I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I was heavily influenced by Star Wars as a child. What geek wasn’t? I also can’t say I was surprised by George Lucas’ move last week to sell his film empire to Disney for a whopping $4.05 Billion. Anyone who watched Star Tours and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular go in at Disney MGM Studios back in the 1990’s could see the writing on the wall even then.

I was mildly surprised at Lucas’ announcement that he was donating the entire kit and kaboodle to an educational charity. Once the initial shock wore off, even that made sense. Lucas has always been a big advocate of education.

With the promise of episodes VII, VIII, and IX to come with a new release every two years until… well, even die hard fans like myself are willing to keep a wait and see attitude.

But I have to ask myself when was the last time that a Disney production captured the heart and soul of generations of rabid fans like Star Wars? Sure, we’re all fond of certain Disney memories, but as someone who remembers the days when Walt Disney’s vision still guided the company, I have to say the current incarnation is a soulless machine in comparison.

Lucas himself has been on a dark path for a long time, starting with changing the original film to have Greedo shoot first. (shudder) A part of me can’t help but feel that Lucas has taken his final steps to the dark side by making this deal with the Empire.

I’m going to have to take good care of my VHS copies of the original trilogy. Some day, they may be the only record of the films as they first were shown.

MTFBWY

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What are your thoughts on the Disney/Lucas buyout?