13 Years Ago Today, George Lucas Did the Unthinkable to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (But Was It the Right Call?)

When Star Wars arrived in theaters in 1977, it was an immediate and overwhelming hit. Since then, it has become the blueprint for an array of film franchises and trilogies. Created by George Lucas and inspired by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, the saga of the Jedi became a myth in its own right. For decades, fervent fans have catalogued continuity and worshipped every detail of the Star Wars universe. 

Then, on October 30th, 2012, Lucas made an announcement that sent shockwaves through fandom. He was selling his company, Lucasfilm (and with it, the rights to everything Star Wars) to The Walt Disney Company for roughly $4.05 billion. Some fans were thrilled by the idea of Disney’s power and resources backing up the franchise. Skeptics saw it as the beginning of the end. Regardless of which side of the fence you landed on, the news likely came as a shock.

Lucas Sells Star Wars to Disney and Faces Fan Fallout

In the Star Wars Archives: Eps I-III, Lucas describes the experience of selling as “painful,” although the whopping sale price probably softened the blow. Sources say Disney paid about $2 billion in cash and issued the remaining payment in roughly 40 million shares of its stock to Lucas. Online forums were lit up with questions like: Will Disney uphold Lucas’ original vision? Will they turn our beloved galaxy into vacant corporate IP? Purist fans balked at the idea of Mickey Mouse ears on lightsabers and claimed that Lucas had “sold out” and given up his creation to the metaphorical devil. 

Yet while many labeled it sacrilege, others argued Lucas knew what he was doing, and some even believed Disney might do a better job following the prequels. After the deal went through, Disney put their whole weight behind reviving the franchise, promising a new film in 2015 and a regular release schedule thereafter. The last movie, Revenge of the Sith, had come out in 2005, leaving a ten-year gap that would soon be coming to an end. As projects ramped up production, fans were sent into a frenzy.

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The Failures and Successes of the Disney Era

Under Disney, fans received the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which included The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. The company also released anthology films like Rogue One, and flooded thier budding streaming platform with an array of Star Wars TV shows, including The Mandalorian. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney’s ambitious theme park expansion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, opened in 2019. By that time Disney had already recouped its $4.05 billion investment.

But among fans and critics, the success was up for debate. The Force Awakens was a massive commercial hit, and The Mandalorian became a phenomenon, but films like The Rise of Skywalker divided the fandom and seeded concerns about the franchise’s future. Comparing the Disney era to the Lucas era reveals that the franchise was flying by the seat of its pants under the corporate umbrella. What was once helmed by Lucas’ singular vision was now a mismatch of voices and writing that seemed to have no clue where it was heading next. 

Long-time fans were outraged when the company wiped the Expanded Universe (EU), including decades of novels, comics, and games, from canon, rebranding it as “Legends.” Furthermore, Disney’s diversification and flooding strategies created an unfortunate fan fatigue. As debates continued over what was “canon” vs. “Legends,” a shared sense emerged that the franchise had seemingly lost its spark, becoming a flattened and focus-grouped shell of its former self. 

The Future of the Galaxy Rests in the Hands of Disney

Critically, the sale of Lucasfilm remains a mixed bag, as fans say Disney both revived and killed the franchise in the span of 13 years. When recently asked about returning to Star Wars, Lucas told the Wall Street Journal, “I’ve moved past it. I mean, I’ve got a life,” dashing any last hope of a new Lucas era. Nonetheless, it seems Disney has heard the fans loud and clear. In recent years, the corporation has been reconsidering its strategy by cancelling many of the projects on the overstuffed Star Wars slate and focusing more on quality than quantity. 

The two-season series Andor, which concluded this year, received widespread critical acclaim and gave fans a glimpse of the franchise’s potential. Upcoming projects, including The Mandalorian and Grogu, and films like Star Wars: Starfighter have fans feeling tentatively optimistic. At the end of the day, the studio paid a massive sum for the IP, not to mention the billions more they’ve invested in the franchise since, and they are unlikely to let Star Wars die on the vine.

Are you excited for the upcoming slate, including Starfighter? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!