Disney announced Tuesday that they have agreed to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd., the film production company owned by Star Wars creator George Lucas, and revealed plans to begin releasing new Star Wars movies starting 2015, according to the press release.
The transaction value has been stated to worth $4.05 billion, and will net Disney all of Lucasfilm, including their businesses in film production, merchandise, animation, visual and audio effects.
Disney announced that they will begin making new Star Wars movies with Star Wars Episode 7, which is expected to release in 2015. This is only the beginning, however, as Disney also announced that they have plans for three entirely new movies, which will make Episode 7 just the first in a brand new trilogy.
In a video discussing the future of the Star Wars series, Lucas announced that he had prepared story treatments for the next three episodes, which he has now passed to Kathleen Kennedy, co-chair of Lucasfilm and soon to be executive producer on the upcoming film.
Lucasfilm is the latest giant brand to be added to Disney’s growing collection, following the purchase of comic-book giant Marvel in 2009.
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” George Lucas said in the Disney press release. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”
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