Disney Buys INDIANA JONES Franchise from Paramount

Indiana Jones is now a part of the Disney family.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, following the studio's acquisition of Lucasfilm, Disney has now reached an agreement with Paramount, giving the studio full control of Indy's future adventures.

Per the report, Paramount will hold on to the rights to the original four films, but "will receive a financial participation on any future films that are produced and released."

Harrison Ford has confirmed numerous times in recent years that he would return to the role if given a chance, saying, "I would do it in a New York minute. I don't think there is any barrier to Indiana Jones being an old fart."

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Warsfeature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world's top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, Branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

Photo: Paramount/Everett/Rex Features

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