Lucasfilms. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst?

Back in the fall when it was announced that George Lucas was selling his Lucasfilm empire (no pun intended) to Disney, the first thought that crossed my mind was, "Dear God, no!"  After Disney announced they would begin production of Episodes VII-IX including the original cast and J.J. Abrams at the helm, I thought my fears were premature.  Maybe things won't be so bad without the creator.


Then The Powers-That-Be decided to end Clone Wars.  That was the first red flag.  

While Disney's plans concerning the future of the series or at least the characters are still shrouded in secrecy, I felt it was a little premature to end production of new episodes as opposed to moving the series over to Disney's own networks for at least a season to give it a proper send-off.  Some could say leaving the Season 5 finale as the series finale left many questions unanswered and missed opportunities for character development between that episode and SW: Ep III.

Then, just over a month after Clone Wars is pulled from television, Disney just announced that they would be mothballing LucasArts, the software production division of Lucasfilm and producer of the very successful Star Wars Force Unleashed among other games.  Damn.  The decision was made to move to a licensing business model to minimize the risk involved in software production.  All current projects were canceled including the much anticipate Star Wars 1313 and a staff of about 150 people was laid off.  

Strike two.

It raises concerns as to what the future holds for the entertainment giant that is Lucasfilm without its creator around to protect it.  May force be with whomever hasn't been affected yet, for as long as Disney allows it.


Resources:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57577786-235/disney-shuttering-lucasarts-moving-to-licensed-games-model/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/star-wars-clone-wars-ending-cartoon-network-427331