Not so long long ago, in a galaxy not so far away… fans thought that Star Wars was over, now “A New Hope” is born that will continue the saga. The franchise that has lasted around 28 years will be continued after a very big announcement was made.

The Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4.05B, including the ever popular Star Wars franchise, Oct. 30. This includes other companies that Lucas co-founded such as Industrial Light and Magic, LucasArts and Skywalker Sound.

Lucas had decided to allow Disney to continue the Star Wars franchise which will begin with the release of Star Wars Episode VII. Lucas has said that he will be a consultant as he turns the leadership of Lucasfilm over to company president Kathleen Kennedy, who will serve as an Executive Producer to Star Wars Episode VII.

Since 1971, Lucasfilm has been one of the most successful companies in the film industry. Its producers began with the film THX: 1338 in 1971 which was based off a short film that Lucas had made as a film student at University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts.

Following the production of THX: 1338, Lucas made American Graffiti in 1973, a hit that received five Oscar nominations. Following that, Lucas would go on to create Industrial Lights and Magic, a visual effects company along with Skywalker Sound, both companies that would go on to make great contributions to film and receive numerous awards. Lucas now approached a new project, a space opera called Star Wars.

In 1977, Star Wars changed the way we look at movies by introducing groundbreaking special effects. The movie broke all box office records and set the standards for filming. That single film would go on to create a pop culture phenomenon that no one expected.

Characters from the films became household names such as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and everyone?s favorite villain, Darth Vader. The Star Wars movies received much appreciation because the characters were relatable to everyone. In creating Star Wars, Lucas made a modern mythology using common archetypes from classic literature and mythology.

The success of the Star Wars phenomenon could not only be seen in film but also in merchandise. Merchandise ranged from t-shirts to action figures, cereal boxes, lunch pales, comics, posters and even PEZ dispersers.

Following the success of the film, Lucasfilm would go on to make the sequel to Star Wars in 1980 called Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, which would become one of the most highly rated films in history. Then in 1983, Lucasfilm released what seemed to be the final film in the Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.

Yet Lucas was not done there, Star Wars would return to the “Big Screen” in 1999 with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. This would lead to a new trilogy that would serve as prequels to the previous Star Wars films that would include Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

The next installment to the Star Wars Saga is slated to arrive in 2015. The screenplay will be written by acclaimed screenwriter Michael Arndt, who also wrote the screenplay to Toy Story 3.

For more information go to Lucasfilm or directly to starwars.com

For more news, read the Nov. 20 article, BRIEF: Music department to perform on Christmas Tree Lane.