Rumors that Disney is in negotiations to sell Star Wars back to George Lucas!

[nancipants]

Oh, man, what did Dr. Who do? Vaguely insinuate that another character is slightly more capable than the Doctor?

They talked about pronouns.

 

[nancipants]

This. Empire benefited from the pre-internet age, where people couldn't send out instant criticism. Reviews were mixed at the time, both by critics and general audiences.

Star Wars would NEVER be successful today. Same with the MCU, actually. People forget that several Phase 2 movies were NOT well-received (The Dark World, Age of Ultron).

 

[Smugpugmug]

Oh, man, what did Dr. Who do? Vaguely insinuate that another character is slightly more capable than the Doctor?

I remember back when it was announced people lost their minds when the newest Doctor was revealed to be a woman.................despite in canon revealing that the Doctor can be anything..............not just a guy.

No idea what the current controversy is. I know they recently celebrated their 60th anniversary.

 

[starlite_]

I remember back when it was announced people lost their minds when the newest Doctor was revealed to be a woman.................despite in canon revealing that the Doctor can be anything..............not just a guy.

No idea what the current controversy is. I know they recently celebrated their 60th anniversary.

I'll give you 3 guesses as to why. It's a 5 letter word. If the previous Dr was "controversial" for being a woman. This one is "controversial" because he is _____.

 

[Kestryl]

This is AMAZING. I want to talk to Nancy and Tracy Duncan. I want a "where are they now" take. Where is this documentary? Someone get Kevin Perjurer from Defunctland on this.

 

[mdmost]

Ahsoka gets a season 2 and the Mandalorian and Grogu will be a feature film and not another season.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744767162424635632

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744767758259122376

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Very good news, and I feel much better about these two projects moving forward. This is the way!

Knowledgeable people who understand George’s original vision is the key to SW success imho.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

It is such a disaster, doubtful Lucas would want this train wreck back.

 

[dbal640]

It is such a disaster, doubtful Lucas would want this train wreck back.

That was my original thought - will take awhile to course correct while keeping the fan base.

 

[reddog21]

What was a disaster?

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

The last 5 years or so for one, with Lucasfilm losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The ST made money no doubt I give you that. The trepidation of the release of a follow up movie certainly suggests that Disney is not confident in continuing that story line.

College courses will likely being taught about Disney’s questionable management of the SW IP.

 

[RivShore]

The last 5 years or so for one, with Lucasfilm losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

On what did they lose that kind of money? I think Solo was the only movie that lost some money but that was much more than offset by the other movies, so where did they lose?

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Dial of Destiny lost Lucasfilm a huge chunk right by itself. Production cost = $295 Million + $75+ Million in marketing. Total = $370 Million. Box office = $380 Million that Disney gets about 50% of as their cut. 370-192 = a financial loss of around $174 Million conservatively.

They also spent $106M on Willow that they scrapped for a tax write off after just a few months on D+.

So those two projects alone add up to $280 Million in losses.

Are you saying the Disney+ stuff makes money, because Disney+ as a whole is not profitable……so I am not sure how that math works.

Merchandising has also took a massive hit in recent years with toys no longer selling like they once did.

I find it hard to believe that people don’t understand that Lucasfilm has performed pretty horribly the last 5 or so years from a profit standpoint.

 

[Suger Mag]

Dial of Destiny lost Lucasfilm a huge chunk right by itself. Production cost = $295 Million + $75+ Million in marketing. Total = $370 Million. Box office = $380 Million that Disney gets about 50% of as their cut. 370-192 = a financial loss of around $174 Million conservatively.

They also spent $106M on Willow that they scrapped for a tax write off after just a few months on D+.

So those two projects alone add up to $280 Million in losses.

Are you saying the Disney+ stuff makes money, because Disney+ as a whole is not profitable……so I am not sure how that math works.

Merchandising has also took a massive hit in recent years with toys no longer selling like they once did.

I find it hard to believe that people don’t understand that Lucasfilm has performed pretty horribly the last 5 or so years from a profit standpoint.

yeah right... no one is buying Star Wars toys... certainly no one wants that ugly little Grogu in any way shape or form LOL

Our Christmas (for the most part all spread between my husband and daughter aged 22)

Loungefly backpack- Star Wars
Lego-Star wars BrickHeadz-Ahsoka
Lego-Star wars BrickHeadz-Din and Grogu
Mission Fleet-Bad Batch
Mission Fleet-Bo-Katan
Mission Fleet-Bad Batch (Tech AT-rt)
Mission Fleet-Din on Blurg
Tervis Tumbler with Din and Bantha (me)
Black Series Aayla Secura
Lego Ahsoka CLone Wars troopers

The Disney+ stuff has been merch gold... you could have not designed a better merchandising hook than sweet lil Baby Yoda.

In my house alone.... We have the animatronic Grogu, we also have the plush version, we have the shoulder sitter too (it is so cute mom), we have two Loungefly backpacks that are Grogu...never mind clothing.

My daughter turned her animatronic Grogu into Sith Grogu and sewed him a set of sith robes. Grogu is a goldmine

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Never said they didn’t sell some, I said merchandising sales for SW stuff is way down and it is. Should I send you some pics of all the SW toys in the bargain bins at discount / salvage stores in my area. Need some ST era action figures? There are thousands at like 75% off.

Grogu & Mando (Favreau) does sell well no doubt, it just does not come close to what SW merchandising used to be.

 

[BrianL]

The thing to consider about toy sales is that the toy/action figure industry as a whole has seen massive declines. It's not necessarily just Star Wars, which has to be taken into account. Toy companies like Hasbro are facing major challenges from kids choosing other entertianment, like digital currencies for games and such.

Also, keep in mind that Lucasfilm doesn't sell the merch - they license it. Their bottom line would only be affected by the price of these licensing agreements, which we are not privy to. Granted when sales decline, Hasbro is definitely going to want that price reduced, but that will have to do with contract specifics.

Aside from toys/aciton figures, Star Wars merch seems pretty healthy. There are a lot of shirts, bags, etc. for sale at every store. It is around and they keep making it, so clearly there is something there.

 

[Skywalker3]

DH and I talk about this often, how greatly things have changed w/ SW toys/figures, etc. Kids aren't really into that anymore, it's mostly adult collectors I think.
I became a collector in the early 2000s, when the re-released 12 inch figures and POTF lines started coming out. and I discovered ebay. Very dangerous.....
I used to be able to go to Walmart, Toysrus, etc . for new releases. Now there is barely a section at the local Walmart. I think lightsabers are still selling well enough, and baby Yoda merch.
I get most of my stuff at online stores.
I am one of those crazies who keeps the figures in the box., and my upstairs bonus room/office is also the SW room, but it's started trickling into the rest of the house.
For Christmas I got:
Ahsoka's lightsabers from Galaxy's Edge. blades and hilts, DH surprised me with that, He'd bought them on our trip in Oct
14 Black Series figures, assorted, several from Andor, but a variety
Ahsoka premium figure from Hot Toys, I 'might' take it out of the box.....I still have my Sideshow Luke, Boba Fett, Anakin, and Mandalorian/Grogu still in their boxes......but I would love to display them,
Ahsoka lego keychain, magnets, several shirts, Loungefly backpack, Luke statue, etc. etc. so they're getting plenty of merch money from us, but the market for toys and stuff is so different than it used to be

and on another topic, as much as spend on stuff like that, we STILL would not have paid that much money to do the StarCruiser. We are all super SW fans in this household, but that price was outrageous, and only DD would've enjoyed the role playing aspect of it. I wish they'd refocus the whole thing, and just offer some dining, maybe something like Jedi training academy for the younglings, and just overall great theming. and a cheaper pricetag!!

 

[BrianL]

One thing I will say is that Legacy Lightsabers must be selling well. When I was last at Disneyland the counter in Dok Ondar's looked like the New York Stock Exchange!

 

[Smugpugmug]

DH and I talk about this often, how greatly things have changed w/ SW toys/figures, etc. Kids aren't really into that anymore, it's mostly adult collectors I think.
I became a collector in the early 2000s, when the re-released 12 inch figures and POTF lines started coming out. and I discovered ebay. Very dangerous.....
I used to be able to go to Walmart, Toysrus, etc . for new releases. Now there is barely a section at the local Walmart. I think lightsabers are still selling well enough, and baby Yoda merch.
I get most of my stuff at online stores.
I am one of those crazies who keeps the figures in the box., and my upstairs bonus room/office is also the SW room, but it's started trickling into the rest of the house.
For Christmas I got:
Ahsoka's lightsabers from Galaxy's Edge. blades and hilts, DH surprised me with that, He'd bought them on our trip in Oct
14 Black Series figures, assorted, several from Andor, but a variety
Ahsoka premium figure from Hot Toys, I 'might' take it out of the box.....I still have my Sideshow Luke, Boba Fett, Anakin, and Mandalorian/Grogu still in their boxes......but I would love to display them,
Ahsoka lego keychain, magnets, several shirts, Loungefly backpack, Luke statue, etc. etc. so they're getting plenty of merch money from us, but the market for toys and stuff is so different than it used to be

and on another topic, as much as spend on stuff like that, we STILL would not have paid that much money to do the StarCruiser. We are all super SW fans in this household, but that price was outrageous, and only DD would've enjoyed the role playing aspect of it. I wish they'd refocus the whole thing, and just offer some dining, maybe something like Jedi training academy for the younglings, and just overall great theming. and a cheaper pricetag!!

Clicked on this thread because I was surprised it was still around but I totally agree with this assessment too. I am a collector of figures (not Star Wars ones but others) and they're not aimed at the kid demographic. 99% of collectors are adults. I mean, some of them are priced in the $200-400 range. What kid has the money to buy that?

Even when you go to conventions for anything remotely nerdy, the merchandise is aimed at adult collectors specifically.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Yep I understand that. It does not change the fact that in the past it really didn’t matter how much a SW made because the toys and merchandise made Lucas filthy rich. That no longer occurs.