Disney Buys Star Wars, Episode 7 to Be Released in 2015

It's one of those stories that I didn't believe when I first heard it. Disney bought Lucasfilm for over $4 billion and they're going to make Star Wars sequels. And the best part is George Lucas won't write or direct them.

Nothing against the man who fathered the franchise, but the prequels were weighed down with over-complicated plot points, and the screen was too busy with CGI animations. CGI is great for space battles, but CGI rooms? CGI characters?

As films, the prequels kind of sucked. If Episode 1 had truly been the first film released in the series, it would have flopped, and Star Wars would be a cult bad movie, shredded to pieces on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and enjoyed by people who like bad sci-fi movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Then in Episodes 2 and 3, Hayden Christensen turned Darth Vader, one of the best, coolest, and most complex villains of all-time, into a whiny, creepy, selfish, spoiled, angst-ridden male version of Taylor Swift. Christensen turned the Dark Side into the Melodramatic Side.

In some respects, Episode 7 won't be compared to the originals, but to the prequels. And that's good for Disney. Also with Episode 7, there's more freedom with the story. The prequels had to end a certain way, the sequels don't.

Hollywood ran out of new ideas in 1998, so adding on to an already successful franchise is to be expected. It's also sad in a way. Soon there will be more Star Wars movies than Jason movies. What was once an epic trio of cinematic magic has been distilled and watered down into a massive load of products.

And this time there will be no Natalie Portman to distract me from the awful acting, the annoying characters and the incessant CGI.

Although, how about Emma Watson as Princess Leia's daughter? I think it would be a good casting decision because Ms. Watson is a fine actress. Unfortunately I think the nerds of the world would all die of heart-attacks if Harry Potter connected with Star Wars in such a significant way.

And I think J.J. Abrams would be the best choice to direct. He didn't just resurrect the Star Trek series, he reinvented and redefined it. He built a new foundation for an already existing product. Seems like this project requires similar vision and ingenuity.