The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin… and Star Wars? It may seem like a game of “which of these things is not like the others,” but now that The Walt Disney Company is acquiring Lucasfilm, this means that all of George Lucas’ creations, including Star Wars, will become a part of Disney’s big family.

In addition to acquiring the rights to the entire Lucasfilm catalogue, Disney will also gain the rights to use any of the technologies that Lucasfilm has used to create sound and visual effects, as well as the merchandise that comes along with the films. Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm’s co-chairman, will take over as president of the company and executive producer of any new Star Wars episodes. George Lucas himself will stay on as a consultant.

The announcement of the $4 billion deal has sparked both interest and controversy, mostly from fans who are concerned that the merger could lead to a watering-down of both brands. With a new Star Wars film in the works, there’s also a lot of speculation as to the details of the production, and who might be brought in to direct the film.

There has been some talk of relative newcomer indie director Colin Trevorrow, who directed Safety Not Guaranteed, coming forward to take on the next few Star Wars episodes. Although it may seem like an odd choice, Lucas met with Trevorrow earlier in the year and discussed possible projects, though it is not known for certain if Star Wars in particular was on the table. Some bigger name directors have also been mentioned, including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and David Fincher.

As for George Lucas, he assures fans of Star Wars that he has left the franchise in good hands with the Disney takeover, and that it was always his plan to pass the company on while he could still control the direction of its evolution. Lucas didn’t just want to leave it for others to decide in the future, so the Disney deal allows him to have the greatest amount of say in the future of Lucasfilm and its creative endeavours.

Episode 7 of Star Wars is not slated for release until 2015, which gives Disney plenty of time to get organized and work out how they’re going to go about the production.

Written by — Brynn Alexander lives and breathes all things music. When she’s not ditching work to catch her favorite artists, she’s writing about entertainment for up-to-date-events.com and others.