Rumors that Disney is in negotiations to sell Star Wars back to George Lucas!

[PolymerSkywalker]

I'm not sure how boycotting came into play anyway. Nobody is boycotting Star Wars. Disney has oversaturated the market, and the new products really aren't that good. Need to let it go away for about 10 years and let people miss it, then bring it back with quality storylines. Same goes for Marvel.

What sustains the theatrical side of Disney in the meantime? They haven’t had a hit since Avatar. Stinker after stinker lately.

 

[sheilafri]

I suspect a standalone ESPN sub is going to be more expensive than most people think. We'll no longer have People Who Don't Care About Sports subsidizing us with their contribution to carriage fees.

I resemble that remark.

 

[Brian Noble]

Lots of people do. And they all paid about $7.50/month for the privilege of not watching ESPN in 2020.

https://www.spglobal.com/marketinte...virtual-multichannel-carriage-sports-networks

 

[Disney Bobby]

What sustains the theatrical side of Disney in the meantime? They haven’t had a hit since Avatar. Stinker after stinker lately.

Well, maybe they need to do a better job on the creative side, and maybe show a little fiscal restraint. I mean, The Little Mermaid shouldn't have cost over half a BILLION dollars to produce and market. They probably could have just re-released the original on the big screen and marketed it on social media and cleared just as much if not more money than they will make with the live action mess that cost a fortune.

 

[Disney Bobby]

I suspect a standalone ESPN sub is going to be more expensive than most people think. We'll no longer have People Who Don't Care About Sports subsidizing us with their contribution to carriage fees.

Absolutely. I could easily see that being $30 a month if not more.

 

[irlandaise]

Lots of people do. And they all paid about $7.50/month for the privilege of not watching ESPN in 2020.

https://www.spglobal.com/marketinte...virtual-multichannel-carriage-sports-networks

Yep, I've been reading for years about how that one network has been nudging up my cable and satellite TV bills. It would be fine with me if it got unbundled. Not that my TV bill would go down, of course! But at least maybe it wouldn't go up so much in the future.

 

[nancipants]

Bringing the discussion back around to Star Wars and George Lucas…

If people think Star Wars is doing badly because Disney is too “woke,” then you reeeeeaally don’t want George to be back in charge…

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I haven't read every page but has the possibility of a sale to a corporation been brought up? I highly doubt Lucas has the money or desire to buy back his namesake company however a couple of billion from Apple would be like me going out to buy a cup of coffee. AppleTV isn't exactly a juggernaut like they thought it would be. Wouldn't they love to bring over the SW catalog and start throwing money at a whole new trilogy. In reality though the only ones I see that could do the best job with this IP would be HBO. They have the creativity and freedom and money AND track record to put together some epic stuff (see GOT). In the end I doubt SW is the IP Disney would get rid of even if they desperately needed the money but the more I think about it the more I realize SW was actually an odd IP to be under the Disney umbrella and it may actually behoove both if they separated under good terms...terms such as Disney can still maintain lands and even create future rides but let someone else make the movies and shows.

 

[mdmost]

I haven't read every page but has the possibility of a sale to a corporation been brought up? I highly doubt Lucas has the money or desire to buy back his namesake company however a couple of billion from Apple would be like me going out to buy a cup of coffee. AppleTV isn't exactly a juggernaut like they thought it would be. Wouldn't they love to bring over the SW catalog and start throwing money at a whole new trilogy. In reality though the only ones I see that could do the best job with this IP would be HBO. They have the creativity and freedom and money AND track record to put together some epic stuff (see GOT). In the end I doubt SW is the IP Disney would get rid of even if they desperately needed the money but the more I think about it the more I realize SW was actually an odd IP to be under the Disney umbrella and it may actually behoove both if they separated under good terms...terms such as Disney can still maintain lands and even create future rides but let someone else make the movies and shows.

I could see Apple wanting to buy Hulu to support Apple+ more.

 

[fatmanatee]

I haven't read every page but has the possibility of a sale to a corporation been brought up? I highly doubt Lucas has the money or desire to buy back his namesake company however a couple of billion from Apple would be like me going out to buy a cup of coffee. AppleTV isn't exactly a juggernaut like they thought it would be. Wouldn't they love to bring over the SW catalog and start throwing money at a whole new trilogy. In reality though the only ones I see that could do the best job with this IP would be HBO. They have the creativity and freedom and money AND track record to put together some epic stuff (see GOT). In the end I doubt SW is the IP Disney would get rid of even if they desperately needed the money but the more I think about it the more I realize SW was actually an odd IP to be under the Disney umbrella and it may actually behoove both if they separated under good terms...terms such as Disney can still maintain lands and even create future rides but let someone else make the movies and shows.

I don’t think the possibility has been discussed because it’s not clear that the source of the original “rumor” has any credibility.

 

[KayMichigan]

Disney is not going to sell Star Wars as long as they have a hot marketing property in "Baby Yoda" (Grogu). And he is still hot.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Just approaching this thread as a “what if” thread. If I were betting on it I would think the odds would be almost zero to George Lucas but I wouldn’t exactly say it’s out of the realm of possibility that a sale could either happen or in the very lease be discussed with a larger entity. Only siths deal in absolutes…

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Disney is not going to sell Star Wars as long as they have a hot marketing property in "Baby Yoda" (Grogu). And he is still hot.

Sorry forgot to quote you for the above! But again who really knows what’s happening behind the scenes. Remember they bought Power Rangers and then sold it back to the original owner. And yes power rangers is not SWs lol but again just looking at this thread as a what if. Sometimes two beautiful people get together but it just doesn’t work out and they split up on good terms!

 

[KayMichigan]

Sorry forgot to quote you for the above! But again who really knows what’s happening behind the scenes. Remember they bought Power Rangers and then sold it back to the original owner. And yes power rangers is not SWs lol but again just looking at this thread as a what if. Sometimes two beautiful people get together but it just doesn’t work out and they split up on good terms!

The original owner of PR, or the studio that owned it? I don't think PR was the product of a single person the way SW was. And I haven't heard that Lucas, who's mostly retired from movies, wants SW back.

 

[RivShore]

Disney is not going to sell Star Wars as long as they have a hot marketing property in "Baby Yoda" (Grogu). And he is still hot.

That's a great point, under Disney a multi billion dollar piece of merchandise was created almost out of nowhere. Would they really give up the potential of that happening every few years?

 

[NotUrsula]

Not to mention the solid perennial profit shop that is Industrial Light & Magic. It's still the largest SE shop in the world, and the most productive.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

The original owner of PR, or the studio that owned it? I don't think PR was the product of a single person the way SW was. And I haven't heard that Lucas, who's mostly retired from movies, wants SW back.

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/business/media/13saban.html

Basically one person yup. He had a production studio at the time very much like Lucas did. So technically precedent is there. But of course it's easier to sell Power Rangers than Star Wars!

There's a lot of defensiveness from many posters here. Disney is not selling Star Wars we can all calm down lol. This is an interesting conversation to have though and that's where it ends. Again...what IF. It's ok to casually converse about these things without too much intensity. And for what it's worth I would lay down a sizeable bet that at SOME point in the last few years AT LEAST ONE executive has mentioned the idea of selling off some or all of the SWs IP. And I'm sure it got laughed at or maybe ignored but let's not pretend Disney not selling Star Wars is as guaranteed as death and taxes!

 

[AvidDisReader]

Disney spent close to 2 billion dollars to build the 2 Star War lands in Disneyland and WDW. Do not believe for one second they would sell the IP. There is nothing wrong with Star Wars that a good creative could not fix. That is basically the issue with most of the recent movies that have been churned out. Movies are all about story, supply a good story with compelling characters/actors and see how quickly fans will flock to watch. Heck, The Mandalorian proved the point. My personal opinion is that one Kathleen Kennedy has outlived her usefulness and a new creative needs to be put in the position of shepherding Star Wars forward.

 

[nancipants]

Disney spent close to 2 billion dollars to build the 2 Star War lands in Disneyland and WDW. Do not believe for one second they would sell the IP. There is nothing wrong with Star Wars that a good creative could not fix. That is basically the issue with most of the recent movies that have been churned out. Movies are all about story, supply a good story with compelling characters/actors and see how quickly fans will flock to watch. Heck, The Mandalorian proved the point. My personal opinion is that one Kathleen Kennedy has outlived her usefulness and a new creative needs to be put in the position of shepherding Star Wars forward.

I agree they will not sell Lucasfilm. Quick point though: Kathleen Kennedy isn't a creative. She's a producer.

Star Wars needs a Kevin Feige type at the helm, who can guide not only the business but also the story. (And no, NOT Dave Filoni.)

 

[jade1]

Disney spent close to 2 billion dollars to build the 2 Star War lands

Just glad JJ super glued that childish mask back for Kylo.

It makes the attractions and meets better. Kinda similar to Vader having a mask-duh.

a good story with compelling characters/actors and see how quickly fans will flock to watch. Heck, The Mandalorian proved the point.

OK we get it, the mask is important after all-but come on it's Pedro.