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Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, Mickey beganย to show that he is very strong with The Force. For a film franchise that hasnโt had a new installment in ten years, there is an awful lot going on withย Star Warsย these days, and Disney is behind most of it. While fans frantically discuss everything from how the original cast will return to who will be the new villain and whether Goofy is somehow related to Greedo, one pop-culture expert thinks that Disney is expertly engineering a campaign using one vital element to ensure the success ofย Star Wars: Episode VIIย in December: nostalgia. Here are five ways Disney has been using the power of the past to back its early marketing efforts:
Re-Release of the Original Trailers
Over the course of 10 days in October, Disney quietly re-released the original trailers to all three of the first trilogy. These pieces, spanning the late โ70s and early โ80s, demonstrate the evolution of not only the movies but also the art of movie trailers. The first one, forย Star Warsย in 1977, is choppy, disjointed and clearly demonstrates how little marketers knew about the actual movie. In fact, theย Star Warsย official YouTube channel is cranking up its release of archival footage of old interviews with George Lucas and the original cast, upping the ante with coverage from the recent Europeanย Star Warsย celebration with an interview with Mark Hamill.
Endingย The Clone Warsย Series
Last month, Disney announced the release of the fifth and final episode ofย The Clone Warsย animated series โ content that focused on the second trilogyโs characters. There is no doubt that they could have made more, but there was clearly a decision to stop focusing on anything but the original trilogy.
Gag Order
We have it on good authority that not only is the entire original cast signed on for the new film, but as a consequence, all the stars have been placed on a very restrictive gag order to whet the fansโ appetites even more. Donโt believe us? Hereโs a clip from a VERY awkward Harrison Ford interview promoting his new filmย Enderโs Game. In it, he does his best imitation of Disneyโs dwarf Grumpy.
Theย Star Warsย Comic Book
So, Disney has plenty to appease the casual fan, but what about the ย hardcore addicts who have every single version of the films ever ย released, their own Darth Vader costume, and a Greedo Shot First ย Facebook page? You give them something theyโve never seen before: ย George Lucasโ original unproduced first draft of hisย Star Warsย script ย from 1974. Dark Horse Comics got the license from Disney to turn ย that script into a comic book, and the first issue has already sold out ย before it even hit the stands. Titledย The Star Wars, the comic has all ย the classic elements of the first trilogyโan evil empire, a young Jedi- ย to-be and a princess in perilโbut everything is extremely different. ย The youngster in this is Anakin Starkiller, the Jedi mentor is Luke ย Skywalker (huh??), and the rest is more than subtly different.
Critics and fans alike are pretty much in agreement over the fact that one of the best things about the original trilogy was the script and dialogue contributions of Lawrence Kasdan. A veteran Hollywood writer and director (Raider of the Lost Ark,ย Wyatt Earp,ย The Big Chill), Kasdan also contributed to the scripts of the original trilogy, and when Lucas launched the prequel trilogy, the absence of Kasdanโs artful dialogue was sorely missed by all. It was announced last week that Kasdan was now reworking the script for Episode VII, and there was much rejoicing across the galaxy. Not only ours, but also the one that is far, far away.