Big news in Hollywood on Tuesday: Disney acquires Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.

Bigger news: The “Star Wars” franchise will go on… with Episodes 7, 8 and 9 planned for the future, beginning in 2015.

Wow!

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. — George Lucas

The Disney Empire, which began with ABC and ESPN, then added Pixar and Marvel, continues to grow.

The film geeks went wild on Twitter — When You Wish Upon A Star… The Princess Leia Diaries… Jabba the Pooh — but we think Disney will respect Lucas’ legacy and do great things with the “Star Wars” franchise. Not only with the movies (Joss Whedon, is the Force with you?), but with its theme parks (an Evil Empire park?) and merchandising.

What do you think?