Handman said:
If Disney is going to do this right, they need to enlist people like Harmy, Adywan... basically the regulars of OT.com. You know, the people who live and breathe Star Wars.
No doubt, Disney would do well consulting people here for the minutiae. That said; If Disney were to move forward on a proper release of the 77\80\83 theatrical versions, I believe they have people on board who know the state of the mess and the history of the films. If not, they'll find them.
Disney is a much more professional corporation than Lucasfilm ever was. They understand how to cater to various fan bases and the importance that carries in success. Lucasfilm, in spite of what a few people in the inner circle said at the time, was a monocracy. The result of that structure is the mess the franchise is today.
I think they're going to great lengths to right the ship. As someone pointed out earlier, they aren't concerned with someone's personal demons from the 1970s. They're interested in the product on the screen. There were times the past several years where Lucas clearly did things solely to prove he could.
He repeatedly ignored the opinions of his peers and continued to poorly alter the films in ways he knew would upset the fans. Going so far as to design, market, and publicly wear T-shirts mocking the fans for being upset at his destruction of the film and the story.
I'm still shocked that there is even a single person who has any respect what so ever for him after he did that. He ruined the scene and the character, then chose to make money off of people's hatred of it. That was unconscionable.
He also continued his decades-long tradition of blatantly lying about all of it. Disney wouldn't even consider going to war against the very people they stand to make millions from. Lucas' behavior was the that of someone suffering from megalomania. Disney's actions so far are those of a professional corporation. Even at this stage, the new film has a very 1977-centric feel, as does everything surrounding it.
I highly doubt that they'll ignore the prequels. They know that story is also also a huge revenue stream TFN-wise. However, it certainly feels like they're concentrating on first getting the franchise corrected and back to its roots.