Today in extremely unforseen movie news, it appears Disney have just bought the rights to Lucasfilm's Star Wars franchise. They're currently planning Star Wars: Episode VII for a 2015 release. And they won't stop there; there's also talk of an Episode VIII and Episode IX which you can expect to get your mits on come 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Now before you get your knickers in a proverbial twist, let it be known that George Lucas does have some say in this; it's not going to be all dashing knights, poisoned apples, princesses whistling while they work and talking bluebirds flying everywhere. While you can expect some 'Disneyfication', Lucas has been involved quite heavily in the script development process.

Now for Lucas' official statement:

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. 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 (the newly appointed president), 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. I have story treatments of 7, 8, and 9 and a bunch of other movies and obviously we have hundreds of books and comics and everything you could possibly imagine. So I sort of moved that treasure trove of stories and various things to Kathy, and I have complete confidence that she's gonna take them and make great movies."
 

Well, surely those of you who've chosen Star Wars as your religion of choice have some thoughts on this development? Do tell....