Expect plenty of updates to our earlier story about The Walt Disney Company buying Lucasfilms, since Bleeding Cool has just finished eavesdropping on the shareholder conference call with Disney CEO Bob Iger. The question inevitably arose of how long the plan had been in the works, and how involved George Lucas will be in the continuation of the Star Wars franchise.

Apparently Lucas has been planning his retirement for about five years and started the process in small ways back then. He began discussing it with Disney a year or so ago and only very recently decided to put it into effect. He will remain as a consultant for future projects, but will not write or direct any future Star Wars sequels and is officially retiring and handing the reins over to Disney.

Extensive treatments already exist for Star Wars Episodes 7, 8 & 9. The first film in the new trilogy will be released in 2015, with new films every 2-3 years.