By now, you've probably heard the news. Yesterday, George Lucas sold his companies, including the rights to Star Wars, to Disney. That story is here. With rights in hand, Disney immediately announced plans for at least three more Star Wars films (episodes 7-9), with the first due out in 2015. Other sources have indicated that Disney plans to release a new Star Wars film every 2-3 years ad infinitum. It looks like Star Wars will be releasing movies regularly for a very long time, perhaps similar to the Bond franchise.
Several friends have asked for my reaction to the news. I can't tell you how excited I am. I consider myself a tier 2 Star Wars fan, with the tier system (of my own devising) briefly shown here:
Tier 1: you've seen the movies and enjoyed them, perhaps read a book or two, and play the video game(s)
Tier 2: in addition to loving the movies, you've read a good amount (but not all) of the literature (books and graphic novels), and play thematic games
Tier 3: you're an absolute maniac; you know everything about the movies, you've read everything ever released, played every game, and regularly get into heated debates about universe minutiae
I'm definitely tier 2, and I think most fans that fall into these first two tiers will be excited. Who knows how the tier 3 fans feel; generally, they're angry about something, because their obsession has progressed to the point where they think it's all real, and if it's their reality, it must be perfect to them. But, I digress.
Why the excitement? Several reasons:
1) I doubt any future Star Wars movie will ever be as bad as Episode I
2) So much story has already been produced (see here for an example just on books), and they may choose to use some of the existing material. That would be fun to see.
3) I'd enjoy different perspectives on the universe. Let's be honest- I think the original three movies were great, but the modern three are good stories executed poorly. I think a different writer/director could have taken these latest three and made them great, even keeping the same basic plot. To date, we've seen only how George Lucas does things; I'd like to see how someone else interprets it. I enjoy the universe framework in general for storytelling- let's see how other storytellers play in it.
The only two things that give me pause are:
1) if they choose to completely disregard the myriad of literature out there and "reboot" the series.
2) the actors they choose. They've already stated that the first films will focus on the original characters- but obviously the original cast is no longer in a position to reprise those roles. Like Bond, they'll have to change actors, but instead of replacing one character, now you're replacing many. It must be done well.
In the end, I'm actually more excited for my kids. I was -3,0, and 3, respectively, when the original three were released. Needless to say, I didn't catch them in the theaters. By the time the other ones rolled around, I was 19, 22, and 25, so while exciting, I had moved beyond that "childhood magic." My kids will be right in that 5-10 year-old place of wonder, and I look forward (if they're fans) to seeing their anticipation for the releases.
In the end, like the Bond films, I think there will be good and bad Star Wars flicks in the future. And, like Bond, we'll enjoy the good ones, and ignore the bad. Overall, happy times :-).
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