How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for ‘Star Wars’

How Disney CEO Robert Iger engineered the deal, and whether George Lucas can really retire:

“Iger understood Lucas’s concerns. ‘George said to me once that when he dies, it’s going to say “Star Wars creator George Lucas,” ’ he says. Still, Iger wanted to make sure that Lucas, who was used to controlling every aspect of Star Wars, from set design to lunchboxes, understood that Disney, not Lucasfilm, would have final say over any future movies. ‘We needed to have an understanding that if we acquire the company, despite tons of collegial conversations and collaboration, at the end of the day, we have to be the ones who sign off on whatever the plans are,’ says Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

“Lucas agreed, in theory.”

Source: Businessweek
Published: Mar 7, 2013
Length: 13 minutes (3,466 words)
Read the story