Disney buys LucasFilms. What does it mean for TV? — Televised Revolution
Today Disney announced that it had purchased independent film studio LucasFilm. While this gives them ownership of valuable companies like Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, more importantly (and obviously) it now gives them ownership of the valuable Star Wars and Indiana Jones properties. Disney have already announced plans for a seventh Star Wars film (ignoring the culturally significant Ewok TV movies), but are yet to announce any plans for a fifth Indiana Jones film (counting the culturally insignificant Kingdom of The Crystal Skull). With all of this fresh in mind, it begs the question as to what possibilities this may have on TV?
Firstly, why is George Lucas selling up? Here’s the man himself on that subject:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/YyqlTi7lkhY[/youtube]
Lets take a look at the LucasFilm properties. Just what potential is there?
Star Wars
The Star Wars property is an excellent fit for Disney. Not only is there value in continuing the Star Wars films on the big screen, but the purchase clears the way for Marvel Comics (owned by Disney) to again publish Star Wars comic books (they had the license in the late 70’s where they published an ‘interesting’ take on the property), Disney Interactive Studios can publish mobile and other video games based upon Star Wars, and then there’s their theme parks and other possibilities.
In regards to TV, it’s worth noting that Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger had this to say “We really like Star Wars’ potential on TV, and Disney XD would be a great home for that”. There has long been talk about a live action Star Wars series that has been in various states of pre-production for several years. The only thing that has held it back is the economics of producing a Star Wars series on a budget that makes sense for TV. With Bob Iger talking about their kids television brand Disney XD as a home for Star Wars TV properties, it is clear that he has in mind kid-friendly TV content rather than a more adult/family orientated live action show. While cross-platform property synergy is increasingly being looked at, one would not expect to see the live action Star Wars show anytime soon. Though, it’s also worth noting that if the Marvel Avengers spin-off TV series S.H.I.E.L.D. finds success, levereging off the success of the film series, that may breathe more life into the Star Wars live action show.
That said, it’s safe to assume that we’re likely going to see a whole lot of cartoons in the not too distant future based on Star Wars. Expect Jedi’s, Ewoks, Wookie’s, and droid cartoons galore. Of course, don’t rule out the possibilities of big screen animated use for these properties. It’s pretty easy to imagine a Pixar film playing in this sandbox. If the Disney-owned Pixar were to get involved in producing an animated Star Wars film, it would be bringing the company full circle, with the company initially owned by LucasFilms prior to being sold to Steve Jobs in the mid 80's.
It’s not yet certain what the future of the current Clone Wars series, currently airing season 5 on Cartoon Network, will be. One wouldn’t expect to see many more seasons, if any, of this series. Similarly effected is the Robot Chicken-esque Star Wars: Detours series announced earlier this year.
And then there’s the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. Could we see that finally make its way to home video? It’s pretty far from likely. At least while Lucas is alive.
Indiana Jones
It’s pretty unlikely that there would be too much movement TV-wise with the Indiana Jones property. A live-action Indy series would dilute the big screen potential for Indiana Jones. One can’t rule out potential animated series or faux-doco series furthering the Indiana Jones brand. The real value of Indiana Jones lies with theme parks, comic books, and video games.
Others
While it’s unlikely that we’ll see much done with properties like Red Tails or THX 1138, it’d be surprising to see Willow or American Graffitti continue to sit on the shelf for too long. American Graffitti, especially, is ripe for a remake. More interesting will be whether we see much developed out of the LucasArts titles. LucasArts, the video game division of LucasFilm, have several titles that will inevitably be mined for use once more. Maniac Mansion, Monkey island, and Grim Fandango are likely to be revisited sooner than later. While it’s most likely this will be for video games, all three offer transferable elements that would translate well to future TV and film adaptations. Maniac Mansion itself was adapted as a sitcom in the early 1990's.
While many Star Wars fans are today bemoaning the purchase of LucasFilms by Disney, the purchase is potentially very exciting for the development and expansion of the Star Wars universe. There are few companies that can create such strong cross-platform expansion possibilities for Star Wars. It’s not like George Lucas can ever be accused of selling out considering just how much of his career has been driven by cross-platform marketing and merchandise. For Star Wars, Disney is a pretty natural fit. This Disney deal is far more interesting for the potential it offers the lower tier LucasFilm properties which now have a greater shot at breathing once more than they ever would have if this deal hadn’t gone through.
