This ‘Star Wars’ Anniversary Is One You Are Probably Not Celebrating

The Star Wars anniversary is here, and you probably aren’t celebrating it yet. In the words of Yoda, however, you (probably) will be.

A year ago today, an announcement was made which changed the future course of Star Wars movies. Many purists were outraged, especially after what happened to the prequels. They didn’t want any more Star Wars films and felt it was an insult to the franchise to make another episode that even slightly resembled The Phantom Menace.

Disney bought Star Wars, or more specifically, Lucasfilms, and fans around the world sensed a disturbance in the Force. Before we could get over the shock of it, there were memes spreading all over the internet. Some of those memes featured Darth Vader with Mickey Mouse ears, or the moons of Tatooine forming the head of the Disney icon. There have even been jokes about Princess Leia becoming the newest Disney Princess, with well-drawn art making the rounds.

This is the first Star Wars anniversary marking the merger between Disney and Lucasfilms, a deal that could mark a “New Hope.”

First of all, the merger gave us the promise of a new trilogy, which will be directed by someone who has inspired a bit of controversy. The man behind the Star Trek reboot films, J.J. Abrams, took the helm of the new Star Wars episodes, once again sparking outrage among fans. They felt that the opposing franchises couldn’t be done by the same person.

We shouldn’t be too upset, however, because the merger also unleashed the promise of origin films for major characters. There has been some speculation about who would be the focus of these origin films right here on The Inquisitr, with Han Solo and Senator Palpatine among the possibilities.

Today is the first anniversary of Star Wars becoming a Disney license, a $4 billion buyout leading to one bit of news that led to some rejoicing. George Lucas had stepped down to let someone else take charge, and that was enough to make millions of fans breathe a sigh of relief. George Lucas was the one who, according to many fans and critics, ruined Star Wars by writing the prequels.

Perhaps with someone else in charge now, Star Wars episodes seven through nine won’t be doomed. Look at what happened after Disney bought Marvel. Suddenly every film, no matter how potentially bad, became a box office smash. Disney might just take Star Wars back out of the critical trash bin and make the next few episodes something to be proud of again.

How would you celebrate the anniversary of Star Wars being bought by Disney?