Are George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company getting ready to expand their (Rebel) Alliance

Jim Hill

17 years ago

Roger A. writes in to ask:

Jim,

Bravo on your two recent articles on the Disney-MGM name change. After hearing the news, I was thrilled to find your very-informative articles on the subject. One thing you mentioned really intrigued me, and begs for more info:

“We’ll have to wait ’til “Disney’s Hollywood Studios” has gone ahead with its new ‘lands’ scenario (i.e. Where specific areas of this theme park will then be dedicated to the celebration of the Playhouse Disney characters, Pixar’s films, the Muppets and George Lucas’ movies & TV shows).”

Does this mean that there are MORE Lucas, Pixar, and Muppet-based attractions in the planning stages? Typically, it takes more than one (MuppetVision) or two (Star Tours and Stunt Spectacular) attractions to make a “land.” Is Disney finally going to expand MGM, er — Hollywood Studios into a full-blown park? Is there any chance we may finally get Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye?

Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. / Lucasfilm, Ltd.
All Rights Reserved

I, for one, sure am hoping !

Roger

Dear Roger A.

First things first: You can pretty much forget about Disneyland‘s “Indiana Jones Adventure” ever being built at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Why For? Well, for starters, “Dinosaur” makes use of the very same enhanced-motion-vehicle system that you’ll find rolling through both the Anaheim & Tokyo DisneySea versions of this “Indiana Jones” -based thrill ride (And according to what several Imagineers have told me, this Animal Kingdom attraction has the exact same track layout as Disneyland’s version of “Indy.” So if WDI were to ever replicate Anaheim’s Temple of the Forbidden Eye in Central Florida … Well, the similarities between these two attractions would become pretty obvious fairly quickly).

Then when you factor in all of the lawsuits that the Walt Disney Company has had to settle over the past 12 years (All because a certain number of Disneyland guests claim to have suffered brain injuries while being bounced around in those troop transports) … I guess you can understand why Mickey’s attorneys have continually put the kibosh on the Imagineers’ plans to swap out “The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” for the “Indiana Jones Adventure.”

That said, there are indeed plans in the works right now to significantly increase George Lucas’ presence in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. To — in effect — create a “Lucas Land” that stretches from the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost all the way to Tatooine Traders.

Right now, the engine that’s driving this plan is Star Tours 2.0. Which will feature a brand-new 3D ride film as well as elements from Disney’s Living Character Initiative. Look for this redo to officially be announced in 2008 and then go live in 2009. Just in time for the studio theme park’s 20th anniversary.

Mind you, just about the time that “Star Tours” will be going down for its rehab, the Backlot Express is also slated to receive an extreme makeover. During which all of the generic props that currently decorate this cavernous eatery will supposedly be replaced with replicas of well-known costumes & vehicles from various Lucasfilm productions. The way I hear it, the dining room closest to “Star Tours” will (of course) be “Star Wars” themed. While the dining room that’s closest to the Stunt Spectacular stadium will then feature props & costumes from the “Indiana Jones” films.

Speaking of the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” … There has reportedly been some talk between Disney & Lucas about possibly cutting out a scene or two out of this now-18-year-old stunt show and then replacing that older material with brand-new sequences that would be based on memorable moments from the now-shooting “Indiana Jones IV.”

That said, I guess I should mention that — back when George Lucas & Steven Spielberg were taking part in a press conference for the opening of Disney-MGM Studios theme park — these two said that they hoped that the Imagineers would eventually fold material from the then-just-about-be-released “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” into the Epic Stunt Spectacular. But that never happened. So just because Disney & Lucas are now reportedly talking about possibly dropping scenes from “Indiana Jones IV” into the studio theme park’s stunt show doesn’t mean that this is actually going to happen this time around.

And speaking of things that may not happen … Remember that live action “Star Wars” television series that Lucas has in the works? You know, the one that’s supposed to start shooting in 2008? Well, guess who’s reportedly in talks with George about possibly acquiring the broadcast rights to this program?

You guessed it. Disney.

Let me stress here that these talks are allegedly at a very preliminary stage. More importantly, that no decisions — pro or con — have been made at this point. But what’s kind of intriguing about these negotiations is that Lucas is supposedly looking to avoid what happened with his last foray into television, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.”

For those of you who don’t remember: This high profile project originally debuted on ABC back in March of 1992. And while “Young Indy” was recognized for its outstanding production values, this edutainment program didn’t exactly wow viewers. Which is why it ended production after only 44 shows were shot. Which wasn’t really enough episodes to syndicate. Which made it next to impossible for George to recover the tens of millions of dollars he’d allegedly plowed into production of this program.

So this time around, Lucas reportedly want to shoot 100 episodes of his new “Star Wars” -based television series. With a deliberate eye toward getting a massive return on his investment through DVD sales as well as digital downloads of individual episodes. Mind you, in order to make as big a splash as possible with this program, George is going to need a network that’s really willing to get behind this new “Star Wars” show.

And this (of course) is where Mickey comes in. The way I hear it, Disney has offered to throw all of its marketing might behind the launch of this live action “Star Wars” television series. Key components of their plan reportedly include introducing the show’s cast at next year’s “Star Wars Weekends” as well as agreeing to give up primo timeslots on both ABC & ABC Family. Just so this live action program can then reach as wide an audience as possible right from the get-go.

Mind you, the Mouse isn’t the only media giant that’s supposedly currently wooing George. My understanding is that News Corp reps have also met with Lucas and mapped out a similarly ambitious marketing campaign. With both Fox and FX being offered up as possible distribution channels for this new “Star Wars” show.

“So who’s going to ultimately come out on top here?,” you ask. At this point, I’m not even sure that Lucas knows. From what ILM insiders tell me, George is still months away from making a final decision about who gets to air his show. What with production of “Indiana Jones IV” taking up much of his time these days. Not to mention getting all of those teleplays ready for the start of shooting next year.

But Disney officials … Well, they hope that — if the Imagineers do a really good job with “Star Tours 2.0” — this will somehow put Mickey back in George’s good graces. Which is why you see the company making a real effort these days to “plus” the area around Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ “Star Tours” -themed attraction. Like by building that permanent version of the “Jedi Academy” stage.

Anyway … That’s a brief overview of what the Walt Disney Company reportedly has in the works regarding a significant expansion of George Lucas’s presence at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. Please keep in mind that — over time — these plans can change. More importantly, depending on whether or not Disney lands the broadcast rights to this new “Star Wars” television, these plans could be significantly built up or scaled down.

But would any of the stuff I’ve mentioned in today’s article make it that much more likely that you’d visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in the future? And if not … Why For?

Your thoughts?