Lucasfilm
Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", and Lucasfilm's operating businesses in live-action film production, consumer products, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production. Disney also acquired Lucasfilm's portfolio of entertainment technologies. The intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. "Star Wars" merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014. Starting with "Star Wars Rebels", certain products will be co-branded with the Disney name, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4, 2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, allowing the acquisition to be finalized without dealing with antitrust problems. On December 18, 2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. converted from a corporation to a limited liability company, changing its name to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC in the process. On December 21, 2012, Disney completed the acquisition and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney.
Star Wars: Episode IX
In October 2012, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the "Star Wars" franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Disney announced a new trilogy of "Star Wars" films. In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of "Episode IX". He was to write the script with frequent collaborator Derek Connolly. It was also announced that Rian Johnson, director and writer of "", would write a story treatment for the film. However, in April 2017, Johnson stated that he was not involved, claiming it was "old info". In February 2016, Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger confirmed that pre-production on "Episode IX" had begun. At the end of April 2017, Disney announced that the film would be released on May 24, 2019. A month later, filming was expected to begin in January 2018.
In August 2017, it was announced that Jack Thorne would rewrite the script. On September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm stated that Trevorrow had left the production following creative differences. "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that his working relationship with Kathleen Kennedy had become unmanageable after failing to deliver a satisfactory script, despite writing several drafts. Johnson was rumored as the top choice to replace Trevorrow as director, but stated "it was never in the plan for me to direct "Episode IX"." The next day, it was announced that J. J. Abrams, the director of "The Force Awakens", would return to direct the film. Abrams would also the script with Chris Terrio and produce the film with his company Bad Robot Productions, Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan. Disney also moved the film's release date to December 20, 2019. As principal photography began on August 1, 2018, Abrams shared a behind-the-scenes photo to mark the occasion.