Sells Star Wars, Lucas does

Maybe that galaxy isn't so far, far away after all. George Lucas, one of the greatest of all filmmakers, has recently
sold his company Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company for a whopping $4.05 billion. This essentially means that Disney will be handling everything Star Wars-related from now on. In addition, new Star Wars films are being planned,
with Episode VII projected for a 2015 release.
So what's my take on it? As a Star Wars fan since childhood, I personally don't think that anyone should touch the saga. The story was always about the rise and fall
of Anakin Skywalker and how his son Luke was able to redeem him as well as bringing balance to the Force. This was all brilliantly encompassed throughout the six films (yes, I am including the prequels), so what is there really left
to say? Do we really need to see Luke Skywalker as a middle-aged man? And could Disney truly find a better villain than Darth Vader? Having said that, what Lucas plans on doing with his newly earned billions is poignant and incredibly noble of him. He plans to donate a generous amount of the $4 billion to an unnamed foundation that will spotlight on educational issues and he will continue to give money to his other philanthropic endeavors. He has been quoted as saying, "I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective
future - and the first step begins with the social, emotional and intellectual tools we provide to our children." Even if I can't be fully on board with more Star Wars films, I have gained an enormous amount of respect for Lucas. This
gesture shows what an honorable and good man he is, while making the world a better place in the process.
So how will Disney handle the films? It's too early to tell, but I just have a bad feeling about this (no pun intended). Although the company will use Lucas' treatments of Episodes VII to XII, I have fear that the new films will be less about upholding the artistic integrity of the originals and more about the company making buckets of money. Others remain optimistic about this prospect. I have heard arguments about how well Disney has handled Marvel, for example, and that they should be able to handle Lucasfilm just fine. But while Marvel usually churns out good movies, none of them are on the level of Star Wars. A movie like
The Avengers exists to give the audience a fun time and make a lot of money, but Star Wars wants to tell sprawling, epic stories on the deep level of Greek tragedies. It would
almost be like comparing cotton candy from King's Island to a steak dinner from Ruth's Chris. A better option could be if Disney made the newer Star Wars films as entirely separate entries with different characters and taking place in different parts of the Star Wars universe. Adding on more to the six films will inevitably draw comparisons to the
originals and could possibly bloat the series. Why not just start over with something fresh? But I guess this is all speculation for now. The question is really if we'll end
up seeing the new films anyway. Reader, call me a hypocrite, but I probably will. It's Star Wars, for crying out loud. But here's hoping that Disney doesn't mess up one of the great cinematic sagas of all-time. May the Force be with us all.