I was literally speechless when I heard the news yesterday that Disney had bought Star Wars for $4 billion, and that they plan to launch Star Wars: Episode 7 in 2015. The very idea that there’s going to be a new Star Wars trilogy is mind-blowing to a sci-fi geek like me. Not to mention the fact that it will be at the hands of the Disney corporation, the largest and most maniacal company in the world. But now I’ve slept on this information, taken some time to think it over, and I think this is actually a really cool thing.

I’m more than a little worried for the Expanded Universe and other Star Wars tie-ins, but overall, this may be for the best.

A long time ago, in a theme park a far, far away

You can read the full press release here. And I’m sure you can find all manner of different opinions and comments all over the Internets. This is huge geek news. Star Wars is one of those rare franchises that is embraced and beloved by the entire world. It’s an institution. And frankly, it’s kind of weird to realize that it’s only ever been in the hands of George Lucas and Lucasfilm all these years. It’s also weird to think that Disney could just buy Star Wars, but it’s happened, this is all happening. This isn’t a prank or a Halloween hoax. Disney now owns Star Wars. A new sequel trilogy is happening.

Wow.

Join me for more after the jump.

Okay, so, some background. I’m a big Star Wars fan, but not a fanatic. When I was growing up, we had maybe one crappy version of Return of the Jedi taped off TV, and that was it. And maybe we watched A New Hope on TV from time to time. So I grew up moderately aware of Star Wars, and don’t so much hold the original trilogy up as sacred. But I’m a fan now. In fact, and please, don’t throw tomatoes, I actually even like the prequels, to an extent. And I absolutely love the Expanded Universe of novels, comics, video games and cartoons. So while I’m a big Star Wars fan (way better than Star Trek), I’m not angry or bothered by the idea that Disney is going to come along and add to it.

The Goofy/Jar Jar Binks mashup already exists

The reason why I think this acquisition and new trilogy are a good thing is because George Lucas is only going to be a creative consultant. I guess he’s done some of the leg and story work for the sequels, but he’s not going to write the scripts or direct. Those were the main problems with the prequels, that George Lucas was in complete creative control and none of his employees would tell him ‘no’. Red Letter Media has a couple of great (albeit long) dissections of the prequel movies. They’re worth watching, if you’re a Star Wars fan. But this new contract means Disney can hire whomever they want to write and direct new Star Wars movies. And this means one very important thing:

They could be good.

Real good

We all hoped that the prequels would be good. We believed. And even though a lot of people were let down, and everyone today hates the prequels, they were really only bad because George Lucas was in charge. It wasn’t the franchise’s fault. Heck, the current Clone Wars cartoon on Cartoon Network is actually pretty damn popular, and Lucas is only a creative consultant on that. The Star Wars universe is still full of potential and possibility. In the hands of the creative powerhouses at Disney (or Pixar, if there is any justice in the world), new Star Wars movies could flourish.

But this brings me to the one downside I see in this merger: what happens to the Expanded Universe?

Did you know that Han and Leia had three kids?

If you didn’t know, there are countless novels, comic books, video games, cartoons and more that take place in the larger Star Wars universe. They’re all part of this massive tapestry that is Star Wars. Most people only know about the six movies, and the adventures of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest. And while those movies are obviously popular, the story continues. What happens to Luke, Han, Leia and the rest of the Rebel Alliance after they defeat the Emperor in Return of the Jedi? There are hundreds of novels and stories about that very topic. Who were the first Jedi? How did they discover the Force? What was Boba Fett like as a boy? Who was that one weird Jedi Master with the super long neck in The Phantom Menace?

This is what the Expanded Universe is about, and I’m a huge fan. I used to read a lot of Expanded Universe novels when I was younger, and they’re still being produced. Not to mention the multitude of Star Wars-based comics published by Dark Horse Comics. And the Clone Wars cartoon I mentioned above. All of these are very popular with fans…but what will happen to them? Will Disney put the kibosh on all of these extra projects? I don’t think Disney owns Cartoon Network, so will they cancel Clone Wars and produce their own Star Wars cartoon? Will Disney take away Dark Horse’s Star Wars license and demand that the Disney-owned Marvel Comics start producing Star Wars comics?

What will the new trilogy mean for the Expanded Universe? Lucasfilm executives have already said that Episode 7 and the new trilogy will be an entirely original story, and it won’t be based on any Expanded Universe work. So will the new trilogy still be about Luke, Han, Chewie and the gang? Or will it be about entirely new characters and new adventures? And if they keep the same characters, will this completely scuttle the carefully constructed Expanded Universe world? Will the new trilogy – which will be considered more canonical than the novels – completely disrupt the ongoing stories?

I don’t know. I don’t have an answer. But I’ll be staying tuned to find out. And even if the new trilogy and Disney’s plans disrupted the Expanded Universe, I still think this acquisition is a good thing. Disney took control of Marvel Comics, and that has gone really well. I’m sure Disney had a helping hand in making The Avengers as huge as it was. And just think of the crossovers we might see between Star Wars and Marvel Comics!

Lightsaber claws, ‘Nuff said

In the end, the people I’m most worried about are the fans. George Lucas, for all his faults, let his fans get away with a lot of copyright infringement. That’s why there are so many Star Wars parodies out there in the world, like those Family Guy and Robot Chicken episodes, or all those fan-made lightsaber Youtube videos, or that tauntaun sleeping bag. George Lucas believed that any publicity for Star Wars was good publicity. He let the fans have their fun.

Can we say the same of Disney?

Hyuck! Hey kids, say hello to my attorney!