Disney Tease Plans For The STAR WARS Franchise Moving Forward; Promise "Origin Story" Films
Disney's Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo talks more about their plans for the Star Wars franchise moving forward, promising that they fully plan on exploiting the brand in terms of merchandise in 2015. He also reiterates plans for "origin story" films every other year. Read on for details!
While it's hard to imagine that Disney will ever regret their $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo told investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, in Beverly Hills that "of all our worries, 'Star Wars' is not one of them," adding that the market is extremely hot for everything 'Star Wars,'". He also said they have no concerns that today's youngsters won't be familiar with the brand when J.J. Abrams' Star Wars Episode VII is released in 2015. Unsurprisingly, as has always been the case for this particular property, Disney are planning on releasing a huge range of merchandise appealing to any and all demographics for the movie, while it's likely that Star Wars' presence will soon be felt in their theme parks too. However, the overall strategy is "to put out a great film" first, and Rasulo reiterated that we will see either a Star Wars trilogy instalment or "origin story films" on a yearly basis moving forward. Oh, and as for whether or not Disney are planning to buy any other high profile franchises or studios, they're not looking right now...but they ARE open to the idea if the right deal comes along! What are your thoughts on these comments?