Ron Gilbert asks Disney to sell Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion IP

Ron Gilbert has petitioned Disney to sell him the creative rights to Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, pointing out that the company's exit from creating and publishing games means that it would be unlikely to take advantage of its ownership.

Although Gilbert's Disney-directed tweet is probably not a serious business proposition, the writer has indicated his frustration at a lack of control over his creations before, although he's previously indicated that he doesn't ever expect to have enough money to pay Disney any price they'd ask.

"I would love to get the rights back to Monkey Island and be able to really make the game I want to make," Gilbert said in a Eurogamer interview in 2012. Gilbert also released a rough and 'fanciful' design document for a future Monkey Island game on his personal blog a year later. Could Disney's recent retreat from publishing be the gap he's been hoping for?

Disney acquired the rights when it bought LucasArts along with LucasFilm in late 2012. Just a few months later, Disney announced the closure of the legendary studio, despite previous denials, but retained a tiny staff to deal with licencing.

That approach was mirrored earlier this month, as Disney announced it was exiting publishing entirely, shutting down Avalanche, killing Disney Infinity and operating in games only as a licensee for the foreseeable future.