This is still breaking, but massive media conglomerate Disney has bought Lucasfilm, the company behind Star Wars. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and Marvel in 2009, so they’re no strangers to massive purchases. However, the worst (or best, if you loved Attack of the Clones) news is that they’re rebooting the Star Wars franchise and making a seventh film to hit theaters in 2015. From the press release:Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas… [With] George Lucas serving as creative consultant, Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.
The conference call for investors starts at 4:30 EST, so we’ll be getting more details then. The purchase includes notable special effects studio Industrial Light and Magic, which produces special effects for a whole bunch of Hollywood blockbusters. This year, it worked on The Hunger Games and The Avengers. We’ll update more as the whole internet shudders.
Image courtesy of Witney Seibold, and it’s not the real logo.