Despite the surprise yesterday that Disney is buying LucasFilms from George Lucas for £2 1/2 billion, which will include the license to all the franchises that the production company owns, it wasn't really that much of a surprise, and it could have been predicted.

Not long ago it was reported that Lucas wanted to retire, to leave the Hollywood blockbuster behind and maybe concentrate on smaller budget films like his recently produced film Red Tails, this is a large chunk of change to do that.

Lucas has always had a good relationship with Disney, just go to a theme park and see the level of Star Wars merchandise for sale, and the infamous Star Tours ride which was opened in 1987 and got a major revamp in 2010.

So in the end it was Disney who have purchased LucasFilms rather than maybe the more obvious studio, 20th Century Fox but the real question has to be the continuing production of it's most loved franchises, well both of them anyway.

First off is the Indiana Jones franchise, directed by Steven Spielberg and funded and released by Paramount, will future episodes 1) still have the involvement of Paramount, not really a big issue, or 2) be directed by Spielberg? Or star Harrison Ford? Disney are know for cashing in on big film names, see Aladdin, Cars, Beauty and the Beast to name a few, and maybe fans have something to worry about.

Now lets address the one on all our minds. At the press conference it was almost instantly announced that there will be a Star Wars Episode VII (7) released in 2015, oooh, that's big, and scary, and with Lucas taking an back seat, although he has an advisory role, what will happen.

Lucas may have tarnished the Star Wars franchise with the prequel trilogy, but above anything else he was very true to the franchise, and the universe he has created, he clearly has a lot of affection for all things Star Wars and despite not doing the best job possible a lot of love and attention went into the films, that in difficult narrative circumstances tied the films into the original series, and the characters were also true to it.

Star Wars Episode VII possibly isn't the concern, Disney also announced there will be an Episode VIII in 2017 and Episode IX in 2019 this is more worrying and anything beyond that are clearly frightening.

Star Wars has been with us since 1977, there has been 6 films of varying degrees of quality, but it has millions and millions of fans worldwide who still love the series, Lucas shattered some of our dreams in 1999 with Episode I, but those dreams have been repaired over time, we either forget them or learn to love them, is Disney about to totally destroy our dreams? When all has been said and done what I really want to know is, did Disney get the 1977 Star Wars Holiday Special in the deal and will they now release it onto Blu-ray?

It's 35 years since Star Wars made it debut in the US, it opened in Manns Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles (and actually 31 other locations across America), and people queued around the block to see it.

The legacy of the original has been immense and still to this day the Star Wars series of 6 films is one of the highest grossing movie series of all time, behind only Harry Potter and James Bond.

The Star Wars announcement at CES 2011 yesterday was that the Saga would be released on Blu-ray in September of this year , no exact date was given but the 3 box set's that will be released are available for pre-order now.

In what was considered a relatively low key event for such a huge announcement involved Darth Vader, a handful of Stormtroopers and Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn coming out and making a short statement.

The 3 box sets that will be released are an Original Trilogy Box Set, a Prequels Trilogy Box Set and a 9 disk Saga Box set that will include 3 diska with over 30 hours of extra material, of which there was no mention of content.

Thankfully there was no mention of any Star Wars 3D, it's no secret that Lucas is working on a retrofit for the films but maybe that will be a separate release and this one will not be effected, it's a long time till September though. Also no mention of the Star Wars Holiday Special, we can live in hope that this will be cleaned, converted to HD and included.

The film are available on Amazon.co.uk with current prices at £33.99 for the two trilogy sets and £69.99 for the Saga set.

There was a press release to follow which gave far more information

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE

THE MOST ANTICIPATED BLU-RAY RELEASE IN THE GALAXY

IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR WORLDWIDE PRE-ORDER STARTING TODAY

LAS VEGAS (Jan. 6, 2011) – The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever – the Star Wars™ Saga – emerges from light speed this September 2011. For the first time, all six of George Lucas' epic films (Episodes I-VI) are united in one complete set. Fans worldwide are able to pre-order now with online retailers.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release Star Wars in three distinct sets to meet the needs of every Star Wars fan:

-          Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films)

-          Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes I-III)

-          Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes Episodes IV-VI)

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with three additional discs and more than 30 hours of extensive special features including never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes, an exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives, and much more.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will be available for $139.99 US/$179.99 CAN and the Star Wars: Trilogy Sets for $69.99 US/89.99 CAN.  Pricing for each set will vary by international territory.

Flanked by a  legion of his finest  Imperial Stormtroopers, Darth Vader himself joined Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment President Mike Dunn at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to announce the release, vowing  “The forces of the Empire will be at your disposal to assure the success of this endeavor.''

“The Star Wars Saga is the most anticipated Blu-ray collection since the launch of the high-def format,” Dunn said. “The epic franchise pioneered sound and visual presentation in theatres and is perfectly suited to do it again in the home, with a viewing experience only possible with Blu-ray.”

“With all six episodes available for the first time in one collection, this is a great way for families and home audiences to experience the complete Saga from start to finish,” said Doug Yates, Vice President of Marketing, Online, Distribution, Lucasfilm Ltd. “And with the quality of high-definition, Blu-ray provides the most immersive home experience possible.”

“The Star Wars franchise has been one of the most anticipated Blu-ray releases by Amazon's customers,” said Bill Carr, Vice President of Music and Video at Amazon. “We think that Star Wars will be incredibly popular with our customers, and we expect pre-orders to be very strong.”