With the recent transfer of Lucasfilm and all its properties to Disney, there has been a lot of hand-wringing over whether or not Disney will manage to destroy everything we love about Star Wars. While I was initially hesitant about the deal myself, further reflection has assured me that everything will be okay.
First off, let's look at how Disney handled their other high-profile acquisition. Once they got rid of Michael Eisner, the first good thing they did was to buy Pixar. The new management had the wisdom to mostly let Pixar do its thing without too much interference and it has paid off in spades. Pixar has flourished since then, producing their best work. The fear of Disney interference has been laid to rest by now and Pixar's creative freedom continues unrestrained. Being a Disney subsidiary has really allowed Pixar to be Pixar, without having to worry about maximizing profit off every movie just to survive financially.
It is easy to extrapolate a similar fate for Lucasfilm as a Disney subsidiary. It seems safe to assume that Disney will let them do what they do without sabotaging the creative efforts of the story writers and designers. Granted, we may see some silly instances of Mickey Mouse in a Jedi outfit from time to time, but is that really so much worse than Jar Jar Binks anyway?
Which brings me to my second point. As Star Wars fans, we may fear outside intervention in the creative process, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all. I mean, could Disney really do anything more stupid than some of Lucas' worst missteps? Episodes I through III are almost universally reviled among the most die-hard Star Wars nerds. Not only because of Jar Jar Binks, but also because of terrible script writing, amateur actors, and noticeable plot discontinuity. The only reason we tolerate those 3 prequels is because they managed to stay true to what we all really love about the Star Wars Galaxy in the first place... brilliant design of characters, costumes, alien races, technology, and worlds. I think I speak for many other Star Wars nerds when I say that we tolerate Lucas because the visual design of Star Wars is so darn cool. It really is some of the best designed eye candy in the science fiction world.
Then there are the other major Lucas disasters. This is the man who signed off on the Star Wars Holiday Special. Seriously, think about that for a moment. He allowed Bea freaking Arthur to play the part of the Mos Eisley Cantina barmaid and sing a musical number to all the scary patrons about it being closing time. Harvey Corman playing a chef in a show watched by Chewbacca's wife? I wish I was making this up.
Or what about his refusal to cooperate with fans and writers who wanted to bring Boba Fett back from the Sarlacc Pit, while later allowing the Clone Wars Series writers to bring back Darth Maul? So, a guy in body armor, with a flame thrower, rocket launcher, and other assorted tools could never have managed to escape from the throat of the Sarlacc monster by blasting his way out, but Darth Maul could be equipped with a pair of robotic legs despite having been cut in half across his vital organs?
I mean it... the fact that someone, anyone, other than Lucas will be taking creative control of the Star Wars Galaxy may just be the best thing that ever happened to Star Wars fans. It really couldn't be much worse than what we have endured... could it?
And in the grand scheme of things, many of us know that the movies, while good on some levels, pale in comparison to many of the Star Wars video games that we have had over the years, and we will probably get plenty more of those with Disney in control. I hear that the same is true for the books, although I have never made the time to read any of them myself (and I guess that makes me a 75% Star Wars nerd rather than a 100% Star Wars nerd). There are already so many good building blocks in place for future stories that there will always be something for the true fans, even if Disney did manage to make a mess of any future movies.
So, calm down Star Wars fans, I think this is going to work out just fine. And Disney, if you are listening, here is a simple checklist of what you can do to keep the fans happy and engaged.
- Let the Lucasfilm designers continue to do their jobs creating amazing costumes and creatures.
- Continue to allow Star Wars games to be produced by any game studio that has a good idea and wants to use the Star Wars intellectual property.
- Never consult Lucas on future scripts.
- Keep Disney characters out of the Star Wars Galaxy.
- Let Hasbro keep churning out those awesome toys.
There, that's not hard, is it? Just stay out of the way and keep throwing money at Lucasfilm and we the fans will keep throwing money at you. We will love you for it.
P.S. Now that Lucas won't be around to mess it up, can you let Boba Fett out of that Sarlacc Pit?
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