2015 or Bust

George Lucas has done it. Disney has bought Lucasfilm Ltd. for FOUR POINT OH SIX BILLION DOLLARS.

I am surprised, to say the least. But that does not mean that I am not excited. My mom says that I am more excited for Episode VII than I am for a college acceptance letter. She's right. (On a somewhat related note, I got all three of college applications into Wheaton College, Erskine College, and Cedarville University. Yay!)

Episodes VII, VIII, and IX are due to be released in 2015, 2017, and 2019 respectively. Oh yeah.

An exciting new future featuring the continuation of the Star Wars movie saga was announced on October 30, as the Walt Disney Company enters an agreement to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. from George Lucas. Backed by the global reach and brand stewardship strengths of Disney, the future of Star Wars is now under the direction of acclaimed film producer and studio executive Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm. Kennedy and Disney plan a slate of new Star Wars feature films, beginning with the long-awaited Star Wars: Episode VII, targeted for release in 2015, followed by Episodes VIII and IX. Additional feature films are expected to continue the saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's strength gives Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."

The acquisition has Lucasfilm and its creative works and operations enter into Disney's global portfolio of world-class brands that include Pixar and Marvel. "Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled ability to leverage creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

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 for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, videogames, animation, visual effects, and audio postproduction. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. The present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

The acquisition has been agreed upon by the board of directors of both companies, and is undergoing customary regulatory review and should be complete in the next few months. For further developments on the continuation of the Star Wars saga, including Episode VII, continue checking StarWars.com.

*end of news article*

I personally want to see an adult Ben Skywalker with a kid of his own. The books have not gone into Ben's adulthood, and I think it would be great to continue the Skywalker family tree within the movies.

What are your thoughts?

Star Wars History and Influence [part 1]

Ahh. The first installment in this epic space opera. First of the original trilogy, fourth in the canonical timeline.

It was released in 1977, an important year for the film industry. The Rescuers, a Disney animated film about anthropomorphic mice and the Rescue Aid Society, brought back an interest in animation that was somewhat lost after Disney's adaption of Robin Hood. Shortly after the release of Star Wars on May 25, 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Stephen Spielberg film about the discovery of extra-terrestrial life, was released in September. Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the 1978 release of Superman set up the pins for the success of future science-fiction movies such as Alien (1979), the Star Trek films (1979-today), ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back to the Future (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Men in Black (1997), The Matrix (1999), Avatar (2009), and the superhero film craze that started in 2000 with X-Men.

A New Hope was George Lucas's third feature length film after THX 1138 and American Graffiti. American Graffiti starred Harrison Ford. Lucas did not consider Ford for the role of Han Solo, but did use Ford for the readings of Han Solo's lines in auditions for Princess Leia. After hearing Ford read Solo's lines, Lucas was won over and Harrison Ford was given the role of Han Solo.

Star Wars opened in 32 theaters on May 25. Mann's Chinese Theatre (previously Grauman's Chinese Theatre) saw the biggest opening day in its 50-year history, taking in $19,258 at $4 a ticket. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner watched the movie twice in a row on opening day.

Star Wars: A New Hope won six Oscars at the 50th Academy Awards, which was hosted by comedian Bob Hope. They won Oscars for Best Music (Original Score), Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best DIrector, Best Supporting Actor (Sir Alec Guinness), and Best Original Screenplay.

No one, not even critics, can claim that Star Wars has not helped shape the culture. Star Wars was the highest-grossing film in the box office until beaten out by E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982. The phrases "May the Force be with you" and "evil empire" have entered popular lexicon. Darth Vader is an iconic villain. He is instantly recognizable. Industrial Light & Magic, a visual effects studio that has dominated visual effects for years, was created in order to make effects for Star Wars. In 2001, on census counts across the world, people put down "Jedi" or variations thereof for their religious preferences. TV spoofs are plentiful, including That '70s Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and Saturday Night Live.

It started with Star Wars and it hasn't yet stopped.

It's a trope!

Star Wars TV Tropes Page.

Ahh, the wonders of TV Tropes. If you haven't heard of this site, then you haven't been on the internet for very long. One can spend hours pouring over the single page linked to above. Not to mention the countless links within the site. Hours is an understatement.

I was going to have an article about TV Tropes and Star Wars, but a link is much easier.

On a semi-related note, I'm mentioned on TV Tropes. Here. Here. And here. Of course, it's all because of my webcomic, but whatever.

Yay for links.

...sequel trilogy?

Is it possible?

Is it possible to do so without ruining Star Wars for us?

Is it possible to do so without taking the existing Expanded Universe canon and stomping all over it?

These are the first three questions that popped into my head. 

Let me back up and start with the release of Revenge of the Sith. That was back in 2005... I was so young and naive. When George Lucas announced that there would be no more movies, I still held out hope for my favorite series of all time.

And there it was, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, my only hope, rising from the ashes of George Lucas's first announcement. It was my knight in shining armor. I watched the movie in theaters, and I was totally pumped for the series premier. It was awesome. After the first two seasons, however, the knight's shining armor began to become a little rusty. When Greedo is not a kid, it becomes dented. After Darth Maul was resurrected, the knight died. "So this how my Star Wars dies, to thunderous applause from hundreds upon thousands of both young and adult Cartoon Network viewers across the country," I said to myself.

But then, I remembered a wonderful proclamation by Lucas way back in 2005. My father and I dismissed it as nonsense, that George Lucas was dreaming. Star Wars: Underworld. Of course, this is most likely not the title, but still. When some actors signed on, including Daniel Logan, and Lucas announced that 50 scripts were completed, things were looking up.

But then George Lucas retired.

What.

This completely messes it all up. I understand he will take an active role in Underworld's production (much like Young Indy), but he said he won't make any more movies.

All six movies will be released in 3D. Yay. Whatever. I have farsightedness that makes 3D movies basically ineffectual.

The possibility of a sequel trilogy being made after the 3D movies are released is exciting to say the least. I first started thinking about this possibility, believe it or not, while browsing the Star Wars messageboards on LEGO.com (my username is ninjavader999 on LEGO.com by the way). A thread titled "Sequel Trilogy" caught my eye. The poster was an awful linguist, posting in all lower caps and totally disregarding punctuation rules. But the fact that the thread was only created recently intrigued me.

Then I saw Buruk say something about a new trilogy. Yeah, woohoo. But he cited Edessa, and I knew something was up.

It seems that I am out of the loop, but I cannot find a single recent thing on such a trilogy. Anyone care to help?

Star Trek vs. Star Wars

Ahh... the great debate.

Well, kind of. The first great debate (well, it's a one-sided debate, really) is "Why Jar-Jar?" The second great debate is "Mac or PC?"  The third great debate is "Original Trilogy or Prequel Trilogy?" The fourth great debate is "Captain Kirk or Captain Picard?" The fifth, then, is "Star Trek vs. Star Wars."

(The answers, by the way, are George Lucas was drunk, PC, Original Trilogy, Captain Picard, and Star Wars. ^-^)

Well, I found these comics making fun of the fifth great debate. They both make some pretty valid points. :P

Wanna buy some deathsticks?

Welcome to the Outlander Club! The only people who will have recognized the name "Outlander Club" are those who browse Wookieepedia for fun, have read The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia from front to back, or have read the novelization of Attack of the Clones. Indeed, a bar almost exactly like the Outlander Club is a level in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Whether it is or not, we never find out.

It doesn't matter whether or not you knew that (though if you did, congratulations!). What matters is that this blog is here for you guys, my fellow fans of Star Wars.

I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I am Helpusobi1. I have two webcomics that haven't been updated in a while. Critical Miss and Mystery Science Comics 3000. 

I enjoy LEGOs, movies, and superheroes. Now, I may sound like your typical geeky young adolescent, but I'm not. I'm a senior in high school. So there. I may still be geeky, however. 

I am a heavy Photoshop user (I created all of the graphics you see on this blog). I am an avid writer, and I hope that I'm good at it, since that's what I want to do in college and after college. I love to read, and to date I have read... a lot of Star Wars books. I think, at last count, it was well over 100. 

I enjoy LEGOs, but I am a very old school LEGO fan. I enjoyed the old LEGO.com, I spell LEGO in all caps, and I wish Johnny Thunder was still a LEGO theme. That is me.

Feel free to check out the tabs at the top of the page! Here is a summary of each tab...

The Bar- The main page. Go here to check out my latest posts!

Disigee Gaming Floor- An open discussion of all things related to Star Wars video games.

Viewing Screens- A Star Wars picture gallery.

The Penthouse- Interviews with other Star Wars bloggers.

Vos Gesal Street- Check out the latest Club Question, less of a trivia and more of a question to get people thinking, and comment with your answer.

The Floor- No rules (other than common sense), and have discussions about everything Star Wars that isn't being covered in the other tabs.

If you have any problems with the site, feel free to post in the comments or e-mail me at outlanderclubblog@gmail.com.