaired isn’t him either, it’s a double, and no one is calling them out for that. Then again, that was never presented 27 years after the fact as something to generate hype for a Blu-Ray release.

Is this a deliberate affront to some of the most dedicated fans in the world? Or is it an honest mistake? Despite my lifelong fandom, I’m too used to disappointment to care all that much either way anymore. Though the original sheen of this new footage is certainly gone. It would have been a cool addition to the original, but at this juncture it’s largely pointless. Nothing George Lucas can do at this point can redeem him. He should stop trying. The thing that pisses me off the most is that the Blu-Ray release of the original movies is going to be the janky ass re-releases instead of good versions.

The good folks over at Cinema Blend have an entertaining running commentary going on as the try to discern the truth at the heart of the matter.

no deleted scene of luke a and leia making out? 

You want a R-rated Star Wars is it? You can try watch Star Muffs 

i was looking forward to zack and miri's start whores but then the set got destroyed 

it was claim that a more passionate kiss was cut from the empire strike back



which raise a question since C3PO have been there since the first movie and must have know they are sibling, why the damn robot never said anything.

George Lucas forgot to put it in there? 

i was looking forward to zack and miri's start whores but then the set got destroyed 

it was claim that a more passionate kiss was cut from the empire strike back

which raise a question since C3PO have been there since the first movie and must have know they are sibling, why the damn robot never said anything.

C-3PO and R2-D2 fall into the custody of Bail Organa, who orders that C-3PO's memories be wiped on the Tantive IV in order to protect the twins from Palpatine and Vader, and the Empire that has taken over the galaxy.

my young padawan, you need to immerse yourself in the ways of the jedi.
after anakin became darth vader & the escape of obi wan & Padmé
(who died after giving birth to luke & leia)...
cue>  star wars theme "The Imperial March"

so you know

that memory wipe stuff is just Lucas trying to cover the plot hole, consider the two droid have detail firsthand knowledge of the rise of the empire, why would the rebel want to remove such important information that can be used to their advantage

its been established in the universe of 'star wars fan base'. in any case why would the driods info to be an advantage to the rebels when the rise of the empire is set/known & the deception of emperor palpatine.
furthermore removing knowledge/data from the driods will ensure the safe & hidden existence of the twins. of course some might say why not destroy the driods instead? rebels arent sinister like the empire where only those who succumbs can serve under the empire.

in any case, must be lucas prerogative right, since its his story? 

A New Sith, or Revenge of the Hope
Reconsidering Star Wars IV in the light of I-III

If we accept all the Star Wars films as the same canon, then a lot that happens in the original films has to be reinterpreted in the light of the prequels. As we now know, the rebel Alliance was founded by Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. What can readily be deduced is that their first recruit, who soon became their top field agent, was R2-D2.

Consider: at the end of RotS, Bail Organan orders 3PO's memory wiped but not R2's. He wouldn't make the distinction casually. Both droids know that Yoda and Obi-Wan are alive and are plotting sedition with the Senator from Alderaan. They know that Amidala survived long enough to have twins and could easily deduce where they went. However, R2 must make an impassioned speech to the effect that he is far more use to them with his mind intact: he has observed Palpatine and Anakin at close quarters for many years, knows much that is useful and is one of the galaxy's top experts at hacking into other people's systems. Also he can lie through his teeth with a straight face. Organa, in immediate need of espionage resources, agrees.

For the next 20 years, as far as 3PO knows, he is the property of Captain Antilles, doing protocol duties on a diplomatic transport. He is vaguely aware of the existence of the princess but doesn't know much about her. Wherever 3PO goes, being as loud and obvious as he always is, his unobtrusive little counterpart goes with him. 3PO is R2's front man. Wherever they land, R2 is passing messages between rebel sympathisers and sizing up governments as potential rebel recruits - both by personal contact and by hacking into their networks. He passes his recommendations on to Organa.

Yoda is out of the picture by this stage, using the Force-infused swamps of Dagobah to hide himself from Vader and the Emperor. Or something. He is meditating on the future and keeping in touch with Obi-Wan via the ghost of Qui-Gon Jin, which as comm systems go has the virtue of being untappable. Obi-Wan, on Tattoine, keeps in touch with Bail Organa and the other Rebel leaders by courier, of which more later.

As Star Wars opens, R2 is rushing the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. R2, not Leia. The plans are always in R2. What Leia puts into him in the early scene is only her own holographic message to Kenobi. Leia's own mission, as she says in the holographic message, is to pick up Obi-Wan and take him to Alderaan - or so she thinks. Actually, her father just wants her to meet Kenobi, which up to this point she never has. There's a reason for that.

Obi-Wan has spent the last 20 years in the Tattoine desert, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker and trying to decide on one of the three available options:
A) If Luke shows no significant access to the Force, then leave him alone in obscurity
B) If Luke shows real Force ability, then consider recruiting him as a Jedi. The rebellion needs Jedi. Now.
But, if Luke shows any signs of turning out like his father, then C) sneak into his house one fine night and chop his head off. With great regret but it'll save a lot of trouble later on.
Knowing this to be the case, Bail Organa (perhaps at the insistence of his wife) has found excuses not to send Leia to Ben for assessment of Jedi potential, largely for fear of option C.

To be fair to all concerned, Leia has shown no overt signs of a link to the Force. Luke on the other hand has. In his home-built hotrod aircraft, with no formal fighter pilot training and no decent instrumentation, Luke can regularly score centre-hits on 2-metre targets in complicated zero-altitude maneouvres. Until he attends the briefing on Yavin, Luke has no way of knowing that hardened combat pilots would consider that nearly impossible. To him it's easy. Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin's performance in the Pod Race, is nervous.

Much of Obi-Wan's behaviour in this film, and Yoda's in the next, can best be understood if they are frankly scared to death of what Luke might become. (Ben is also scared that he himself will make all the same mistakes he made with Anakin.)

Now, with the existence of the rebellion at stake, Bail Organa has finally told Leia to go see Obi-Wan and has sent her along with R2. The original plan would then be for Obi-Wan (with optional Luke and/or Leia in tow) to leave his exile and take the Death Star plans to Yavin, where they can be put to use. R2 (with Leia if Ben doesn't want to take her) would then carry on to Alderaan to maintain the cover story. The original plan does not survive contact with a large Imperial Star Destroyer.

R2 and 3PO bail out in an escape pod, landing in vaguely the right area of Tattoine, where R2's first priority is transport. He arranges to be captured by a group of Jawas and, once on board their transport, he makes a deal with them (possibly using emergency funds stored about his person) to take him where he wants to go. The Jawas refuse to go directly to Kenobi for fear of marauding Sandpeople but they agree to R2's second request : transport to the Skywalker farm. They even get to keep the purchase price if they can sell R2 and 3PO there. The Jawas shake on it and go through with the plan.

Seeing 3PO fail to recognise the farm where he worked for 10 years gives r2 a moment's amusement but, as soon as possible, he gets away and heads for Kenobi. Luke and 3PO follow, which may or may not have been part of the plan.

On first seeing R2, Obi-Wan has a twinkle in his eye and calls him "my little friend". Well, he is. However, when Luke wakes up and says that R2 claimed to be owned by an Obi-Wan Kenobi, he blandly says "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Ben has in fact owned several but the remark is aimed at R2 and translates as "You keep quiet. I'm not about to tell him everything just yet." Obi-Wan thinks fast and tells Luke a version of his past that does not involve a father who became a dark lord of the Sith. He wants to examine Luke a lot more closely before he risks telling him the real truth.

Although the Death Star plans need to get to Yavin as soon as possible, Obi-Wan needs to make one more diversion first. If the Empire knows that Leia is a Rebel leader, then they also know about her father and the whole Organa family may need immediate evacuation. Fortunately, before coming to Tattoine, R2 had already arranged transport, which is waiting at Mos Eisley, under the command of the Rebellion's other chief field agent and espionage asset. Chewbacca.

20 years earlier, Chewbacca was second in command of the defence of his planet. He's there in the tactical conferences and there on the front lines and is a personal friend of Yoda's. When he needed reliable people to join the embryonic Alliance, who else would Yoda turn to but his old friend from Kashykk? Given his background, there is no way that Chewie would spend the crucial years of the rebellion as the second-in-command to (sorry Han) a low-level smuggler. Unless it's his cover. In fact, Chewie is a top-line spy and flies what is in many ways the Rebellion's best ship.

The Millenium Falcon may look like a beat-up old freighter but it can outrun any Imperial ship in normal space or hyperspace, hang in a firefight with a Star Destroyer or outmaneouvre a dozen top-of-the-line TIE fighters. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and must have cost a colossal fortune to build. How does Han come to own a ship like that? He only thinks he does, actually it's Chewie's. Half-way through RotS, we see the Falcon landing at the Senate building on Coruscant. If it's the same ship (which of course it is) then it was the personal transport of one of the senatorial delegations - a much more likely source to commission its design. That delegatino must have later joined the Rebellion and given it the use of the Falcon. In fact, if the delegation is the one from Kashykk, then the ship may have belonged to Chewbacca as early as RotS.

Han is Chewie's front man. It's much better, and safer for him, if he doesn't know what's really going on. Chewie used to work with Lando Calrissian in a similar way but Lando wanted to settle down, so Chewie arranged for him to lose the Falcon in a card game to Han Solo, an even better choice as partner. Han and Chewie's working method is pretty much what we see in the cantina scene: Chewie make the contacts and sets up the deals, then turns them over to Han who haggles over the price and gives the final yea or nay. This lets Chewie wander the seamy underside of the galaxy pretty much at will, making contacts, gathering and passing information with no-one was the wiser, especially not Han.

Chewie persuaded Han to do business with Jabba the Hutt so he could make regular runs to Tattoine, where Chewie could pass messages between Kenobi and Organa. When R2's urgent message came through only days before, the only way for Chewie to get back to Tattoine in time was to make the "mistake" that forced Han to dump his cargo to avoid capture. As a down side, this led to Solo's getting a death mark out on him from Jabba the Hutt. Chewie was a bit upset about the need for that but figured they weren't going to be dealing with Tattoine for much longer.

En route to Alderaan, R2 and Chewie play stop-motion chess. This is the latest in a series of games they've played over the year in the back rooms of space stations and cantinas across the galaxy, but this is the first time they've done it in front of their respective straight men, so they put on a big show.

Then it all goes wrong again. Alderaan is gone and the Falcon is caught and brought aboard the Death Star. Only Han, Luke and 3PO don't know just how much trouble they're in but Obi-Wan has a plan and seems confident (but Jedi always do). Soon afterwards, R2 finds Leia in the detention cells and shouts that they have to rescue her, to which Chewie can only agree. If Vader learns he has a daughter, then they're all in deep trouble, so Chewie does his bit to persuade Han to go along with Luke's plan.

Then, on the verge of escape, Vader himself turns up only yards from both of his children, one of whom is leaking Force all over the place. Obi-Wan stages a distraction by letting himself  die and go into the Force while the others escape. At this point, Chewie suddenly realises that he's been left in charge, not only of the Death Star Plans and the survival of the Rebellion but of the secret son and daughter of Darth Vader. With the Organas and Kenobi all dead, only Chewie, R2 and Yoda know who Luke and Leia are. And only Ob-Wan knew where Yoda has been hiding. Chewie is stressed out by the responsibility and R2 (who keeps making crude jokes about the whole affair) is being no help at all.

Chewie's first problem is what is happening between Luke and Leia. With a psychic link they can feel but don't understand, thrown together in a life-or-death escape, they are looking at each other with a sparky intensity that Chewie gradually recognises as Romantic Tension. He's no expert on human relationships but Chewie is fairly sure that that's Wrong, so he does the only thing he can under the circumstances - he throws Han at her. Han is at first not interested but after a while starts to warm to the idea with an intensity that gives Chewie new worries.

When they reach Yavin, Han decides to take the money and run and Chewie decides to go with him. Looked at in cold light, it's for the good of the Rebellion. Even if Yavin is destroyed, there'll be one agent who knows what's going on who can try and put something back together, but he doesn't feel good about it. When Han decides to turn around and join the attack, Chewie is all for it.

Han and Luke get medals but Chewie doesn't. Actually, Leia offers him one but Chewie turns it down. He got one of those things from Yoda about 20 years ago, but there's no way he can tell her that.

As the film ends, the three founders of the Rebellion are all gone. Bail Organa is dead, Yoda is out of contact and Obi-Wan's ghost can only talk to other Jedi. (So that would be Yoda then.) Thus, the field leadership of the rebellion has just been turned over to the daughter of Darth Vader. Chewie is really hoping that someone with an official rank greater than hers will get here real soon before he has to think really seriously about option C.

true, its a nice read.
it would be good if star wars is reinmagined (without Lucas being overly bearing but trust younger writers to script his star wars for todays audience)

nontheless star wars is still the best thing ever to have happened to hollywood.

Lucas will never allow it to be reimagined, he get so much money from selling the toys and stuff, if it was reimagine to be more realistic and gritty like the new Battlestar Galatica it will alienate many of the target audience. and the old star war fans will also complain, like the fans of the old BSG series series complain about the new one, even though the old series and lame and the new one is fracking awesome 

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release Star Wars in three distinct sets to meet the needs of every Star Wars fan:


•Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films)
•Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes I-III)
•Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes IV-VI)

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with three additional discs and more than 30 hours of extensive special features including never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes, an exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives, and much more.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will be available for $139.99 US/$179.99 CAN and the Star Wars: Trilogy Sets for $69.99 US/89.99 CAN. Pricing for each set will vary by international territory.

Episode I, II, III, IV, V and VI on Blu-Ray this September !





http://www.starwars.com/themovies/saga/pre...uray/index.html

No Digital Copy On Star Wars Blu-Ray Set

Here's a quick update on one of the questions posed about the Star Wars Blu-Ray release coming in September. The official word is that these products will not feature Digital Copy functionality. Lucasfilm's Chris Argyropoulos told The ForceCast's Jimmy Mac that Digital Copy, which lets users download a digital version of the movie from an included disc to their computer, will not be on the three box sets slated for launch in September.

Liam Neeson to voice Qui-Gon Jinn in 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO



Liam Neeson is returning to that Galaxy Far, Far Away. EW has learned exclusively that the actor will reprise his Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace role as doomed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn on Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Jan. 28 and again on Feb. 11. He’ll be voicing Qui-Gon, who appears to Obi-Wan Kenobi in visions, in a three-part arc about his former protégé Anakin Skywalker’s destiny as the Chosen One.
Though The Clone Wars has featured a number of high-profile guest-stars, including Seth Green, George Takei, Michael York, Ron Perlman, Clancy Brown, and director Jon Favreau, Neeson is by far the biggest name yet attached to the series (airing Friday nights at 8:30 pm ET). Considering the backlash against The Phantom Menace, and Neeson’s string of post-Star Wars critical and box-office hits, to voice a character on The Clone Wars might seem to be an unexpected — and even brave — move. But his connection to the saga runs deeper. Neeson tells EW he wanted to return to Star Wars because he felt that “these characters resonate…even after all these years.” He adds, “Growing up, my heroes were cowboys; they were strong and mysterious, and it seemed like they always rode off into the sunset. For kids today, Star Wars has that same kind of magic. I really wanted to be a part of that.” And he still is.

•Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films)
•Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy  (3-disc set includes Episodes I-III)
•Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes IV-VI)

This saga is end.Luke is nomore.

I am more interested in other saga.

besides I havent even know how Jedi is form or what create a dark jedi form a jedi for the first. there is a lot of story can be tell in star wars. I really hope Starwars can be make as many times as James bond 007. Because there are really a lot of stories to tell before and after Anakin/Luke Skywalker saga.

which version of starwars they are gonna use for this bluray release?

Hans shoot first?
Greedo shoot first?
Both shoot at same time?

This saga is end.Luke is nomore.

I am more interested in other saga.

besides I havent even know how Jedi is form or what create a dark jedi form a jedi for the first. there is a lot of story can be tell in star wars. I really hope Starwars can be make as many times as James bond 007. Because there are really a lot of stories to tell before and after Anakin/Luke Skywalker saga.

Okay, I know it has nothing to do with Star Wars but its Star Wars related. This is actually a Super Bowl Commercial for Volkswagen. It's worth watching!

The Live Action Star Wars Series Gets a Working Title

The bad news for fans eagerly anticipating the live action "Star Wars" series is that not much has changed since word broke last June that the massive production is currently on hold, awaiting costs to drop to a point that will make the FX-heavy undertaking financially feasible. Producer Rick McCallum is hoping that won't be too far off, however, and today told IGN that the show even has a working title: "Star Wars: Underworld."

"It's underneath what's going on," he reiterated about the series' focus, "It's the criminals and the gangs. The guys who are running Wall Street, basically. The guys who are running the United States."

Even if the series is a few more years away, McCallum says there's no risk in the scripts become dating and that the delay can only make the show stronger.

"They're timeless," he explains. "They take place between Episode III and Episode IV. That 20 year period when Luke is growing up. It's not about Luke, but it's about that period when the Empire is trying to take things [over]."

A decade since George Lucas said "Star Wars" was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy under new ownership is destined for theaters after The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. from him for $4.05 billion.
The seventh movie, with a working title of "Episode 7," is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The trilogy will continue the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond "Return of the Jedi," the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new "Star Wars" movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies.

"I'm doing this so that the films will have a longer life," Lucas, the 68-year-old creator of the series and sole owner of Lucasfilm, said in an interview posted on YouTube. "I get to be a fan now ... I sort of look forward to it. It's a lot more fun actually, than actually having to go out into the mud and snow."
Disney CEO Bob Iger said Lucasfilm had already developed an extensive story line on the next trilogy, and Episode 7 was now in early-stage development. He said he talked with Lucas about buying the company from him a year and a half ago, but they didn't decide on a deal until very recently as Lucas set in motion his retirement.
"The last `Star Wars' movie release was 2005's `Revenge of the Sith' -- and we believe there's substantial pent-up demand," Iger said.

The blockbuster deal announced Tuesday will see Disney pay half the acquisition price in cash and half in newly issued stock. The company expects it to add to earnings in 2015. Along with the cash, Lucas will end up owning about 40 million Disney shares, which is about a 2.2 percent stake of the 1.83 billion shares that will be in circulation when the transaction closes.
The deal includes Lucasfilm's prized high-tech production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, as well as rights to the "Indiana Jones" franchise.

Lucas was hailed as a cinematic visionary when the original "Star Wars" came out in 1977. But he had become an object of often-vicious ridicule by the time he released 3-D versions of all six films in the Star Wars franchise earlier this year.
Die-hard Star War fans had been vilifying Lucas for years, convinced that he had become a commercial sell-out and had compounded his sins by desecrating the heroic tale that he originally sought to tell.

They railed against him for adding grating characters such as Jar Jar Binks in the second trilogy and attacked him for tinkering with the original trilogy, too. Any revision in special edition or home video releases -- such as making the Ewoks blink or having a green-skinned alien named Greedo take the first shot at Han Solo in a famous bar scene -- were treated as blasphemy.
The criticism grated on Lucas, who vowed never to make another Star Wars movie.
"Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" Lucas told The New York Times earlier this year.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the fourth film in another lucrative franchise, subjected Lucas to even more barbs when it came to the big screen in 2008. Fans of those films were especially outraged about an opening scene that featured Indiana Jones crawling into a lead-lined refrigerator to survive a nuclear bomb blasting.
Lucas was fed up by the time he released "Red Tails," a movie depicting the valor of African-American pilots during World War II, earlier this year. He told the Times he was ready to retire from the business of making blockbusters and return to his roots as a student at USC's film school, where he once made a movie about clouds moving in a desert.
Kathleen Kennedy, the current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, will become the division's president and report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. She will serve as executive producer for the new movies. Directors for the new movies have not yet been announced.

In the YouTube video, Lucas said the decision to continue with the saga wasn't inconsistent with past statements.
"I always said I wasn't going to do any more and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more, but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more," Lucas said.
He said he has given Kennedy his story lines and other ideas, "and I have complete confidence that she's going to take them and make great movies."

Kennedy added that she and Lucas had discussed ideas with a couple of writers about the future movies and said Lucas would continue to have a key advisory role. "My Yoda has to be there," she said.
The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC, all companies that Disney has acquired over the years.

A former weatherman who rose through the ranks of ABC, Iger has orchestrated some of the company's biggest acquisitions, including the $7.4 billion purchase of animated movie studio Pixar in 2006 and the $4.2 billion acquisition of comic book giant Marvel in 2009.

Coincidentally, Lucas owned the startup that later became Pixar, before he sold it to Apple's Steve Jobs in 1986 for about $5 million. When Jobs sold Pixar to Disney, he became Disney's largest single shareholder with a 7.7 percent stake. Those shares are now held in a trust.

Disney shares were not trading with stock markets closed due to the impact of Superstorm Sandy in New York. They closed on Friday at $50.08.

UPDATE: Disney announces in an investor conference call after today's announcement that they intend to make more than one new Star Wars movie, beginning with Episode VII in 2015 followed by Episodes VIII and IX "every other year" and then "we'll go from there."

Holy crap, fanboys!

Not only did the news break today that the Walt Disney Company has acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion, but the studio press release also announces that a Star Wars: Episode VII feature film is targeted for a 2015 release! Yes, 2015 will give us The Avengers 2, Justice League of America and now a new Star Wars movie!

This deal means Disney also now owns the Indiana Jones franchise as well as effects firm Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound.

Got up from bed and heard about this.

oh the irony..just completed watching episode 4,5,6 this week   

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2569536

abang lambat la.

i hope it will be a totally new cast....new storyline/continuity
no more luke skywalker adventures....unless Mark Hamil wanna come back and be the old Luke Skywalker

big news!

so now Mickey House controls Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Pixar and more...

Hehe what sup bro.

Yeah I was really shock by it, it just came out of no where, i got up from bed then BOOM Star Wars Ep7 in 2015! 

BTW Prometheus bluray is awesome, still haven't finish watching the extra stuff yet.

Yo! Glad u like it. Extras must watch!

Hopefully disney will have a strict quality control for star wars franchise

Am a starwars fan....but by prolonging the series might render its cult status downwards......becoming like a freaking normal sequels like rocky kind

Got up from bed and heard about this.

You can see G. Lucas face, he is not happy at all...
George Lucas saga has ended....

George Lucas is always like that la, go watch older interviews of him, he never smiles or laugh much.

this one more sadness...

Ohh you're right dude, i just watched this video, he looks so sad in the interview



This one he's abit more cheerful:

The look on his face just moments after he signed it is as if he just signed a divorce paper.

It's like one those romantic cliche, where you end up having to part ways with someone dear to you. You love her but it's not working out and she's suffocating. So if you truly, truly love her, you have to set her free.

Ya, something like divorce paper..
Ya, George Lucas divorced with LucasFilm Ltd....

What a sad story...

Leave the original saga alone!!! No more continuation!!
it's as perfect as it can be already!
If really want to film something, make it related, but please not a direct sequel
The Jedi Knights game series has great story line, which touch a bit on the original saga, I'll say it's can be a good story on screen

The look on his face just moments after he signed it is as if he just signed a divorce paper.

It's like one those romantic cliche, where you end up having to part ways with someone dear to you. You love her but it's not working out and she's suffocating. So if you truly, truly love her, you have to set her free.

Episode Vii will be an original story.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/31/sta...-original-story

Yesterday, Star Wars fans were abuzz with excitement when Disney announced that they had acquired Lucasfilm in a $4.05 billion deal and were prepping a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode VII.

Now, according to E! Online, a Lucasfilm source said that the plot of the film will be "an original story." This means that Episode VII will not be an adaptation of any existing licensed Star Wars material. So, for those of you with your hearts set on that Thrawn Trilogy, I'm afraid your dreams reside in the Netherworld of the Force.

This RUMOR only adds to the mystery and intrigue surrounding the third Star Wars trilogy, because, well... now we have no earthly idea what it's about.

One person who might have a clue is Dale Pollock, author of the unauthorized biography Skywalking: The Life And Films Of George Lucas. In a chat with TheWrap, Pollock revealed that he was able to read the outlines to Episodes VII, VIII and IX, but had to sign a confidentiality agreement preventing him from revealing the specifics of their contents.

"It was originally a 12-part saga," recalled Pollock. "The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, 'I want to see these 3 movies.'"He added that an older version of Luke Skywalker appears in the final trilogy. We'll see if any of these elements remain in the final version of the third trilogy.