So now that Disney owns the rights to Star Wars, what are your thoughts? I've already come to terms that the only 'true' Star Wars is the original trilogy (sans all the crappy cgi added in the 90's). So Im not even considering the next three movies as part of the saga. I'm sure they'll be better than the prequels though so at least they'll be entertaining. But they are either going to have to recast or try to work around a 70 year old Han and overweight Leia.

On a plus, I hear Disney will release the true original trilogy (with Ewok dance and Max Rebo band) on blu-ray so that makes it all worth it. The series was already butchered by GL so I'm not too worried.

The end of the world is now upon us!

How about this Darth Vader Clip that they're already using to promote / celebrate the sale? Scary.

Movie companies just don't know when to leave something well alone. It's more likely to ruin a brand than to promote it (like what I imagine happened to Superman brand after S-III and S-IV came out in the early 80s or that Star Wars Christmas special). I wouldn't mind seeing more Indy films starring "Mutt". That could be fun, but doubtful, but if I wanted to know what happened to Han, Leia, and Luke, I'd read the 1001 novels written about it.

Glad to hear that the original (unedited) films will be released in DVD (as I don't know how much longer my VCR will hold out).

I was going Michael

I don't know, I've seen some really decent animated movies by DC that are derivatives of the comics (my favorite example is "Superman vs. the Elite" which is based upon the comic "What's so Wrong with Truth, Justice and the American Way?") Perhaps this will mean that some of those books end up adapted for animated universes. I might be able to live with that (admittedly, I didn't even SEE the episodes 1-3 even though I made sure to see one of the four on the screen on my birthday when it came back out.)

I like Star Wars but I didn't see it 54 times in the theater, I own the (unadulterated) VHS tapes and watch them occasionally. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but I recognize that it impacted a generation.

On the other hand, Disney has been part of our culture for four generations. I've had a lot of respect and admiration for Disney over the years, both the man and the company--and I am a big fan.

Disney has also respected the Marvel brand, kept true to the original storylines and I appreciate that as well.

I think it all ended today. That Vader video is a train wreck.

I've been in debates about this since I first heard about it a couple days ago. I just popped over here to briefly express my own opinion, because everyone I can usually talk to about this right now either doesn't want to or doesn't have the time to hear it. So, here I go.

At first, I was utterly horrified. I spent at least a full day stewing about it. What does this mean for my beloved Expanded Universe? (They'd better not discount it all, what with how much time/money/interest I've put into following the stories. ) How the hell can they even make a seventh movie that takes place *after* ROTJ (let alone movies eight and nine)?! What sort of chaos and destruction will they bring to the characters and storylines established? And just, how? How, how, HOW?!?!

But, after that, I looked at it from a couple of different perspectives.

Number one-- GL is retiring. And from a business stand point, it makes sense that he wouldn't want his baby (Lucasfilm, not SW) to just go by the wayside. I'm not just talking about the money, either (though I'm sure it wasn't half bad). I respect the idea that he wants to keep his company alive.

Number two-- It will introduce SW to an entire new generation. Even if it becomes so horribly awful that it turns into one long running joke, while I would heartily resent that, look at what the kids are watching today. )

Number four-- Let's face it, Disney already owns the world-- at the very least has their fingers in many pies. They own Marvel, Pixar, ABC television network, ESPN, Touchstone, Miramax (formerly owned), a large piece of Hulu and numerous other businesses you would never even think of. I would have been more concerned about this prior to the Disney/Marvel deal, but since that has so far worked out well, I am optimistic that they will handle this well. Not to mention that Disney already had struck a small deal with Lucas in Star Tours/Indiana Jones rights. And those were largely successful. (I can't help but wonder if the remodel of the Star Tours ride played a part in leading up to this deal.) Also, you've got to consider that the people at Disney are not kids who only want to draw cartoons all day, but are actually super-nerds who are most likely some of Star Wars' biggest fans. They should have some respect for it at least (unlike Cartoon Network).

So yeah. Lots to consider. Pheww. I'm glad that's off my chest. /end rant/

(Disclaimer: I'd like to just state also that, you guys may not be aware of this, but my obsessive-compulsive tendencies run far deeper than you may know. It's not just Superman/Lois and Clark/other miscellaneous superheros that I'm obsessed with. Star Wars and Disney are largely my life. (Okay, let's face it, my OCD manifests itself in many, *many* ways.) And come on, I kind of have to defend Disney. It's my field, and Mickey Mouse rocks. :p BTW, I actually liked the Vader-Disneyland clip. It made me laugh, and simultaneously long to go back to Disneyland (again). And it's really no different than any of Disney's other advertisements. )

Okay. Now I'm ending the rant.

Honestly? I liked the video, especially when that puppet pops up and Vader yanks out his lightsaber. I chuckled.

And George has always had it in his head to do a trilogy of trilogies in the Star Wars universe. That's something that I first read when the Empire first struck back.

By the way, the buzz is that they're looking to use new but not unknown faces in ST 7. One of the actors rumored to be in the running for Han's part is Ryan Gosling. Y'all tell me if you think that's a good idea, because I don't know.

Yes, bad ST is still better than hysterical Twi-tards streaming out of the theater arguing over Team Jacob or Team Edward. Of course, you could just make this film for real.

As for new Star Wars stuff, what about the Pink Five series? Pick the ones with Stacy in them. She rocks.

Star Wars is already the most commercialised / merchandised / exploited movie property of all time, I really doubt that Disney will make it worse.

Actually, I think this is a good thing. Disney has shown a willingness to allow its divisions to retain creative indepedence, and anything is better than George Lucas remaining the one driving force behind Star Wars.