More troubling news on the Star Wars front

[DigiFluid]

So now there's confirmed layoffs at Lucasfilm Animation, while there's apparently a hiring freeze at LucasArts and rumours that the studio is going to be shut down....

I was ambivalent but cautiously optimistic about the Disney acquisition, but jeez. With TCW cancelled, Detours delayed indefinitely, work on 1313 and First Assault halted, and now these new updates, I'm feeling more and more anxious and let down all the time. In the words of another misguided individual who realized too late he'd done the wrong thing: this deal is getting worse all the time....

[matoak82]

The winner on this deal is George Lucas, $2 billion dollars worth is what he got from Disney!

[DigiFluid]

On what planet?! They produced some crappy prequel games, but LucasArts has been a solid developer for nearly 25 years.

[Replicator Todd]

I think Lucasarts hasn't been a good developer since the early 2000s, Republic Commando was the last great game developed by them IMO. Battlefront and Empire at War were the last great games published by the company. I found TFU I and II disappointing, interesting story but disappointing as a game overall.

I was really looking forward to First Assault and 1313. With this and the fate of TCW...I'm not liking Disney's "first" big moves for the franchise.

I felt like Lucasarts was going to make a comeback in a big way.

[matoak82]

Lucas only sold the Star Wars franchise and he still owns LucasArts but Mr. Lucas is ready to settle down and take it easy with his bride to be Melanie. There may be some big changes coming to LucasArts.

[SaberBlade]

I actually had a bit of faith in Disney when they bought Lucasfilm. They bought Marvel and look at the stuff they've been putting out lately. Lesson learnt. Clone Wars has been getting better and better each season, I can't see any reason to cancel it, especially after the ending of season five. What reason could they possible want to start cancelling stuff, as I can't really see the same excuse for Detours applying to First Assault, Clone Wars or 1313.

According to the layoff link;

UPDATE: I have spoken to another source close to Lucasfilm Animation who confirmed to me that the division will be proceeding with layoffs. This person stressed that fans should still expect to see the promised story arcs from The Clone Wars' canned sixth season, but reiterated that this and other changes at Lucasfilm were part of a reorientation of the company toward Episode VII and Sequel-related work.

So it seems they are cancelling anything that won't promote VII. It's not as if Clone Wars is really going to stop people seeing VII when it's released, nor does it help themselves with the fans by screwing us over by cancelling current existing/in development content is really going on.

[DigiFluid]

Lucas only sold the Star Wars franchise and he still owns LucasArts

No he doesn't. He sold the whole Star Wars media empire. Any involvement he has in Star Wars now is at Disney's allowance. They own Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Lucasfilm Animation, etc etc. They own it all.

I think Lucasarts hasn't been a good developer since the early 2000s, Republic Commando was the last great game developed by them IMO. Battlefront and Empire at War were the last great games published by the company. I found TFU I and II disappointing, interesting story but disappointing as a game overall.

They've certainly had a few disappointing titles, but generally speaking, I think they've been a solid production house for the vast majority of their existence.

For the benefit of others perhaps unfamiliar with the quality of LucasArts work:

1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (point-and-click adventure game)

1990
Loom (point-and-click adventure game)
The Secret of Monkey Island

1991
Monkey Island 2

1992
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (point-and-click adventure game)
Super Star Wars

1993
Day of the Tentacle (point-and-click adventure game)
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Star Wars: X-Wing
Super Empire Strikes Back
Zombies Ate My Neighbors

1994
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Super Return of the Jedi

1995
Full Throttle (point-and-click adventure game)
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II
The Dig (point-and-click adventure game)

1996
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

1997
Star Wars: Jedi Knight
The Curse of Monkey Island

1998
Grim Fandango (point-and-click adventure game)
Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (publisher only)

1999
Star Wars: Episode I Racer (yes, despite the movie, it was actually a decent game)
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance

2000
Escape from Monkey Island
Star Wars: Force Commander

2001
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II (publisher only)

2002
Star Wars: Jedi Knight II (publisher only)

2003
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III (publisher only)
Star Wars: Galaxies (publisher only)
Star Wars: Jedi Academy (publisher only)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (publisher only)

2004
Star Wars: Battlefront (publisher only)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (publisher only)

2005
Star Wars: Battlefront II (publisher only)
Star Wars: Republic Commando

2006
Star Wars: Empire at War (publisher only)

2008
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (disappointingly short, but still a decent game)

2009
Tales of Monkey Island (publisher only)

2010
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (disappointingly short, but still a decent game)

2011
Star Wars: The Old Republic (publisher only)

I was really looking forward to First Assault and 1313. With this and the fate of TCW...I'm not liking Disney's "first" big moves for the franchise.

Yeah..I'm very, very underwhelmed and unhappy with the way Disney has treated the franchise so far.

[mandogater]

Yeah..I'm very, very underwhelmed and unhappy with the way Disney has treated the franchise so far.

Same here.

[aretood2]

I wonder how much of this has to do with internal politics. It's a fairly new acquisition, and the company has writers it hired and their unions to consider over people it had no say in hiring, they just purchased the thing for the name and such. That's what goes through my mind. Layoffs and changes like these don't seem surprising when a company buys out another one.

[SaberBlade]

Is it possible Disney are cancelling Star Wars related productions because they are unable, for whatever reason, to make currently existing/developing productions something that benefits them?

Could Clone Wars have been cancelled simply because Disney didn't want to make a series that would ultimately be aired on a rival channel? Detours I would have expected on Cartoon Network too. I expected they'd air these things on their own channels. Could have have just decided to pull the plug rather than go out of their way (like they are doing with Marvel's older film franchises) to get any rights to air it on their own channel?

It's one thing to say "well went want something that helps promote VII" but these shows and games help promote Star Wars overall, especially with an important and now incomplete part of the history.

[mandogater]

I admit to never reading or watching any interviews about the sale so I was just wondering. Did George manage to hang on to the merchandising rights or does Disney have them too?

If Disney does have them, I don't get why they would cancel projects. More new epsiodes, etc. mean more new characters. More new characters mean new action figures, ect. and all that leads to more money for them.

[Livestick]

I'm pretty sure that Disney has the merchandising rights too.

[Replicator Todd]

I think Disney are secretly Sith Lords in disguise and George was influenced by the Dark Side when he made the deal...

[Thanton]

Mickey Mouse is a Sith?

Then is Goofy, Jar-Jar?

[Replicator Todd]

Bob Iger overthrew Mickey Mouse and became the new Sith Lord.