Disney buys Star Wars for $4b

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Walt Disney Co announced Tuesday it is buying “Star Wars” director George Lucas’s film company for $4 billion, and plans to revive the classic sci-fi series starting with a new movie in 2015. The entertainment giant plans a new trilogy in the legendary franchise, launched with the original “Star Wars” movie in 1977, while Lucas himself said it was “time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.” “Star Wars 7” will be released in 2015, “with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future,” said Disney, announcing the deal to buy pioneering movie company Lucasfilm.