Star Wars fans…take a seat. You’re going to need it. The Walt Disney Company has had ties to a galaxy far, far away for an age now. With the invigorating first-person Star Tours experience and praised Star Wars Weekends at Disney Studios, it shouldn’t come as a shock to hear their interest in the franchise. Yet today, things jumped to light-speed. Apparently Marvel just wasn’t enough.

Disney just announced its plans to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd from George Lucas, with plans to release Star Wars: Episode 7 sometime during 2015. The deal is a stock and cash transaction, with Lucas receiving about half of the $4.05 billion value of the deal in cash plus some 40 million stock shares. “For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. 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 reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products,” Lucas said in a statement.

The deal will see Disney take control of all of Lucafilm’s assets, including the “evergreen” Star Wars franchise and operating businesses in “live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production.” Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will take over as President of the new Lucasfilm division and report to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. Lucas himself will stay on as creative consultant for the new Star Wars films, with Kennedy serving as executive producer.

What this bodes for life-long Star Wars fans is still lost in space… but apparently Disney is our only hope at getting another Star Wars trilogy – for better or worse. Will this galaxy now become governed by a cold and sterile corporate Empire or will they avenge over a decade of prequel disappointment? Only time will tell. Yet one thing’s for sure…may the force be with us all.

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