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UPDATE: BREAKING: ‘Star Wars’ Returns – ‘Episode 7′ Slated For 2015 And More Movies Planned As Disney Buys Lucasfilm

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday October 30, 2012 @ 12:47pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Disney, Lucasfilm, Star Wars

BREAKING…. Disney has just confirmed that it has agreed to acquire George Lucas‘ Lucasfilm Ltd, and that includes rights to the Star Wars franchise that will now continue on. The companies have targeted a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7, with Episode 8 and Episode 9 to follow as the the long-term plan is to release a new feature every two or three years. “The last Star Wars movie release was 2005’s Revenge Of The Sith – and we believe there’s substantial pent-up demand”, Disney said. The deal also includes rights to the Indiana Jones franchise.

The stock and cash transaction is worth an estimated $4.05 billion, and the companies have scheduled a conference call in a half-hour to discuss the deal, which was approved by the Disney board and Lucas, the sole Lucasfilm shareholder. (UPDATE: Disney’s Iger: Three New ‘Star Wars’ Movies Mapped Out; TV Plans Too)

As for the new Star Wars installments, the companies said Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy would be executive producer on Episode 7 and any additional Star Wars movies, and Lucas would serve as creative consultant. There was no indication about where the story would pick up, though technically in the franchise’s chronology it would follow Star Wars: Episode 6 — Return Of The Jedi, the third film in the initial trilogy that came out in 1983.

Related: George Lucas On ‘Star Wars’ And Disney: Video

As part of the deal, Kennedy will become president of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. Kennedy, who was made Lucasfilm co-chairman June 1 as heir apparent to Lucas, will also serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, whose feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date. That doesn’t take into account the franchise’s massive merchandising clout that Disney CFO Jay Rasulo said will generate in 2012 close to the $215 million in consumer product revenue Marvel had when Disney bought that comics business in 2009.

Disney has built its business under chairman and CEO Bob Iger around such major acquisitions as Marvel, Pixar, ABC and ESPN. READ MORE »

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‘Star Wars’ George Lucas Says He’s Really Quitting Blockbusters

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 31, 2012 @ 11:47am PDTTags: George Lucas, Lucasfilm, Star Wars

George Lucas wants to make “experimental” movies, not blockbusters anymore. The Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator told UK publication Empire Magazine that “I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.” Read More »

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Lucasfilm Won’t Build Marin Digital Studio

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 10, 2012 @ 6:50pm PDTTags: George Lucas, Lucasfilm

“We have several opportunities to build the production stages in communities that see us as a creative asset, not as an evil empire, and if we are to stay on schedule we must act on those opportunities,” Lucasfilm said in … Read More »

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‘Star Wars 3D’: LucasFilm Bribing Moviegoers To See Jar Jar Binks Again

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Wednesday February 8, 2012 @ 9:30am PSTTags: Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

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Hardcore Fans Call For Boycott Of George Lucas’ Altered ‘Star Wars Saga’ On Blu-Ray

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday September 1, 2011 @ 6:33pm PDTTags: George Lucas, Lucasfilm

LucasFilm has confirmed some very controversial changes in its upcoming 9-disc Blu-ray release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga with 40 hours of extras. To hardcore fans, even the concept of changes is hard to fathom. For instance, Darth Vader in … Read More »

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Lucasfilm’s ‘Red Tails’ Landing On Jan. 20

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday July 29, 2011 @ 11:09am PDTTags: 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Release Date

Fox’s Red Tails, the Lucasfilm World War II action film inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen — the first African-American aerial combat unit — will be released Jan. 20, 2012, the companies announced today. The cast includes Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr, Bryan Cranston and David Oyelowo. Anthony Hemingway is directing; Rick … Read More »

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George Lucas Loses ‘Star Wars’ Copyright Case in UK That He Won In U.S.

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday July 27, 2011 @ 10:22am PDTTags: Copyright Law, George Lucas, Lucasfilm

The UK Supreme Court today upheld a 2009 appeals court ruling that Andrew Ainsworth, the engineer who designed the Imperial Stormtrooper helmets for George Lucas’ original Star Wars, didn’t violate British law by selling copies of the helmets. Lucasfilm had … Read More »

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Will ‘Cars’ Move More Merchandise Than ‘Toy Story 3′? Either Way, Disney Will Remain The World’s No. 1 Licensor

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday May 17, 2011 @ 8:17pm PDTTags: 20th Century Fox, Cars 2, Cartoon Network, Disney, FremantleMedia, Green Lantern, Harry Potter, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Merchandise, Simon Cowell, Star Wars, The X Factor

Consumers worldwide spent $2.4 billion last year on merchandise related to Toy Story 3, helping Disney to easily reclaim the No. 1 position on License! Global magazine’s annual tally of the top sellers of stuff emblazoned with trademarked characters and … Read More »

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Lucasfilm To Work With Prime Focus On 3D ‘Star Wars – Phantom Menace’ Conversion

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday March 29, 2011 @ 5:10pm PDTTags: 3D, George Lucas, Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Fox said earlier this month that the 3D Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is due to be released Feb. 10, 2012. Today’s release:

LOS ANGELES (March 29, 2011) — Lucasfilm, one of the world’s leading film and entertainment companies, and Prime Focus, the global visual entertainment services

… Read More »

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3D ‘Star Wars: Phantom Menace’ Coming February 10, 2012

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday March 3, 2011 @ 9:32am PSTTags: Lucasfilm, Movies, Twentieth Century Fox
Mike Fleming

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 3, 2011) – Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that the 3D theatrical launch of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace now has an official release date – February 10, 2012! Set against the thrilling and exotic backdrop of a “galaxy far,

… Read More »

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Lucasfilm Settles Justice Department Hiring Probe

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday December 21, 2010 @ 2:00pm PSTTags: Lucasfilm, Movies, Pixar Animation Studios
Mike Fleming

Lucasfilm settled civil charges that were brought against the company and rival Pixar Animation by the U.S. Justice Department for stifling competition for digital animation workers. Pixar had already settled its end of the situation in September, one of six companies in the technology sector to do so. Lucasfilm and … Read More »

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