The Walt Disney Company has purchased George Lucas’ film company, Lucasfilm Ltd, for $4 billion and is already planning for more Star Wars movies, the earliest of which will premiere in 2015. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers,” Lucas said in a statement. Lucas, who will act as “creative consultant” on episodes 7 ,8, and 9, had previously told press that the Star Wars franchise was dead, so this news will come as a great surprise to fans. Keep reading for the complete press release, a video in which George Lucas talks about the future of the Star Wars franchise, and forward looking statements from Robert A. Iger (Disney’s Chairman and CEO) and Jay Rasulo (Disney’s Senior Executive Vice President and CFO).