Ron Gilbert, the creator of Monkey Island, has asked Disney to sell him the rights to two of his beloved franchises, Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion.
On Twitter, Gilbert offered to buy the rights to both franchises (though he misspelled Maniac Mansion). Disney gained the rights to both franchises after acquiring LucasArts in 2012, but has since shutdown its console game development division.
Dear @Disney, now that you're not making games, please sell me my Monkey Island and Mansion Mansion IP. I'll pay real actual money for them.
— Ron Gilbert® (@grumpygamer) May 23, 2016
Gilbert had worked on the first two games in the Monkey Island franchise, The Secret of and LeChuck’s Revenge. He also developed Maniac Mansion in 1987. Gilbert’s next title is Thimbleweed Park, a point-and-click adventure game in the style of Monkey Island. The game is set for release on Xbox One and PC in January 2017.
Ron Gilbert is not the only developer trying to get his ideas back from Disney. Warren Spector, the mind behind Deus Ex, is also trying to gain the IP that he created at Junction Point, which is owned by Disney.