A walk on the dark side

Additionally, given Disney's penchant for world-building and its multitude of transmedia platforms, the size and scope of the Star Wars universe makes it a breeding tank for great material. Three decades of Expanded Universe novels, comics and games have produced memorable new characters and stories, while the original cast has been fleshed out considerably, far beyond anything allowed by the limited narrative ambition of the films. This work can now be continued on a larger scale. Disney plans to launch live-action and animation projects on their proprietary cable TV channels and, apparently, intends to bolster current spin-off projects to the best of their abilities — potentially good news, given that the best Star Wars stories from the last few years all emerged from non-film sources.

This, however, is the best case scenario. A takeover by a big, profit-obsessed corporation does not necessarily bode well for creative growth. While Lucas is well known for intransigence when it comes to choosing who gets to do what with his properties, Disney takes obsessive control to a new level. This is a company that summarily fires its park employees for taking off their Mickey Mouse costume heads in sight of the public, heatstroke be damned. Management-by-committee is par for the course within the company and is rarely a good thing; Disney executives have shown a tendency to run promising projects into the ground (see John Carter or the recent dilution of Pixar output). His shortcomings as an artist aside, Lucas had a personal stake in the continued success of his creations and generally allowed more talented people to do their own thing with them (while profiting off them, of course). All Disney has a stake in is its profit margin and the company-wide restrictions that allow it to maximise said profits via the application of an unthreatening sheen over everything that bears its mark. Whether Disney will tolerate the darker, artistically ambitious storytelling that characterises much of the Expanded Universe is an open question.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Victor's tribulations

Addressing the disenchantment with Doha

The responsibility to protect

Ego trips