All Articles: Star Wars 1313

The Dark Side of Disney’s acquistion of Lucasfilm was surely the swift cancellation of Star Wars 1313 (though the dissolution of the Expanded Universe was a close second). But the future of Lucasfilm, as foreseen by Kathleen Kennedy, might include Star Wars 1313 after all. Speaking to Slashfilm, the producer revealed that Lucasfilm would like to further develop the Star Wars 1313 concept:

Kennedy: [R]eading through the material that he developed is something we very much would like to explore. And there was 1313 the game, where there was…

Slashfilm: The concept art for that looked amazing!

Kennedy: Unbelievable. So our attitude is, we don’t want to throw any of that stuff away. It’s gold. And it’s something we’re spending a lot of time looking at, pouring through, discussing, and we may very well develop those things further. We definitely want to.

Initially revealed at E3 2012, Star Wars 1313 would have starred a young Boba Fett in a Mature-rated action-adventure game set within the bowels of Coruscant’s underworld district. Star Wars: Underworld, a proposed television series also previously in the works at Lucasfilm, would have covered a lot of the same ground. Obviously, this isn’t confirmation that Star Wars 1313 is back in development (it’s certainly possible the concept could be recycled for a future standalone film), but it is a promising sign… and that’s good enough for right now.

Disney partnered with Electronic Arts on a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to produce Star Wars games in 2013. Last month’s Star Wars: Battlefront was the first game to come out of this alliance, though several more, including an untitled game at Visceral and Star Wars: Battlefront 2 are in various stages of development.

Even though we all hoped that Star Wars 1313 might be released someday, it looks like LucasArts/Disney has instead fed the unfinished game to the Sarlacc. According to the Star Wars 1313 filing at the US Patent and Trademark Office, LucasArts/Disney abandoned the game’s trademark on December 23, 2013 by failing to apply for an extension.

Star Wars 1313 made its worldwide debut during E3 2012 and wowed critics and fans alike with its gritty new take on Coruscant’s underworld. After Disney purchased LucasArts, we learned that the game would have ultimately starred a young Boba Fett.

With 1313’s official cancellation, Star Wars fans will instead have to look forward to EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront and an untitled game in development at Visceral Games, both of which aren’t expected to be released until 2015 at the earliest.

Ever since George Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise to the enormous Death Star that is Disney last October, there has been a rush of news about the new films. From confirmation of a new trilogy, as well as stand-alone films, to the announcement that Star Trek director J.J. Abrams would jump ship to direct Episode VII, Disney have been slowly keeping fans excited with these tidbits.

However, the same cannot be said of the games based in the same universe, or more specifically, Star Wars 1313, which debuted at E3 2012 in June. Up until that point, an ambitious live action television show was in development that would bridge the two decade gap between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. Rumours hinted that the show would run 100 episodes regardless of ratings, and would feature secondary characters we had come to know. Peter Nikolai, Producer of 1313, acknowledged that the character in the demo was just a test character and not the actual main character, who was going to be a young bounty hunter.

Boba Fett? And there’s even more speculation from Kotaku‘s report about the development of Star Wars 1313. (more…)

I… I… are there even any words?

Disney has done it again. After purchasing Marvel in 2009 for $4.24 billion, the House of Mouse has now turned their sights on Lucasfilm and the entire Star Wars empire. And like Luke Skywalker in the Death Star’s canyon, they’ve hit their target and are taking home a shiny new medal.

During an investor’s meeting earlier today, Disney CEO Robert A. Iger announced that the company has purchased Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. This includes all rights to the Star Wars franchise (and Indiana Jones too) as well as Industrial Light + Magic, Skywalker Sound, and Lucasfilm’s game division, LucasArts.

As if this wasn’t wild enough, Iger also announced that production on Star Wars: Episode VII has begun. The film will be released in 2015 and will be followed by Episode VIII in 2017/2018 and Episode IX in 2020/2021. George Lucas will serve as a creative consultant on all three movies.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Lucas. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”

LucasArts is currently devloping Star Wars 1313, which debuted at this year’s E3 Expo. It’s unknown how this acquisition will affect the game’s development, if at all.

Whatever happens, may The Force be with all of us.

[Source: Deadline]