50 most shocking moments in Star Wars history

50. Disney buys Lucasfilm

In a move that was big, Disney sought out Lucasfilm and was able to buy the company. This is what injected some new life into the Star Wars films. Lucasfilm was an independent company from its creation in 1971 up until it became a Disney subsidiary in 2012.

Kathleen Kennedy has worked on some of the biggest films and on October 30, 2012, she became the President of Lucasfilm. This was a smart move since her experience made her more than qualified for the job.

Disney dropped a whopping $4.05 billion on Lucasfilm according to Deadline’s report from 2012. That’s a big investment, even for Disney, but it’s one that has paid off in spades for them. At the same time of the purchase, the company announced the new trilogy, which had fans buzzing.

While the fans were buzzing about it, though, some were a little worried. What if the new trilogy ends up like the prequel films? That’s a question that likely filled the heads of many Star Wars die-hard fans.

The reason I put this entry in the last spot, though, is because it isn’t all that surprising for Disney to buy other companies. We’re seeing it happen again with Fox right now and while that is an even bigger deal (monetarily) for Disney, the company buying Lucasfilm gave Star Wars a resurgence so it’s still worth putting on the list.