What if News Corporation acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1999?

Discussions relating to the possibility of The Walt Disney Company signing a distribution deal with Lucasfilm officially began in May 2011, after a meeting that George Lucas had with the then Disney CEO Bob Iger during the inauguration of the Star Tours – The Adventures Continue attraction. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the *Star Wars* and *Indiana Jones* franchises. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock. Lucasfilm had previously collaborated with the company's Walt Disney Imagineering division to create theme park attractions centered on *Star Wars* and *Indiana Jones*for various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide.

Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, became president of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally, she serves as the brand manager for *Star Wars*, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy serves as producer on new *Star Wars* feature films, with George Lucas originally announced as serving as a creative consultant. The company also announced the future release of new *Star Wars* films, starting with *Episode VII: The Force Awakens* in 2015.

Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of *Star Wars*, *Indiana Jones*, and Lucasfilm's operating businesses in live-action film production, consumer products, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production. Disney also acquired Lucasfilm's portfolio of entertainment technologies. The intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. *Star Wars* merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014. Starting with *Star Wars Rebels*, certain products will be co-branded with the Disney name, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4, 2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, allowing the acquisition to be finalized without dealing with antitrust problems. On December 18, 2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. converted from a corporation to a limited liability company, changing its name to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC in the process,. On December 21, 2012, Disney completed the acquisition and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney.

20th Century Fox, the original distributor of the first six *Star Wars* films, retained the physical and theatrical distribution rights to the original two *Star Wars* trilogies and permanent full distribution rights for the original 1977 film, until May 2020 according to the 2012 Lucasfilm acquisition deal. On March 20, 2019, Disney officially acquired the studio after acquiring its owner, 21st Century Fox, thus combining all these rights under its umbrella. Lucasfilm retains the television and digital distribution rights to *Star Wars* Episodes *I* through *VI* with exception to Episode *IV*. In December 2013, Walt Disney Studios purchased the distribution and marketing rights to future *Indiana Jones* films from Paramount Pictures, although the latter studio would retain the distribution rights to the first four films and would receive "financial participation" from any additional films.

But what if News Corporation acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1999?

This theory is interconnected to What if DreamWorks Pictures was founded in 1980 as The Geffen Film Company?

## Changes

* Lucasfilm Ltd. would've been part of FOX Entertainment Group through News Corporation (1999-2001), then Disney-ABC Motion Pictures Group through Disney-ABC Enterprises (2001-present).
	+ THX would've never been separated from Lucasfilm and became an independent company in June 2002.
	+ It would expand into gaming and car audio systems.
	+ On the professional front, THX planned to continue expansion of its theatrical certification programs as it became more involved in digital cinema.
* The pre-1999 Lucasfilm library would've now been owned by 20th Century Fox.
	+ American Graffiti, Indiana Jones, Twice Upon a Time (1983 film), Latino (film), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Willow (1988 film), Tucker: The Man and His Dream and Radioland Murders would've been sold from Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Cinecom and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to 20th Century Fox in 1999.