Breaking News: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm, Episode VII Premieres in 2015

I’ll just let you process that title and link you to the press release on Yahoo!

Ready?

Ooof.  I have no idea what to say.  So many emotions are going through my head right now.  When I was a kid, I wanted more of Luke, Han and Leia, Chewie, R2 and C3PO, Lando, etc.  When the prequels were announced, I was so excited.  Even as TPM and AOTS fell flat, I was still excited for ROTS.

For the past few years, I’ve loathed the idea of more Lucas-involved movies.  I didn’t want any more Star Wars movies precisely because I wanted more movies — there was no way they could live up to what we wanted.

And now… this.  Let me quote the specific passage:

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager forStar Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

Lucas will be a creative consultant.  Kathleen Kennedy has a long pedigree of great films (Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., lots more with Spielberg) and not-so-great films (Indiana Jones and the Crystal SkullJurassic Park 3).  Honestly, this news could go either way.  We could get great movies, we could get horrible ones.

However, as long as Lucas is not writing or directing, that’s a good thing… right?

I agree with Stepto — get John Lassiter involved.

More thoughts as more news comes out.  Hoo boy.  Certainly one of the biggest geek news items in a long time.