George Lucas:
For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.
Disney announced plans to release Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015. Well, I guess they can’t screw it up any worse than Lucas.
This brings everything full circle. Pixar started in 1979 as a part of Lucasfilm. Steve Jobs led a group that bought Pixar from Lucasfilm in 1986. In 2006, Disney acquired Pixar from Jobs. Today, Disney reunited Lucasfilm and Pixar.