Disney have only gone and got their grubby little hands on the Star Wars franchise, but what the hell are they planning to do with it? Squeeze it for all it's worth - that's what! Surely their first thoughts have been merchandise-related - stacks of new lunchboxes, talking action figures, trading cards, teddy bears, toilet seats, etc - but come 2015 they'll have to deliver the new movie they've promised everyone. Episode 7. But the question is, will it be more Jar Jar than Yoda? More Maul than Vadar? More green screen than actually surprisingly good visual effects considering when they were done? Only time (and space!) will tell...
There are three paths - the first involves Disney taking Star Wars down the Marvel comics route, which they have dealt with splendidly. It's true that we'd all rather re-enact '1 Guy 1 Jar' that rewatch Captain America, but the occassional cock up (or, indeed, jar up) aside, Disney's collection of Marvel movies have been really good fun for both children and adults, coming together beautifully in 2012's epic geek-gasm, Avengers Assemble. It could have been a different story altogether, however, if they'd forgotten that grown ups enjoy a good bit of superhero whackiness too! So, let's hope they're as clever with their latest big budget purchase and refrain from turning Star Wars into Doctor Who. There's a chance they could decide to make it more and more for kids as time goes by and that means more irritating little shits like Jar Jar Binks - that's the second path. The third would be to reboot the whole thing. Now, they're definitely not going to be doing that, but they could do it in secret, without us even noticing until - BAM. The world of Star Wars has been turned into a very dark and dangerous place. Think Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Vs The Deathly Hallows. There's room for that sort of progression. A darker era in the Star Wars saga would probably also take us away from having to watch things like a shoddily CGI'd Yoda or the never ending array of obvious green screens that plagued episodes one, two and three. Hardcore science fiction geeks would go bonkers for a semi-reboot, too. And they have very deep pockets...
So, let's see how this one pans out. In the meantime you can look forward to a lens flare-filled Star Trek 2 which should be landing in cinemas May 13, 2013 in the UK. If that's not enough to keep you occupied, write to Disney and insist they buy and reboot Jim Henson's much-loved but long forgotten Farscape series. Get Joss Whedon behind the wheel and we're good to go!
Roo