31 Oct – George Lucas may have announced his plans for retirement but the same cannot be said for the Star Wars franchise. Following Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm for USD$4 billion, a trilogy will be in the works starting from Episode 7. Lucas, chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm had said in a statement that it is time for "Star Wars" to be passed on to a new generation of filmmakers. "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see "Star Wars" passed from one generation to the next. "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."
Plans for the new trilogy will see Episode 7 released in 2015 followed by Episode 8 and 9. While Lucas may look forward to placing "Star Wars" in new hands, it won't be an immediate changeover as the filmmaker will still be on board as Creative Consultant for the new movies. Although the franchise has spawned a large series of graphic novels centred on the continuation of the "Star Wars" universe, online entertainment site Eonline reports that the plot detaches from the novels and will be appearing as a completely original film. Current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy will serve as executive producer for the new movies and has been actively exchanging ideas with Lucas on the direction of the plot.