When did Disney buy Star Wars?
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 comics
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced that they would acquire Lucasfilm for $4 billion. In January 2014, it was announced that in 2015, the "Star Wars" comics license would return to Marvel Comics, whose parent company, Marvel Entertainment, Disney had purchased in 2009. Meanwhile, with the sequel film "" in production, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
LucasArts
On May 6, 2013, it was revealed that Electronic Arts would develop "Star Wars" games, through an exclusive multi-year license, for the core gaming market. But the agreement allowed for the casual gaming market of "mobile, social, tablet and online game categories", Disney Interactive Studios to further develop for the franchise, and LucasArts to further license the franchise. On July 15, 2013, a sequel to "Angry Birds Star Wars" based on the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, titled "Angry Birds Star Wars II", was announced. It was the first game released through LucasArts under Disney ownership when it launched for mobile platforms on September 18, 2013.
BioWare
After acquiring and dismantling LucasArts, The Walt Disney Company announced in May 2013 that Electronic Arts will produce future "Star Wars" games, "in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise." In November 2013, teaser images from the next instalment of the "Mass Effect" series have been released. At E3 2014, BioWare Edmonton announced working on a new (unnamed) original intellectual property in addition to continuing their established series. Another new IP, titled "Shadow Realms" is an episodic 4 vs. 1 story-driven online action role-playing game, and was announced on Gamescom 2014. On 9 February 2015, Bioware Austin announced that development on "Shadow Realms" would not continue.
Proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney
Comcast (parent company of NBCUniversal) made their own offer on June 13, 2018, with a $65 billion all cash proposal to acquire the Fox assets that Disney was set to purchase, touching off a major bidding war between the two companies. A week later, Disney counterbid with a $71.3 billion offer. Comcast officially ended its bidding war with Disney to acquire Fox on July 19, in order to focus on acquiring a controlling stake in Sky plc. Disney and Fox shareholders approved the acquisition on July 27. The deal is expected to close by June 2019.
Star Wars
In the late 1980s, Marvel dropped a new "Star Wars" comic it had in development, which was picked up by Dark Horse Comics and published as the popular "Dark Empire" series (1991–1995). Dark Horse subsequently launched dozens of series set after the original film trilogy, including "Tales of the Jedi" (1993–1998), "" (1995–1998), "" (1998–2006), "Star Wars Tales" (1999–2005), "" (2002–2006), and "" (2006–2010).
The Walt Disney Company
Wells was killed in a helicopter crash in 1994. Shortly thereafter, Katzenberg resigned and formed DreamWorks SKG because Eisner would not appoint Katzenberg to Wells' now-available post (Katzenberg had also sued over the terms of his contract). Instead, Eisner recruited his friend Michael Ovitz, one of the founders of the Creative Artists Agency, to be President, with minimal involvement from Disney's board of directors (which at the time included Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier, Hilton Hotels Corporation CEO Stephen Bollenbach, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, Yale dean Robert A. M. Stern, and Eisner's predecessors Raymond Watson and Card Walker). Ovitz lasted only 14 months and left Disney in December 1996 via a "no fault termination" with a severance package of $38 million in cash and 3 million stock options worth roughly $100 million at the time of Ovitz's departure. The Ovitz episode engendered a long running derivative suit, which finally concluded in June 2006, almost 10 years later. Chancellor William B. Chandler III of the Delaware Court of Chancery, despite describing Eisner's behavior as falling "far short of what shareholders expect and demand from those entrusted with a fiduciary position..." found in favor of Eisner and the rest of the Disney board because they had not violated the letter of the law (namely, the duty of care owed by a corporation's officers and board to its shareholders). Eisner later said, in a 2016 interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", that he regretted letting Ovitz go.
In 1994, Eisner attempted to purchase NBC from General Electric (GE), but the deal failed due to GE wanting to keep 51 percent ownership of the network. Disney acquired many other media sources during the decade, including a merger with Capital Cities/ABC in 1995 which brought broadcast network ABC and its assets, including the A&E Television Networks and ESPN networks, into the Disney fold. Eisner felt that the purchase of ABC was an important investment to keep Disney surviving and allowing it to compete with international multimedia conglomerates. Disney lost a $10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour "Marsupilami" cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved the company's attention.
List of Star Wars films and television series
In 2014, Disney XD began airing "Star Wars Rebels", the first CGI-animated series produced following the Disney acquisition. Set between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope", it follows a band of rebels as they fight the Galactic Empire and helped close some of the arcs in "The Clone Wars". Due to the film "Rogue One" being produced at the same time, the film and the series acknowledged each other. The series also included a canonical version of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the character from the "Legends " Thrawn trilogy.
The Walt Disney Company
On May 15, 2003, Disney sold their stake in the Anaheim Angels baseball team to Arte Moreno. Disney purchased the rights to The Muppets and the "Bear in the Big Blue House" franchises from The Jim Henson Company on February 17, 2004. The two brands were placed under control of the Muppets Holding Company, LLC, a unit of Disney Consumer Products. In 2004, Pixar Animation Studios began looking for another distributor after its 12-year contract with Disney ended, due to its strained relationship over issues of control and money with Eisner. Also that year, Comcast Corporation made an unsolicited $54 billion bid to acquire Disney. A couple of high budget films flopped at the box office. With these difficulties and with some board directors dissatisfied, Eisner ceded the board chairmanship.
Sith
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Billy Dee Williams
After The Walt Disney Company acquired ownership of Lucasfilm in 2012, plans for a sequel trilogy to the "Star Wars" films were announced. On April 29, 2014, Disney announced a cast list for "", set 30 years after "Return of the Jedi". Some fans were disappointed with Calrissian's absence. However, it was announced in July 2018 that he was cast in "Episode IX".
Darth Bane
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars (film)
"Star Wars" debuted on Betamax, CED, LaserDisc, Video 2000, and VHS between the 1980s and 1990s by CBS/Fox Video. The final issue of the original theatrical release (pre-Special Edition) to VHS format occurred in 1995, as part of "Last Chance to Own the Original" campaign, available as part of a trilogy set and as a standalone purchase. The film was released for the first time on DVD on September 21, 2004, in a box set with "The Empire Strikes Back", "Return of the Jedi", and a bonus disc of supplementary material. The films were digitally restored and remastered, and more changes were made by George Lucas. The DVD features a commentary track from Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The bonus disc contains the documentary "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy", three featurettes, teasers, theatrical trailers, TV spots, still galleries, an exclusive preview of "", a playable Xbox demo of the LucasArts game "", and a "Making Of" documentary on . The set was reissued in December 2005 as part of a three-disc limited edition boxed set without the bonus disc.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 American 3D animated science fiction action-adventure film set within the "Star Wars" universe, leading into a produced by Lucasfilm Animation. The film is set during the three-year time period between the films "" (2002) and "" (2005), and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, who also holds the home media distribution rights to this film, even after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The film premiered on August 10, 2008 at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, while screening in wide-release on August 14, 2008 across Australia, and August 15 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. "The Clone Wars" served as an introduction to the television series of the same name, which debuted on October 3, 2008. Though critical reception was negative, the film was a box office success, and grossed $68.3 million worldwide against an $8.5 million budget. It is the only theatrical "Star Wars" film not to be distributed by either 20th Century Fox or Walt Disney Studios.
LucasArts
On October 4, 2013, Disney Interactive announced "", a "Star Wars" game for mobile devices based on Tiny Tower. It was developed by Disney Mobile and NimbleBit, and was published by LucasArts for mobile devices on November 8, 2013. On December 17, 2013, Disney Interactive announced "", a "Star Wars" space combat simulation game developed by Area 52 games in conjunction with Disney Mobile and LucasArts. A closed beta period began in North America on January 14, 2014.
Star Wars expanded to other media
The "Star Wars" space opera media franchise began with Lucas's 1977 film "Star Wars", which is set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and chronicles the attempt by the characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the Wookiee Chewbacca—assisted by the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2—to thwart the evil plans of Sith Lord Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire. The film was followed by multiple sequel and prequel films.
ABC Family Worldwide
After facing struggling ratings and a failed attempt by Saban to buy out News Corp's stake in the venture, Fox Family Worldwide was later sold to its current owner, The Walt Disney Company, in 2001 for $5.3 billion. The purchase gave Disney ownership of the Fox Family channel (which was subsequently rebranded as ABC Family), the international Fox Kids channels (which were later re-branded as Jetix, and then Disney XD), and rights to the Saban Entertainment library. The subsidiary has since been amalgamated into the Disney–ABC Television Group, while Saban Brands has since re-gained ownership to some of the properties it previously held, particularly "Power Rangers".
Star Wars
Lucas decided to invest in creating his own animation company, Lucasfilm Animation, and used it to create his first in-house "Star Wars" CGI-animated series. "" (2008–2014) was introduced through a . Both were accepted to the highest level canon in 2014; all series released afterwards would also be canon. In 2014, Disney XD began airing "Star Wars Rebels", the first CGI-animated series produced in the new era. Set between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope", it follows a band of rebels as they fight the Galactic Empire and helped close some of the arcs in "The Clone Wars". The animated microseries "Star Wars Forces of Destiny" debuted in 2017, focusing on the female characters of the franchise. The animated series "Star Wars Resistance" debuted in late 2018, is anime-inspired, and focuses on a young Resistance pilot shortly before "The Force Awakens".
Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. "Heir to the Jedi" was subsequently announced as one of the first four canon novels to be released in 2014 and 2015.
Jar Jar Binks
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Bob Iger
On January 24, 2006, under Iger’s leadership, Disney announced it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock transaction. In the same year, Iger also re-acquired the rights to Walt Disney's first star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, from NBCUniversal by releasing sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC Sports to NBC Sports.
The Walt Disney Company
Disney, which had taken control of the Anaheim Angels in 1996, purchased a majority stake in the team in 1998. That same year, Disney began a move into the internet field with the purchase of Starwave and 43 percent of Infoseek. In 1999, Disney purchased the remaining shares of Infoseek and launched the Go Network portal in January. Disney also launched its cruise line with the christening of "Disney Magic" and a sister ship, "Disney Wonder". The Katzenberg case dragged on as his contract included a portion of the film revenue from ancillary markets forever. Katzenberg had offered $100 to settle the case, but Eisner felt the original claim amount of about half a billion too much, but then the ancillary market clause was found. Disney lawyers tried to indicate a decline situation which reveal some of the problems in the company. ABC had declining rating and increasing costs while the film segment had two film failures. While neither party revealed the settlement amount, it is estimated at $200 million.
Eisner's controlling style inhibited efficiency and progress according to some critics, while other industry experts indicated that "age compression" theory led to a decline in the company's target market due to youth copying teenage behavior earlier. The year 2000 brought an increase in revenue of 9 percent and net income of 39 percent with ABC and ESPN leading the way and Parks and Resorts marking its sixth consecutive year of growth. However, the September 11 attacks led to a decline in vacation travel and the early 2000s recession led to a decrease in ABC revenue. Plus, Eisner had the company make an expensive purchase of Fox Family Worldwide. 2001 was a year of cost cutting laying off 4,000 employees, Disney parks operations decreased, slashing annual live-action film investment, and minimizing Internet operations. While 2002 revenue had a small decrease from 2001 with the cost cutting, net income rose to $1.2 billion with two creative film releases. In 2003, Disney became the first studio to record over $3 billion in worldwide box office receipts. Eisner did not want the board to renominate Roy E. Disney, the son of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney, as a board director citing his age of 72 as a required retirement age. Stanley Gold responded by resigning from the board and requesting the other board members oust Eisner. On November 30, 2003, Disney resigned from his positions as the company's vice chairman and chairman of Walt Disney Feature Animation, accusing Eisner of micromanagement, failures with the ABC television network, timidity in the theme park business, turning The Walt Disney Company into a "rapacious, soul-less" company, and refusing to establish a clear succession plan, as well as a string of box office film flops starting in the year 2000.
Indiana Jones (franchise)
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, thereby granting Disney ownership rights to the "Indiana Jones" intellectual property. However, Paramount Pictures continued to own distribution rights for the film series. On December 6, 2013, Walt Disney Studios purchased the remaining distribution and marketing rights to future "Indiana Jones" films, while Paramount will retain the distribution rights to the first four films, and will receive "financial participation" from any additional films. Although a new film installment was not announced with the deal, Disney CEO Bob Iger has expressed an interest in monetizing the franchise across Disney's various company divisions. Studio chairman Alan Horn has said that a fifth "Indiana Jones" film would not be ready for at least two to three years.
Star Wars
Before selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and parallel to his development of a sequel trilogy, George Lucas and original trilogy co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan started development on a standalone film about a young Han Solo. On February 5, 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger made public the development of the Kasdan film. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo has described the standalone films as origin stories.
Disney Interactive
Disney purchased a one-third share of Starwave on April 3, 1997, for $100 million. In January 1998, Disney registered go.com. Exercising its options, Disney purchased the outstanding shares of Starwave from Paul Allen in April 1998. In June 1998, Disney purchased 43% ownership of Infoseek in exchange for Starwave and $70 million. Infoseek and Disney Online joint ventured in developing the Go Network, an internet portal. With Disney's purchase of the remainder of Infoseek in July 1999, the Go Network, Infoseek, the Disney Catalog, Disney Online (Disney.com and DisneyStore.com), ABC News Internet Ventures and ESPN Internet Ventures and Buena Vista Internet Group are merged into the Go.com company.
Star Wars (1977 comic book)
Charles Lippincott, Lucasfilm's publicity supervisor, initially approached publisher Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in 1975 about publishing a "Star Wars" comic book prior to the film's release as a means to appeal to its most likely audience. Lee initially declined to consider such a proposal until the film was completed, and was only persuaded otherwise in a second meeting arranged by Roy Thomas in 1976, who was a big fan of space opera and comics like Planet Comics, wanted to edit the series. Thomas said Lee greenlighted the project when he heard Alec Guinness would be involved. Since movie tie-in comics rarely sold well at that time, Lee negotiated a publishing arrangement which gave no royalties to Lucasfilm until sales exceeded 100,000. At that point, legal arrangements could be revisited. The comic gave Marvel a much needed income during a time when the whole comic industry suffered because of rising newsprint costs and a declining number of retail outlets like traditional newsstands and mom and pop stores until the direct market concept established itself in the late 70s.
Jedi
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
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.
Dennis Muren
After earning his associate's degree, Muren began working as a visual effects artist full-time. In 1976, Muren was hired at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), then an upstart visual effects studio founded by George Lucas. Lucas' and ILM's first film, "Star Wars", was released in 1977 to wide critical and public acclaim and was the highest-grossing film of all time up until that point. In 1985 he worked on the visual effects of the Disney theme park’s "Captain EO" the American 3D/4D science fiction film starring Michael Jackson, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and the executive producer was George Lucas.
List of Star Wars theme parks attractions
The "Star Wars" franchise has spawned several attractions at multiple Disney themed parks, starting before Disney's acquisition of the franchise from George Lucas. Lucas established a partnership in 1986 with the company's Imagineering division to create an attraction at Disney parks. The first such attraction, Star Tours, opened at Disneyland in 1987, with several versions opening at other Disney theme parks over the following years. The Star Tours rides at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios closed in 2010, while Tokyo Disneyland's version closed in 2012 and Disneyland Paris' in 2016. All of the original Star Tours rides were then refurbished into Star Tours–The Adventures Continue. The new attraction randomly shuffles several scenes, allowing up to 54 combinations of different adventures. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland in 2011, at Tokyo Disneyland in 2013, and at Disneyland Paris in 2017.
Burger King
Burger King was a pioneer in the advertising practice known as the "product tie-in", with a successful partnership with George Lucas' Lucasfilm, Ltd., to promote the 1977 film "Star Wars" in which BK sold a set of glasses featuring the main characters from the movie. This promotion was one of the first in the fast food industry and set the pattern that continues to the present. BK's early success in the field was overshadowed by a 1982 deal between McDonald's and the Walt Disney Company to promote Disney's animated films beginning in the mid-1980s and running through the early 1990s. In 1994, Disney switched from McDonald's to Burger King, signing a 10-movie promotional contract which would include such top 10 films as "Aladdin" (1992), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "The Lion King" (1994), and "Toy Story" (1995). A partnership in association with the Pokémon franchise at the height of its popularity in 1999 was tremendously successful for the company, with many locations rapidly selling out of the toys and the replacements.
Star Wars Galaxies
The game was first announced in 2000, when LucasArts Entertainment began a partnership with EverQuest creators Verant Interactive Inc. and Sony Online Entertainment to create the first massively multiplayer "Star Wars" online role-playing game. The announcement included an expected release date of 2001 and that the game would take place during the original trilogy era.
Asajj Ventress
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars (film)
In 2010, George Lucas announced that all six previously released "Star Wars" films would be scanned and transferred to 3D, with a corresponding theatrical release. "" was the first of these films and saw its theatrical release in 2012. However, due to "", Lucas delayed the releases of the rest of the saga. While both "" and "" 3D versions were screened at the 2013 and 2015 "Star Wars" Celebration, Lucas never released the original trilogy in 3D before Disney bought the franchise in December 2012.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas began developing a Han Solo prequel in 2012, and commissioned Lawrence Kasdan to write the screenplay. After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, Kasdan was hired to write "" (2015), leaving his son Jonathan to complete the "Solo" script"." Principal photography began in January 2017 at Pinewood Studios, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The duo were fired in June 2017 following "creative differences" with Lucasfilm, and Howard was hired as their replacement. With an estimated production budget of at least $275 million, "Solo" is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Star Wars (1983 video game)
"Star Wars" was converted first by Parker Brothers in 1983 and 1984 to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, the Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, and Commodore 64. The ColecoVision version was programmed by Wendell Brown.
The same game was converted again, in 1987 and 1988, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro and Enterprise 64; the game was also converted again for the Atari 8-bits and the Commodore 64. All conversions were developed by UK-based Vektor Grafix (the Atari 8-bit version by Zeppelin Games being an exception) and were published in Europe by Domark. That same year Broderbund acquired the rights to develop Star Wars games from Lucasfilm. Broderbund published the Apple II, Macintosh, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS versions of the arcade game in North America in 1988, in addition to republishing the Atari ST and Amiga versions in 1989.
Yoda
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars (soundtrack)
Walt Disney Records reissued the original 1977 soundtrack album in digital formats and streaming services on January 1, 2017, and on LP record on December 1, 2017, to coincide with the film's fortieth anniversary that same year. The LP reissue featured a remastered soundtrack, hand-etched hologram art, and a 48-page book containing production photographs, liner notes, and essays on John Williams and the music of "Star Wars."
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
"The Force Awakens" was announced after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012. The film was produced by Abrams, his longtime collaborator Bryan Burk, and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of the original trilogy films "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983), rewrote an initial script by Michael Arndt. John Williams, the composer for the previous six films, returned to compose the film's score. Lucas served as creative consultant during the film's early production. Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, with principal photography also taking place in Ireland and Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, and concluded in November 2014. It is the first live-action "Star Wars" film since "" (2005).
List of Star Wars films and television series
Three live-action "Star Wars" spin-off films were created for television in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. The later two featured the Ewoks, which were also the focus of one of two animated series released in the mid-1980s. Further animated series began to be released in 2003, the first two of which focused on the Clone Wars. After Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm, only the later "" was kept in the canon of continuity of the episodic "Star Wars" films. Two additional half-hour animated series were ordered, one of which ties into the original trilogy, the other the sequel trilogy. Two live-action "Star Wars" series are currently in development for Disney+.
List of Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes
On July 19, 2018, Lucasfilm announced at San Diego Comic-Con that "The Clone Wars" would return with 12 new episodes to be released on Disney+.
As a lead in to the TV series of the same name, the film was released theatrically on August 15, 2008, and was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which also holds the home media distribution rights to both this film and the first five seasons of the television series. Though critical reception was negative, the film was a box office success, and grossed $68.3 million worldwide against an $8.5 million budget.
Burger King advertising
Burger King's first major tie-in, and one of the first for the QSR industry, was the 1977 film "Star Wars" in which BK sold a set of glasses featuring the main characters from the film. From that point on, competition between the major QSR chains became an important part of advertising in the fast food industry; McDonald's partnered with Disney in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994 Burger King signed a ten-film contract with Disney, a venture that was very successful. Burger King promoted films such as "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "Aladdin" (1992), "The Lion King" (1994), "Pocahontas" (1995), "Toy Story" (1995) and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996). These cross promotions were rivaled only by McDonald's/Ty Beanie Babies cross-promotion in 1999–2000.
Starwave
The company merged with Infoseek and was later sold to The Walt Disney Company. In April 1998, Disney purchased the outstanding shares of Starwave from Allen after an initial buy of about 30% in 1997. The new entity, Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) developed the Go.com portal.
Star Wars (film)
Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first film in the original "Star Wars" trilogy and the beginning of the "Star Wars" franchise. Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew, the film focuses on the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia (Fisher), and its attempt to destroy the Galactic Empire's space station, the Death Star.
List of Star Wars films and television series
Before selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and parallel to his development of a sequel trilogy, George Lucas and original trilogy Lawrence Kasdan started development on a standalone film about a young Han Solo. In February 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger made public the development of a Kasdan film and "Entertainment Weekly" reported that it would focus on Han Solo. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo has described the standalone films as origin stories. Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that there was "no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes." The standalone films are subtitled ""A Star Wars Story"".
Walt Disney Studios (division)
Walt Disney Pictures is a film banner that encompasses the release of its own live-action productions, in addition to films produced by the company's animation studios, mainly Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios. Marvel Studios—acquired through Disney's purchase of Marvel Entertainment in 2009—produces superhero films based on Marvel Comics characters, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Lucasfilm—acquired by Disney in 2012—develops and produces films including those in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises. Disneynature is an independent film genre label devoted to nature documentary productions.
Lucasfilm
Discussions relating to the possibility of The Walt Disney Company signing a distribution deal with Lucasfilm officially began in May 2011, after a meeting that George Lucas had with Disney CEO Bob Iger during the inauguration of the Star Tours – The Adventures Continue attraction. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the "Star Wars" franchise. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock. Lucasfilm had previously collaborated with the company's Walt Disney Imagineering division to create theme park attractions centered on "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" for various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide.
Collectible card game
On June 3 of 1997, Wizards of the Coast announced that it had acquired TSR and its "Dungeons & Dragons" property which also gave them control of Gen Con. Wizards now had its long sought role-playing game, and it quickly discontinued all plans to continue producing Dragon Dice as well as any hopes of resuming production of the "Spellfire" CCG. Decipher was now sanctioning tournaments for their "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" games. "Star Wars" was also enjoying strong success from the recently rereleased "Star Wars" "Special Edition" films. In fact, the CCG would remain the second best selling CCG until the introduction of "Pokémon" in 1999.
George Roubicek
In 1976, Roubicek was cast in "Star Wars", where he played the small role of Praji, a commander with the Galactic Empire. He appeared early in the film, speaking with Darth Vader after the Imperial forces have seized the Rebel Alliance starship "Tantive IV" and captured Princess Leia. Roubicek's scene was filmed over a three-day sequence in July 1976, near the final days of principal photography. Roubicek did not anticipate at the time that "Star Wars" would become such a cultural phenomenon, and his first impression of the franchise was "What is this all about"? During a 2007 interview, Roubicek said, "I don't think anyone knew [what Star Wars was], except maybe George Lucas, and I'm not sure he knew all the time! We certainly didn't know. I wouldn't say this was just another job - there's no such thing as just another job - but I didn't realize how special it was going to be at the time."
Star Wars Forces of Destiny
First announced and presented in April 2017 during "Star Wars" Celebration Orlando, "Forces of Destiny" is part of a franchise expansion initiative by Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media and includes a companion toy line by Hasbro and a series of youth-aimed books. The series is the first 2D animated series produced by Lucasfilm since the 2003 "" series and the first 2D project by Lucasfilm Animation, which formed after the development of "Clone Wars".
Star Wars comics
In the late 1980s, writer Tom Veitch and artist Cam Kennedy secured a deal to produce a "Star Wars" comic for Archie Goodwin at Epic Comics, a Marvel imprint. After the project was announced, Goodwin left Marvel, which dropped the comic. Dark Horse Comics subsequently published it as the "Dark Empire" sequence (1991–1995). Dark Horse subsequently launched dozens of series set after the original film trilogy, including "Tales of the Jedi" (1993–1998), "" (1995–1998), "" (1998–2006), "Star Wars Tales" (1999–2005), "" (2002–2006), and "" (2006–2010).
George Lucas
"Star Wars" quickly became the highest-grossing film of all-time, displaced five years later by Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". After the success of "American Graffiti" and prior to the beginning of filming on "Star Wars", Lucas was encouraged to renegotiate for a higher fee for writing and directing "Star Wars" than the $150,000 agreed. He declined to do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular ownership of licensing and merchandising rights (for novelizations, T-shirts, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements for sequels. The studio was unconcerned to relinquish these rights, as its last major attempt in the field, with the film "Doctor Dolittle" (1967), had proved a discouraging failure. Lucas exploited merchandising rights wisely, and Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for the franchise.
Star Wars
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game, "Star Wars Galaxies", was in operation from 2003 until 2011. Disney partnered with Lenovo to create the augmented reality game "Jedi Challenges", released in November 2017. In August 2018, it was announced that Zynga would publish free-to-play "Star Wars" mobile games.
Star Wars (1977 comic book)
Star Wars is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from April 12, 1977 to May 27, 1986. Featuring classic "Star Wars" characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2, the first six issues adapt the May 1977 film "Star Wars". The series chronicled their subsequent adventures for 107 issues and three annuals, including a six-issue adaptation of the 1980 sequel film "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980–1981. The "Star Wars" comic was originally written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Chaykin.
The Star Wars Corporation
The Star Wars Corporation, Inc. (SWC) was a company founded by George Lucas in 1973. It was a subsidiary of his Lucasfilm production company, set up to control various legal and financial aspects of his 1977 movie "Star Wars", including copyright, and sequel and merchandising rights. It also produced the 1978 "Star Wars Holiday Special" for CBS. By 1980, the company had been discontinued and its business was absorbed into the various divisions of its parent company Lucasfilm Ltd.
Roy E. Disney
As announced, on September 30, Eisner resigned both chief executive and a member of the board. Severing all formal ties with the company, he waived his contractual rights to perks such as use of a corporate jet, a Golden Pass and an office at the company's Burbank headquarters. Bob Iger, Eisner's long-time lieutenant, who had been effectively running the company, now assumed the title of CEO. One of Roy Disney's stated reasons for engineering his second "Save Disney" initiative had been Eisner's well-publicized disputes with long-time production partner Pixar Animation Studios and its CEO Steve Jobs, with whom Disney had produced such computer animated hits as "Toy Story", "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", which were both critically acclaimed and financially successful for both partners. Iger quickly repaired the estrangement, and on January 24, 2006, the company announced the acquisition of Pixar in an all-stock deal worth $7.4 billion. This deal made Jobs, best known as co-founder and CEO of Apple, Inc, Disney's largest shareholder with 7% of all outstanding shares and gave him a new seat on Disney's board of directors. Eisner, who retained 1.7% of shares, became Disney's second-largest shareholder, followed by Roy Disney, with 1% of shares. Disney's second "Save Disney" campaign against Eisner was chronicled by James B. Stewart in his best-selling book, "DisneyWar".
Star Wars
When Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, this reportedly included 50 written scripts for a proposed live-action television series with the working title "Star Wars: Underworld". The series was to be set between the prequel and original trilogies and focus on the criminal and political power struggles as the Empire took over the galaxy. As of late 2018, no news has come of that project, but Disney has announced multiple live-action "Star Wars" series for their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service, Disney+.
Star Wars (film)
"Star Wars" was released in theatres in the United States on May 25, 1977. It earned $461 million in the U.S. and $314 million overseas, totaling $775 million. It surpassed "Jaws" (1975) to become the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982). When adjusted for inflation, "Star Wars" is the second-highest-grossing film in North America, and the third-highest-grossing film in the world. It received ten Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), winning seven. It was among the first films to be selected as part of the U.S. Library of Congress's National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". At the time, it was the most recent film on the registry and the only one chosen from the 1970s. In 2004, its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important films in the history of motion pictures.
Star Wars: Battlefront
The series was launched in 2004 by LucasArts with "", developed by Pandemic Studios for LucasArts. The game received positive reviews and sold well. In 2005 Pandemic developed a sequel, "", which was also critically and commercially successful. The games were followed by "" (2007) and "" (2009) for handheld consoles and "" for mobile devices. LucasArts made several attempts to get a third major "Battlefront" game off the ground but no projects were released before The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of LucasArts. Subsequently, EA DICE acquired a license to develop a new game, titled "Star Wars Battlefront" which was released on November 17, 2015. A sequel, "Star Wars Battlefront II", was released on November 17, 2017, and was developed by EA DICE, Criterion Games, and Motive Studios.
List of Star Wars books
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion. In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded the "Expanded Universe" material as "Star Wars Legends" and declared it non-canon to the franchise. The company's focus would be shifted towards a restructured "Star Wars" canon based on new material. The first new canon adult novel was "" by John Jackson Miller, published in September 2014.
When You Dish Upon a Star
One gag near the end of the episode had a sign with the 20th Century Fox logo on it with the line "A Division of Walt Disney Co" under it. On December 14, 2017, Disney announced its intention to purchase 20th Century Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox.
Qui-Gon Jinn
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" digitally in HD and 4K via digital download and Movies Anywhere on March 13, 2018, with an Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD physical release on March 27. It was the first "Star Wars" film to be released on the Ultra HD Blu-ray format.
Star Wars comics
Charles Lippincott, Lucasfilm's publicity supervisor, initially approached publisher Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in 1975 about publishing a "Star Wars" comic book prior to the film's release as a means to appeal to its most likely audience. Lee initially declined to consider such a proposal until the film was completed, and was only persuaded otherwise in a second meeting arranged by Roy Thomas, who wanted to edit the series. Since movie tie-in comics rarely sold well at that time, Lee negotiated a publishing arrangement which gave no royalties to Lucasfilm until sales exceeded 100,000. At that point, legal arrangements could be revisited. Issue #1 of "Star Wars" was released for sale on April 12, 1977, and Marvel published the series from 1977 to 1986, lasting 107 issues and three "Annual"s. According to former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter, the strong sales of "Star Wars" comics saved Marvel financially in 1977 and 1978. Marvel's "Star Wars" series was one of the industry's top selling titles in 1979 and 1980. The only downside for Marvel was that the 100,000 copy sales quota was surpassed quickly, allowing Lippincott to renegotiate the royalty arrangements from a position of strength.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. Though Lucasfilm made it clear that new media would "not tell the same story told in the post-"Return of the Jedi" Expanded Universe", it was also established that "creators of new "Star Wars" entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe." Acknowledging that Thrawn had long been considered by Lucasfilm when developing projects, Filoni later said in 2016 that in particular the character had been on his list of potential villains when developing "Star Wars Rebels".
Bob Iger
In October 2012, Iger signed a deal with film producer George Lucas to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion following several months of negotiations. As a result, Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars multimedia franchise and Indiana Jones. Following its release on December 18, 2015, "" grossed over $2 billion at the box office. In March 2016, Iger announced that the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort would open its doors on June 16, 2016. In May 2016, Iger wrote in a Facebook post claiming that Disney has hired 11,000 new employees in the past decade at Disneyland, and 18,000 in the past decade. Iger specifically targeted Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders, asking him how much he has contributed to job growth.
Star Wars: Lords of the Sith
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. "Lords of the Sith" was subsequently announced as one of the first four canon novels to be released in 2014 and 2015.
Star Wars comics
Formerly branded as part of the " Star Wars Expanded Universe" or the "Expanded Universe", which was used to brand everything besides the films, the "Star Wars" comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film Star Wars. An eponymous series by Marvel Comics began in 1977 with a six-issue comic adaptation of the original film and ran for 107 issues and three "Annual"s until 1986, featuring stories happening between the original trilogy films, adapting "The Empire Strikes Back" before going back to original stories and ending with an adaptation of "Return of the Jedi"; despite good sales, the series ended due to George Lucas not wanting to explore the events set after his films. Then Marvel, from 1985 to 1987, published two short-lived series based on the "Star Wars" animated series "" and "". Briefly, the publishing rights were to Blackthorne Publishing, whom released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988. Then, three years later, the rights to publish "Star Wars" comics were acquired by Dark Horse, who published the limited series "Star Wars: Dark Empire" in 1991 which explored the time after "Return of the Jedi", with Dark Horse ultimately produced over 100 "Star Wars" titles until 2014, including manga adaptations of the original trilogy of films and the 1999 prequel "The Phantom Menace". The comics happening before, between, and after the films and produced before April 2014 were branded as the "Star Wars Expanded Universe" until April 2014, when they were all branded as "Legends", ceased further publications and were declared non-canonical to the franchise.
List of Star Wars books
"Star Wars" is an American epic space opera media franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas that includes "Star Wars" (1977), "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), and "Return of the Jedi" (1983). The series depicts the adventures of various characters "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away". A large number of derivative "Star Wars" works have been produced in conjunction with, between, and after the original trilogy of films, and later installments. This body of work was collectively known as the "Star Wars" expanded universe for decades.
Star Wars: Tarkin
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. "Tarkin" was subsequently announced as one of the first four canon novels to be released in 2014 and 2015.
Star Wars (film)
On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released "Star Wars" films. Fox released "A New Hope" for digital download on April 10, 2015 and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the other five films.
Star Wars: Ahsoka
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. "Ahsoka" was announced in March 2016, with a release date of October 11, 2016.
RMS Queen Mary
His Wrather Port Properties operated the entire attraction after his death in 1984 until 1988, when his holdings were bought by the Walt Disney Company. Wrather had built the Disneyland Hotel in 1955, when Walt Disney had insufficient funds to construct the hotel himself. Disney had been trying to buy the hotel for 30 years. When they finally succeeded, they also acquired the "Queen Mary." This was never marketed as a Disney property.
Through the late 1980s and early 1990s the "Queen Mary" struggled financially. Disney pinned their hopes for turning the attraction around on Port Disney, a huge planned resort on the adjacent docks. It was to include a theme park known as "DisneySea", themed around the world's oceans. The plans eventually fell through; in 1992 Disney gave up the lease on the ship to focus on building what would become Disney California Adventure Park. The DisneySea concept was recycled a decade later in Japan as Tokyo DisneySea, with a recreated ocean liner resembling "Queen Mary" named the SS "Columbia" as the centrepiece of the American Waterfront area.
Star Wars
After Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, it was announced in January 2014 that in 2015 the "Star Wars" comics license would return to Marvel Comics, whose parent company, Marvel Entertainment, Disney had purchased in 2009. Launched in 2015, the first three publications were titled "Star Wars", "", and the limited series "".
Mara Jade
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
The Mandalorian
On November 9, 2017, it was announced that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing a new live-action "Star Wars" television series for Disney's then-unnamed upcoming streaming service. The announcement was made by Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger while on a quarterly earnings call with investors.
Kenner Star Wars action figures
Although the original "Star Wars" film had been released in May 1977, Kenner was unprepared for the unprecedented response to the film and the high demand for toys. Unable to build sufficient stock in time for the lucrative Christmas market, they instead sold an "Early Bird Certificate Package" which included a certificate which could be mailed to Kenner and redeemed for four "Star Wars" action figures. The first four figures to be distributed were Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2). The box also contains a diorama display stand, some stickers, and a "Star Wars" fan club membership card.
Admiral Ackbar
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars
Lucas decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would step away from making blockbuster films.
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that "Episode VII" would be released in 2015. The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, became president of the company and served as executive producer of new "Star Wars" feature films. The sequel trilogy also meant the end of the existing "Star Wars" expanded universe, which was discarded to give "maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience."
Coruscant
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
In an interview with journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a "divorce" and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of "The Force Awakens". Lucas described the previous "Star Wars" films as his "children" and criticized the "retro feel" of "The Force Awakens," saying: "I worked very hard to make [my films] completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new." Lucas also likened Disney to "white slavers", which drew some criticism; he subsequently apologized.
Star Wars Rebels
The Complete Season One of "Star Wars Rebels" was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray on September 1, 2015, in America, and in Germany on September 10, 2015. The Season 1 collection contains the expanded version of "Spark of Rebellion" with the Darth Vader/Grand Inquisitor prologue shown on ABC-TV. The Complete Season Two of "Star Wars Rebels" was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray on August 30, 2016, in North America. The Complete Season Three of "Star Wars Rebels" was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 29, 2017. The Complete Season Four is announced to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 15, 2018, in Germany, and July 31, 2018, in the United States.
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, created by George Lucas and centered around a film series that began with the eponymous 1977 movie. The saga quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
A "Star Wars"-themed section of Legoland California's Miniland USA opened in 2011, with a similar version opening at Legoland Florida in November 2012, just weeks after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the "Star Wars" franchise.
Star Wars expanded to other media
Lucas Licensing's managing editor Sue Rostoni said in 2001, "Our goal is to present a continuous and unified history of the "Star Wars" galaxy, insofar as that history does not conflict with, or undermine the meaning of Mr. Lucas's "Star Wars" saga of films and screenplays." Director of Fan Relations Steve Sansweet clarified:
In August 2005, Lucas said of the Expanded Universe:
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion. Subsequently, Lucasfilm formed the ""Star Wars" Story Group", which was established to keep track of and define the canon and unify the films, comics, and other media. Among its members are Chee, Kiri Hart, and Pablo Hidalgo. To prevent a planned sequel trilogy from being beholden to and restrained by the plotlines of the "Expanded Universe" works, the choice was made to discard that continuity. In particular, Chee said that the death of Chewbacca in "Vector Prime" was a key factor in the decision.
List of Star Wars films and television series
After Disney's acquisition of the "Star Wars" franchise, "The Clone Wars" was abruptly cancelled in 2014, before its intended final episodes were completed. A final season was released on Netflix, while and animatics of others were released online. The film and series were included in the new canon established in 2014. An additional final season will be released in 2019 on the Disney+ streaming service.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
Due to Lucas' sudden decision to produce the film, Lucas Licensing did not have time to enter into agreements with previous "Star Wars" marketing partners like Pepsi, Burger King and Kellogg's, with which the Lucasfilm licensing company had a ten-year marketing plan for the other films. When questioned by "The New York Times" about "Star Wars" merchandising in July 2008, a Pepsi spokesperson was unaware a new "Star Wars" film was being released. On August 15, McDonald's held its first ever Happy Meal promotion for a "Star Wars" film and for four weeks, 18 exclusive toys came in specially designed Happy Meal boxes.
Star Wars sequel trilogy
In May 2011, Lucas and Disney CEO Bob Iger began discussing the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney. A few months later, Lucas discreetly began working on guidelines for a sequel trilogy involving "a microbiotic world" and creatures known as the Whills, Force-beings that "control the universe". He considered directing "Episode VII" for a May 2015 release, but decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would step away from making blockbuster films.
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
After production on "" was complete, the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. for US$4.05 billion. After co-creator Dan Povenmire heard this news, he did a doodle of Doofenshmirtz dressed as Darth Vader, texted it to the head of Disney Television Animation and wrote, "I smell crossover!" Much like "Mission Marvel" before it, this special was announced at Comic-Con International 2013. Povenmire said, "May The 'Ferb' Be With You and with all of us who for decades have dreamt of a chance to work with the great characters and stories of Star Wars."
Star Wars
The success of the "Star Wars" films led the franchise to become one of the most merchandised franchises in the world. While filming the original 1977 film, George Lucas decided to take a $500,000 pay cut to his salary as director in exchange for full ownership of the franchise's merchandising rights. The first six films produced approximately billion in merchandising revenue.
Criticism of The Walt Disney Company
On December 14, 2017, Disney agreed to acquire 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney will acquire the 20th Century Fox film and TV studios and related assets; cable networks including FX Networks, Fox Sports Regional Networks; Fox International Channels; Indian satellite TV group Star India; and stakes in National Geographic Partners, Hulu, UK based satellite TV group Sky plc and other assets. Prior to the completion of the deal, Fox will spin-off its news and broadcast businesses, including Fox News, Fox Business, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, the Big Ten Network, and the broadcast business, which Disney will not be acquiring.
Cultural impact of Star Wars
20th Century Fox optioned "Star Wars". When it unexpectedly became the decade's blockbuster, grossing $100 million in three months, Fox's stock soared from $6 to $25 per share and generated revenues of $1.2 million a day for the studio. Fox purchased the Aspen skiing and Pebble Beach golf corporations with the increased cash flow and still declared excess profits in 1977. Income from "Star Wars" re-releases, sequels, and merchandising enriched the studio in the following decades. "Star Wars" helped Fox to change from an almost bankrupt production company to a thriving media conglomerate.
Infoseek
In 1998, Disney purchased a 43% stake of Infoseek, and incorporated the site into its various media businesses. Around the same time, Disney acquired the Starwave Corporation, which included ESPN.com and ABCNews.com. In 1999, Disney acquired the remaining Infoseek stock it didn't own. Disney bundled its Starwave properties and Infoseek and formed the GO.com portal.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, but denied any intent to make it. In October 2012, he sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the "Star Wars" franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Speaking alongside Lucasfilm's new president, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucas said: "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."
The Empire Strikes Back
On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released "Star Wars" films. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "The Empire Strikes Back" through the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 10, 2015.
Walt Disney Studios (division)
After The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in December 2009 for $4.2 billion, Disney began distributing Marvel Studios' films in 2012, acquiring the distribution rights for "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" from Paramount Pictures in October 2010. Marvel Studios, however, remained a division of Marvel Entertainment during that time, working in conjunction with Walt Disney Studios for distribution and marketing.
Walt Disney anthology television series
"The Wonderful World of Disney" returned in 1991 as an umbrella title for Disney specials airing on major networks (CBS airings used the historical title "The Wonderful World of Disney", while other networks broadcast the show with another title, "A Disney Special").
In 1997, with Disney acquiring ABC the previous year, ABC gave the series a regular slot in the schedule. Disney CEO Eisner formed Disney Telefilms by 1995 to supply original films to the series and program together with ABC. It led the network's Sunday night lineup at the 7:00 p.m. Eastern time slot, resulting in the displacement of Sunday mainstay "America's Funniest Home Videos", which had occupied the slot since 1992. On September 28, 1997, the revived "The Wonderful World of Disney" premiered with the network television premiere of "Toy Story". On October 5, 1997, Disney Telefilms' first production, "Toothless", debuted on the series. In addition to the planned 16 original Disney telemovies, ABC and Disney added a few direct-to-video movies and films from other sources.
Star Tours
Instead of completely dismissing the idea of a simulator, the company decided to make use of a partnership between Disney and George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars", that began in 1986 with the opening of "Captain EO" (a 3-D musical film starring Michael Jackson) at the California park. Disney then approached Lucas with the idea for Star Tours. With Lucas' approval, Disney Imagineers purchased four military-grade flight simulators at a cost of $500,000 each and designed the ride structure.
Star Wars sequel trilogy
Lucas found himself agreeing with the critics who perceived "The Force Awakens" as too derivative of the original "Star Wars" trilogy. During an interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce, and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of "The Force Awakens". Lucas described the previous six "Star Wars" films as his "children" and defended his vision for them, while criticizing "The Force Awakens" for having a "retro feel", saying: "I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new." Lucas also likened Disney to "white slavers", which drew some criticism. He subsequently apologized for his remark.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released "Star Wars" films. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "The Phantom Menace" through the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 10, 2015.
The Walt Disney Company
In 1984, financier Saul Steinberg's Reliance Group Holdings launched a hostile takeover bid for Walt Disney Productions, with the intent of selling off some of its operations. Disney bought out Reliance's 11.1% stake in the company. However, another shareholder filed suit claiming the deal devaluated Disney's stock and for Disney management to retain their positions. The shareholder lawsuit was settled in 1989 for a total of $45 million from Disney and Reliance.