“For the past 35 years, one of my great­est plea­sures has been to see Star Wars passed from one gen­er­a­tion to the next,” said George Lucas, Chair­man and Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer of Lucas­film. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new gen­er­a­tion of film­mak­ers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was impor­tant to set up the tran­si­tion dur­ing my life­time. I’m con­fi­dent that with Lucas­film under the lead­er­ship of Kath­leen Kennedy, and hav­ing a new home within the Dis­ney orga­ni­za­tion, Star Wars will cer­tainly live on and flour­ish for many gen­er­a­tions to come. Disney’s reach and expe­ri­ence give Lucas­film the oppor­tu­nity to blaze new trails in film, tele­vi­sion, inter­ac­tive media, theme parks, live enter­tain­ment, and con­sumer products.”

Crazy. I really didn’t think I’d see a new Star Wars release, let alone one with­out George Lucas hav­ing com­plete and utter con­trol over it, in my life.

By the time we save enough money to take our kids to Dis­ney, they’ll likely be a Star Wars ride and/​or theme park.