The Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm from George Lucas paved the way for the creation of Star Wars: Episode VII. On October 30, 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced that it had purchased Lucasfilm Ltd., the production company behind the creation of the Star Wars franchise, from its owner, Star Wars creator George Lucas, mikucosplay.com for $4.05 billion. As part of the merger, Disney revealed that it planned to produce a sequel trilogy of films beginning in 2015, with Kennedy serving as executive producer.