However, rather than finishing the Skywalker saga, he sold Star Wars and LucasFilm to Disney in 2012, with Kathleen Kennedy taking over control of the franchise. Many had speculated why Lucas would sell the franchise when he hadn't completed his original vision.
Did George Lucas sell Star Wars to Disney?
In the eight years since writer-director George Lucas sold Lucasfilm and its Star Wars franchise to The Walt Disney Company, we’ve seen the Skywalker Saga’s final film trilogy come and go, and we’ve seen Disney shift its focus to live-action Star Wars TV series. Why did Lucas sell Star Wars to Disney anyway?
Did George Lucas have a lot of clout when making Star Wars?
Secondly, what eventually became "Star Wars" was only the THIRD movie that would be directed by Lucas, following 1971's "THX 1138" and 1973's "American Graffiti". George did have a bit of clout though.
What happened to the Lucas company?
In August 1996, Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc . After LucasVarity was sold to TRW the Lucas brand name was licensed for its brand equity to Elta Lighting for aftermarket auto parts in the United Kingdom. The Lucas trademark is currently owned by ZF Friedrichshafen, which retained the Elta arrangement.
What happened to LucasVarity?
In August 1996, Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity . After LucasVarity was sold to TRW the Lucas brand name was licensed for its brand equity to Elta Lighting for aftermarket auto parts in the United Kingdom.
See more
Did George Lucas sell his company?
According to a Forbes report, George sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for an estimated $4.1 billion in stocks and cash. While the sale meant that George gave up all creative rights to Star Wars projects, he still makes a good deal of money off of the Disney stock he gained from the Lucasfilm sale.
Does Lucas regret selling Star Wars?
In the years since the sale, Lucas has heavily implied that he regrets selling Star Wars off. It is well known that he had ideas for multiple other movies, but that he never made them.
How much did Lucas sell his company for?
$4.1 billionReflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day. 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas has largely retired from filmmaking since he sold his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion in stock and cash.
Did George Lucas sell to Disney?
Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California; most of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. Disney acquired Lucasfilm on October 30, 2012, for $4.05 billion in the form of cash and stock, with $1.855 billion in stock. Lucasfilm Ltd.
Does George Lucas still make money from Star Wars?
Sure, George Lucas may not technically own Lucasfilm anymore. He did sell it to Disney, after all. Notwithstanding, the franchise he launched in 1977 continues to make the father of Star Wars a very, very rich man.
How is George Lucas so rich?
Due mainly to the global box-office success of American Graffiti, Lucas was a multimillionaire (net worth about $4 million, or around $20 million adjusted for inflation today) before cameras rolled on his blockbuster sci-fi landmark.
Why was Star Wars sold so cheap?
Lucasfilm had a small number of talented technical people, but no movies in production and no producers or directors. Bob Iger said the purchase was entirely about Star Wars. So the Star Wars name alone was worth more than all of Marvel which came with a ton of valuable assets. That is the power of Star Wars.
Did Disney make their money back from Star Wars?
Disney bought Lucasfilm six years ago today and has already recouped its $4 billion investment. Six years ago, Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. The four Star Wars feature films Disney has released since 2015 have grossed more than $4.8 billion at the box office.
How much did George Lucas make from Star Wars franchise?
The most recent sequel trilogy and spin-off films and series came after Lucas sold the rights to the Star Wars franchise to Disney for $4 billion in cash and stock, although those 37 million shares over the years have grown to a value of $7.4 billion. Star Wars Day 2022 Games and Experiences Deals!
Who now owns Disney?
The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Studios corporate headquarters in Burbank, California, 2016Net incomeUS$1.995 billion (2021)Total assetsUS$203.609 billion (2021)Total equityUS$93.011 billion (2021)OwnersThe Vanguard Group (7.3%) BlackRock (4.1%)22 more rows
What is George Lucas's net worth?
5.2 billion USD (2022)George Lucas / Net worth
Did George Lucas donate 4 billion?
A spokesperson for Lucasfilm told the Reporter that Lucas, who owns 100 percent of the company, plans to transfer much of the $4 billion he receives from its sale to the Walt Disney Company to a private philanthropy that will focus on education issues in the United States.
Why was Lucas willing to sell Lucasfilm to Disney and not someone else )?
Lucas said in the new book “The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III 1999-2005” that he found the “Star Wars” franchise to be taxing on his family life. So he decided to sell it to Disney in order to gain time back.
Why did George Lucas stop making Star Wars?
In 2012, George Lucas made the decision to sell the Star Wars franchise to The Walt Disney Company. Now it's come to light that the reason he did so was that wanted to spend more time with his wife, newborn daughter, and other children rather than invest another decade of his life developing a new trilogy.
What does George Lucas think of the new Star Wars?
George Lucas Had a Lot to Say About The Force Awakens While the initial reception for The Force Awakens was generally positive, Lucas felt differently. "They wanted to do a retro movie," he told Charlie Rose in a video interview for PBS. "I don't like that. Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different...
Did George Lucas donate 4 billion?
A spokesperson for Lucasfilm told the Reporter that Lucas, who owns 100 percent of the company, plans to transfer much of the $4 billion he receives from its sale to the Walt Disney Company to a private philanthropy that will focus on education issues in the United States.
Why did George Lucas sell Star Wars?
Star Wars creator George Lucas says he sold the franchise to Disney as he wanted to spend time with his family and raise his daughter.
When did Lucasfilm sell Star Wars?
However, rather than finishing the Skywalker saga, he sold Star Wars and LucasFilm to Disney in 2012, with Kathleen Kennedy taking over control of the franchise. Many had speculated why Lucas would sell the franchise when he hadn't completed his original vision.
How many sequels to The Mandalorian are there?
Since the sale, Disney has kicked the franchise into high gear, releasing three sequels of varying quality to varying degrees of box office success, two spin-off films, and producing the smash hit TV show The Mandalorian on Disney+. Now, Lucas has revealed just why he decided to sell his creation.
Who is Lucas' wife?
Saying that he'd already made plans for the sequel trilogy and had spoken to actors about it, Lucas adds that at the same time, he was about to have his daughter, Everest, with wife Mellody Hobson.
Is there a guarantee that the Disney movies would have been better than the Disney movies?
It's a pity for fans who wanted to see Lucas' vision for the sequels, but there's no guarantee they would have been any better or more satisfying than the versions Disney made. Regardless of what you think of the sequels and their disjointed overarching narrative, there's no doubt they were entertaining blockbusters.
Is Lucas a family man?
It's a simple explanation, and one any parent could understand. Lucas is well known for being a family man, having adopted several children when he was younger, and he was no doubt excited about the birth of his first biological child. Thus, it was a no-brainer for the man, who would be able to watch his daughter grow up without the pressure of being on the set of his movies every day
Why did George Lucas say he was investing in Disney?
Lucas said, “For me, I look at it as I'm investing in Disney, because that's my retirement fund,” about the deal. Three days after Star Wars Day #WhyLucasSoldStarWars began to trend
Did George Lucas sell Disney?
In 2015, however, in an interview with Charlie Rose, Lucas let some of his more accurate feelings about Disney slip. He said that he felt he sold the company he created to “the white slavers”.
When will the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art open?
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, funded by Lucas and Hobson, is slated to open in Los Angeles in 2023. Advertisement.
Is George Lucas a billionaire?
Lucas is indeed a billionaire— seven times over. Forbes reported on May 3, that Lucas’s real-time net worth was $7.2 billion.
Why did George Lucas sell Lucasfilm?
George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney because Disney offered him $4 billion, and he then decided he’d rather focus on his family than devote the next 10 years of his life developing another Star Wars trilogy, especially given the bitter “you raped my childhood” reaction from Star Wars fans to his prequel trilogy.
Why is Lucas's film "This is how Star Wars has always been made" not included?
The reason I don’t include this in the statement “this is how Star Wars has always been made” is because Lucas himself was always 100% clear that neither EU was the “real” Star Wars to him, and Lucas film was always 100% clear that all of the EU “canon” was subject to being overridden by George at any time and was not in any way something he would consider himself bound by, and if and when George did override the EU canon, that was that.
What were the problems with the prequel trilogy?
One of the problems with the prequel trilogy was that Lucas didn’t have a high-functioning team to make the movie with. Oh, there were lots of super-talented people who worked on those films, but he didn’t have a crew that was his, that worked well with him and that could provide a healthy back-and-forth creative and business process that was nonetheless deeply in tune with his vision of what makes Star Wars Star Wars and could realize Lucas’ vision better than he could by himself. But a lot of those people did stay on at Lucasfilm, and during The Clone Wars, they became that high-functioning team.
Was Star Wars destroyed by the sale?
However, the Star Wars franchise was not destroyed by the sale; it is thriving. By most metrics — box office receipts, audience opinion polling, film critic reviews, consumer merchandise sales, theme park attractions — the franchise is doing better than it was during the prequel era. T
Do new movies deviate from Legends?
Also, and this is many people's problems with the new films, the new films deviate from Legends. They have this big idea about everything that should've happened. Here's the funny thing though:
Did Lucas have a will to Disney?
Yes, Lucas could have willed Star Wars to Disney when he died, or something. But why not do it while he was alive and could get paid for it?
How much is George Lucas worth?
Immediately before the Disney sale was announced, George Lucas's net worth was $3.3 billion. After the deal was confirmed, we estimated his after-tax net worth at $5.5 billion.
Who sold Star Wars rights to Disney?
Selling Star Wars. On October 12, 2012 it was announced that George Lucas reached an agreement to sell all rights to the entire "Star Wars" franchise to Disney for $4 billion. As we teased earlier, George opted for a half cash/half stock deal. Technically, the deal was 55% cash/45% stock:
How much did Steve Jobs own Disney?
At the time the deal was closed, Disney was trading at $50 per share, so the "stock" portion was $1.85 billion. His 37 million shares represented a roughly 2.1% stake in the company. He was immediately the second-largest individual shareholder behind Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' widow. When Steve Jobs sold Pixar to Disney in 2006, he received 138 million shares of the company, roughly 7% of the total outstanding. Laurene inherited his stake after Steve's death. Laurene has since sold off roughly half of the stake but she is the largest individual shareholder, owning around 4% of Disney.
How old was George Lucas when he pitched a western set in space?
First off, he was just 28 years old in 1973 when he pitched a "western set in space" to 20th Century Fox executives.
How much money did Disney make from Marvel movies?
Disney would go on to generate around $20 billion at the global box office from Marvel movies post 2012. Disney has generated around $5 billion on post-Lucas "Star Wars" movies. On November 12, 2019, Disney entered the streaming wars with the launch of Disney+. Ten million people signed up on day one.
How much does George receive from Disney?
In years when Disney is paying dividends (which historically has been every year except 2020), as the owner of 37 million shares, George receives $32 million twice a year as a dividend payment. So in the years 2013 – 2019, George presumably received around $448 million in dividends.
What was the first Marvel movie to be produced and distributed by Disney?
HOWEVER, at the time the deal was announced, several of the Marvel franchises had pre-existing deals with other studios. 2012's "The Avengers" was the first Marvel movie to be fully produced and distributed by Disney without another studio taking a cut of profits.
What was Joseph Lucas' main business?
In 1902, what had by then become Joseph Lucas Ltd, incorporated in 1898, started making automotive electrical components such as magnetos, alternators, windscreen wipers, horns, lighting, wiring and starter motors. The company started its main growth in 1914 with a contract to supply Morris Motors Limited with electrical equipment. During World War I Lucas made shells and fuses, as well as electrical equipment for military vehicles. Up until the early 1970s, Lucas was the principal supplier to British manufacturers (such as BSA, Norton and Triumph) of magnetos, dynamos, alternators, switches and other electrical components.
When did Lucas merge with American Varity?
In August 1996 , Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc . After LucasVarity was sold to TRW the Lucas brand name was licensed for its brand equity to Elta Lighting for aftermarket auto parts in the United Kingdom.
When did Lucas Industries merge with North American Varity?
In August 1996 , Lucas Industries plc merged with the North American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc. Its specific history is covered on the LucasVarity page but for the sake of continuity key aspects of the old Lucas business histories to date, particularly that referring to CAV and Lucas Diesel Systems are still included here.
What was Lucas's role in WW2?
During WW2 Lucas was engaged by Rover to work on the combustion and fuel systems for the Whittle jet engine project making the burners.
What was the strike of the Lucas factory?
Jessie Eden again organised another strike of Lucas factory workers in 1931, this time leading 10,000 non-unionised women on a week-long strike, during which she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Before the strike, Eden had noticed that Lucas factory supervisors had been closely observing her work, and that the supervisors were monitoring her because she was a fast worker and that they planned to use her work speed as a standard for all the other workers in the factory. Eden approached the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU), however, they did not allow women to join their membership so she instead approached the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&W). In protest to the factory's plans, Eden organised a mass walkout of 10,000 Lucas factory worker women, who refused to work for a week. The strike was successful and the Lucas Electrics factory management was forced to back down. After the victory, the overjoyed factory workers were so ecstatic that the factory could not function during normal hours and had to be closed early. One of the communist activists who had encouraged Eden was raised up upon the shoulders of factory workers at a dinner hour in celebration. This strike was described by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) as "unprecedented at the time", and led to the T&G 's leader (then Ernest Bevin) to award Jessie Eden with the union's Gold Medal. Eden's leadership and organisation of the Lucas Electronics factory strike prompted a massive increase in the number of women in the midlands joining British trade unions.
What is Lucas Industries?
Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham -based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
How old was Joseph Lucas' son?
His 17-year-old son Harry joined the firm around 1872. At first it made general pressed metal merchandise, including plant pot holders, scoops and buckets, and later in 1875 lamps for ships. Joseph Lucas & Son was based in Little King Street from 1882 and later Great King Street Birmingham .
Why did George Lucas leave Star Wars?
He even referred to the movies as "his children." But Lucas decided to depart from his sci-fi children to raise his actual daughter, Everest. Lucas revealed that being a good dad to his daughter was the driving motivator in his retirement.
Why was Lucas so forthright in his interviews?
As the popularity of Star Wars grew and Lucas received intense feedback of both acclaim and criticism, he had become more forthright in interviews.
What did George Lucas complain about in The Force Awakens?
Lucas was in the latter camp. Lucas apparently complained to his long-time producer Katherine Kennedy upon seeing the film that it was " nothing new ." Lucas later criticized the film for its retro tone.
Why is George Lucas annoyed with the studios?
One of the grievances is that, in Lucas' opinion, studios are more risk-averse in taking creative chances because they're more concerned about making money. This caused, in his view, studios to focus less on a story and more on if there's a movie with spaceships in it.
What is Lucas' complaint about Star Wars?
Lucas has a lot of complaints about the changes that Star Wars brought, in terms of the use of digital technology. "Whenever there's a new tool, people are going to abuse it ," Lucas had said. But one thing about technology that made him happy was that viewers saw Yoda duel with a lightsaber.
Did George Lucas sell Star Wars to Disney?
There are many different issues Lucas had addressed after he sold Star Wars to Disney in 2012. One aspect of the epic sale that Lucas bemoaned was that he expected to have "a little bit more say" over the last three films of the Skywalker Saga. While disappointed, Lucas' response to author Paul Duncan seemed very zen, explaining that Disney decided to "to go a different way."
Is Lucas a man who minces words?
Whether it's sharing his thoughts on his favorite Star Wars character, the direction of the franchise, or the nature of the industry itself, Lucas is not known for being a man who minces words. Lucas was said to have been torn over selling the rights to his beloved galaxy. This may have caused a brash honesty that some fans may have found difficult, yet others found refreshing.