The media giant Walt Disney has purchased Lucasfilm, the company which created the Star Wars saga, and revealed it is planning to release a seventh film. The deal will provide Lucasfilm with more scope for development and new media exposure.

The deal was announced earlier this week, heralding a new era for the cult classic. George Lucas, who owned 100 per cent of Lucasfilm, will receive around $2 billion in cash and the remainder of the value in Disney stock, making him one of the major shareholders of the new enterprise. It is the third deal of this size that Disney has struck since chief executive Bob Iger started at the company, having also brought about the purchase of Pixar in 2006 and Marvel in 2009.

The new contract is expected to “mildly” dilute earnings over the next two years, before increasing them in 2015 upon release of a new Star Wars film. Disney then intends to release an additional film every two years after that. Disney has already enjoyed a long and lucrative relationship with Lucasfilm, with Star Wars rides and even posters available at Disney theme parks across America.

Mr Lucas touched on his own hopes for the future of the company, saying that Disney’s reach and experience would allow Lucasfilm to “blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products”.