As YouTube gets hit with yet another lawsuit, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the fate of content creation and distribution on the web will be bogged down by legal wrangling for years. However, at the same time there are a lot of interesting innovations happening that demonstrate how companies and content creators can effectively leverage the Web 2.0, rather than trying to fight it.

The most recent of these is Lucas Films and Eyespot.com teaming up to allow users to create their own Star Wars movie. Rather than trying to prevent fans from creating and sharing videos related to the popular movie series, users are being given over 250 scenes/ musical selections to mix and match, and they are also free to use their home made material as well. To quote the press release directly:

Star Wars fans can connect with the Force in ways they’ve only imagined beginning Friday, May 25, when StarWars.com launches a completely redesigned website that empowers fans to “mash-up” their homemade videos with hundreds of scenes from Star Wars movies; watch hundreds of fan-made Star Wars videos; and interact with Star Wars enthusiasts from around the world like never before.

With an innovative, interactive home-page design that allows users to navigate to multiple Star Wars worlds, a new video focus, and groundbreaking “Web 2.0” features – including a unique online multi-media mixing platform from Eyespot – the new StarWars.com will unveil its redesigned website on May 25 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars Saga.

Among the most compelling features of the newly redesigned StarWars.com is the incorporation of an online video-editing tool provided by Eyespot. It allows users to add their own video shots to more than 250 scenes and music taken from all six Star Wars films and create their own Star Wars movies to share with others.

StarWars.com is also unveiling a new collection of hundreds of videos – many never before seen on the Internet – that will let fans enjoy some of the best user-generated Star Wars videos from across the web, including such cult favorites as “Chad Vader,” and five years worth of Star Wars Fan Movie Festival shorts, co-presented by AtomFilms.com. StarWars.com will also showcase extensive mini-documentaries that explore the making of the Star Wars Saga. 

Some may see this as revolutionary, and in relation to what most other companies are doing it really is. At the same time, it’s really more common sense than anything else. When one considers all the positives that could come from it in terms of marketing, community engagement, innovation, and fan loyalty, the question shouldn’t be why Lucas Films is doing this – but rather why most other companies and content creators aren’t following suit.