$4.05 billion ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Belle. Cinderella. Princess Jasmine. Snow White. Princess Leia?

It seems the famed Disney princess lineup has a new bun-headed, rebel princess among its ranks.

The deafening thud you heard earlier this week was the result of every nerd and Jedi this side of the galaxy dropping their jaws as the Walt Disney Company announced it acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. for a whooping $4.05 billion.

No word on if the gold bikini from Episode VI will be Leia’s traditional garb in all future promotions.

What’s the only way to eclipse the sale of one of the most profitable film companies of the last four decades? Simple.

Just have Disney announce they’re producing Star Wars: Episode VII for a 2015 release.

I’m more stunned than an Ewok during an AT-AT attack.

What you have to understand about me is I was one of the many young boys who grew up wielding a green plastic lightsaber, dueling an imaginary Darth Vader in the safety of my bedroom. I’m a hardcore Star Wars nerd, and I don’t care who knows it.
For those of you who don’t know your Death Stars from your Star Destroyers, let me give a little context.

George Lucas, director and writer of the majority of the Star Wars films and the saga’s creator, simultaneously gave us our childhoods and destroyed our lives.

The original trilogy, episodes IV-VI, is a classic narrative that remains unparalleled in the sphere of film. The new trilogy, episodes I-III, is largely a mixed bag of unfulfilled nostalgic tolerance from our childhoods. We love George Lucas for giving us Star Wars, but we hate him for running it into the ground.

After the 1980s, the Force just wasn’t with George Lucas. Many fans also ridicule Lucas for the various modifications he’s made to the original trilogy since their initial release.

The promise of a new trilogy under the Disney banner brings a new hope to the Star Wars universe and fandom.

The bright side is that Lucas will serve only as a creative consultant, leaving the direction and writing in more capable hands.

The dark side is that the franchise could head even further south than it has.

Should we really make more Star Wars films? Might it just be better to remember the original films as they were? Riveting and timeless?

At the end of the day, if someone has to do it, I trust the Walt Disney Company.

All I’m asking for is the swift death of Jar-Jar Binks, and we might have something worthwhile on our hands.
Oh, and George? Han Solo shot first. No matter how many times you edit your films.

­— wdmcdona@indiana.edu