Star Wars’ Original Cast a Death Star for The Walt Disney Company (DIS)?

If that weren’t enough, thanks to Disney’s $4 billion acquisition in 2009 of comics powerhouse Marvel — which boasts its own library of more than 9,000 characters — the House of Mouse has a whole lot more entertaining it can do, even after pumping out blockbuster hits including Captain America, Iron Man sequels, and The Avengers.

Still not convinced? Don’t forget Disney’s $7.4 billion acquisition in 2006 of Pixar, which has since yielded massively popular movies, including Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Brave.

Going further still, as I noted two weeks ago, putting aside its chunky cinema revenue, Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) owes much of its relative stability to its parks and resorts and media network segments, including The Disney Channel and ABC Family, as well as an 80% stake in ESPN and 50% ownership of A&E Networks.

Finally, after audiences leave the theaters, Disney’s also free to mop up the cash through merchandising opportunities with partners like Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) , which has historically enjoyed holding the licensing rights to create toys for both the Marvel and Star Wars brands. After all, according to NPD data, total retail sales of Star Wars products have topped $25 billion and the franchise has represented the top toy brand for boys during six of the past seven years. With this in mind, and considering the size of Disney’s other acquisitions, it should come as no surprise that Hasbro has had to repeatedly squash Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) acquisition rumors as recently as November.

Alas, even without Hasbro tucked into its belt, there’s still plenty to like about shares of Disney — even as they trade hands at record highs. In the end, it’s important to note that’s simply what the stocks of truly great companies so often do.

The article Star Wars’ Original Cast a Death Star for Disney? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Hasbro and Walt Disney.

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