Luke Owen on the possibilities for Star Wars and other Lucas-related properties following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm…
Last night while watching Arsenal getting battered three-nil by Reading, I went on to Twitter to gloat that my hometown team were beating a team that should be playing better (they eventually went on to lose in a hilarious fashion). However what I didn’t find on Twitter was my usual rabble of followers talking about this exciting football game, but rather something much more exciting – Disney had bought Lucasfilm.
To use the term loosely, the Internet exploded and so did my mind. How has this happened? Why has this happened? Is Lucas that short on cash? Did Red Tails do that badly?
Then I saw the even bigger news – Disney had announced another Star Wars trilogy. My head started to spin…
To be honest, even after sleeping on the idea and having several cups of tea while reading people’s thoughts on the subject, I’m still trying to come to terms with this. A new Star Wars movie without George Lucas? That’s like making a third Ghostbusters movie without Bill Murray. Oh wait…
Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of the “angry nerd” club that has exploded with rage and anger. I welcome this purchase with open arms (it hasn’t done Marvel any harm, which many thought it would) – I’m just so shocked by it all.
So, this article is here to talk about the positives that could come from the House of Mouse’s purchase of Lucas’ baby.
1. Star Wars Blu-ray without Lucas’ pointless additions…
We were told we’d never get one but now with Lucas out of the picture, Disney have an opportunity to make a Blu-tay (and DVD, it’s still alive) of the Star Wars saga without Lucas picking apart scenes and adding things in unnecessarily. Before you think I’m on the bandwagon of haters, I actually enjoyed the 1997 re-mastered versions when they were released on VHS and I’m one of the few people who actually likes Hayden Christensen in Return of the Jedi (come on, it makes sense). What I object to is things like the Ewoks blinking, Vader shouting “nooooo” before throwing the Emperor down that blue flamey shoot thing or Obi-Wan screaming an odd noise to scare off Jawas. Those additions added nothing to the story, setting or tone of the movie. They were just done for Lucas to say “new stuff added, buy it now”.
Disney could release a box-set of all six movies with the original trilogy in its natural state. The way they were shown in the late 70s and early 80s. I really liked how they handled this with the last DVD releases where you had the option of watching the Lucas messed around version or the original. Disney could give us this option once again and I welcome this.
2. A trilogy of films we don’t have to be ashamed of…
Let’s face it, the new trilogy was bad. We try to pretend that Revenge of the Sith is a good movie, but it’s not – it’s an awful movie. The acting is horrible, the story is badly told and the script is just horrendous. Did we all really overlook, “she’s dying of a broken heart”? And it’s not like the other two were any better. We all know that The Phantom Menace was a terrible movie, but it’s actually nowhere near as bad as Attack of the Clones, which has absolutely no redeeming values whatsoever. We were excited for every instalment but were met with nothing but hammy acting, lame special effects and dreadful storytelling. And what do all three of these movies have in common? They were written and directed by one George Lucas. Do you know what this new trilogy won’t have? George Lucas writing or directing them. I see this as a good thing.
On top of that, Kathleen Kennedy is spearheading the project and I don’t think that the producer of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Indiana Jones, Gremlins, The Goonies, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Innerspace, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and The Sixth Sense (among others) is capable of working on a film as bad as Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
Plus, we’re getting a new Star Wars movie, a Justice League adaptation and The Avengers 2 in 2015. And hover boards apparently.
3. We could get a Blu-ray release of Howard The Duck…
And I would love that.
4. Future Projects…
Even if the new Star Wars films are rubbish (but remember they’d have to be really bad to be the worst in the franchise), Disney (and especially Pixar) could do some great work with some of Lucas’ other properties like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango. A feature length Day of the Tentacle movie made by Pixar would be awesome!
Those are just four reasons why this Disney deal could be the best thing that has ever happened to the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm as a whole. Whether we like to admit or not, our beloved Star Wars has taken quite the dip in quality and sanity over the last fifteen or so years and perhaps the House of Mouse and Kathleen Kennedy can put this series back on track.
Now I’m willing to admit that I could be very, very wrong on this. Given Disney’s track record of live action movies, we could end up with Tim Burton directing a Star Wars movie starring Johnny Depp as the son of Han and Leia played by Christopher Lee (irony) and Helena Bonham Carter. But the point I am making is that we need to at least give this a chance and not just look to light our pitchforks to go on a witch hunt.
Luke Owen is a freelance copywriter working for Europe’s biggest golf holiday provider as their web content executive.
Originally published October 31, 2012. Updated April 10, 2018.
