Star Wars Land is coming to a Galaxy Not So Far Away. This announcement at the D23 Expo is just the latest of many since Disney bought Lucasfilm and got on with fixing the Star Wars universe.
Disney shook up the canon to prepare the way for a terrifying quantity of new media. We've got Star Wars Rebels, the new trilogy that starts with The Force Awakens, some amazing new games, new books and several new comic lines. Star Wars has landed in Disney stores and has an increased presence in Disney parks. And that is on top of all the usual marketing and tie-ins that usually pre-empt a Star Wars movie release.
The pieces have always been there (the books especially!) but Disney has brought such a laser-sharp focus that it has caused my other half to ask me last night "Isn't there a danger they'll kill this franchise via overload?"
Is there a risk of that? I'm of an age that I've seen the Shadows of the Empire, Special Edition cinematic release and Prequel hypes come and go. Star Wars books have been published at an ever faster pace over that period. The list of game and comic releases during this period is just huge. Star Wars is, I would say, even more "mainstream" than it was before the Prequels. And so I think the appetite for Star Wars content is just that much higher than it has been before.
I think Disney have, for the time being, a license to print money. Jurassic World (a movie whose story was basic at best) has flourished at the cinema based on a strong franchise and lots of fans reliving their childhood (and making their kids live through their mid-life crisis). Well Star Wars (thanks to being released over 25 years) gets even more of that nostalgic benefit on top of having one of the strongest media brands in history.
Which leads me on to my most important point... MORE STAR WARS STUFF NEEDED!!!! TAKE MY MONEY DISNEY!!!
