Star Wars

The Star Wars narrative has been showcased through a sequence of American films, which have given rise to a significant number of books and other forms of media, collectively forming what is known as the Expanded Universe. Furthermore, the Star Wars mythology serves as the foundation for a wide array of toys and games. The films and novels frequently utilize common science-fiction themes.

In contrast to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, a science fantasy franchise that has sustained considerable recognition within American popular culture and often blends magical/supernatural elements with a logical and forward-thinking method of storytelling, Star Wars possesses a notable mythical dimension alongside its political and scientific components.

Diverging from the protagonists of earlier space-themed sci-fi/fantasy films and television programs, such as Flash Gordon, the heroes of Star Wars are not characterized by militarism but rather by romantic individualism. Academics specializing in literature have noted that the Star Wars saga, with its depiction of the battle between good and evil, democracy and empire, can be viewed as a contemporary national epic for the United States. The movie shares numerous visual and narrative parallels with John Ford's The Searchers, providing insight into the connection between Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker.

George Lucas explained the broad appeal of Star Wars by identifying it as a mythology drawing from age-old psychological themes and fundamental aspects of human nature. Lucas specifically regarded children as the primary target demographic for these narratives. The Star Wars movies exhibit considerable similarities to Japanese Jidaigeki films, as well as Roman mythology. Lucas has stated that his aim was to establish a contemporary mythology through Star Wars, informed by the research of his associate and mentor Joseph Campbell. He has also described the initial movie's resemblance to The Hidden Fortress (by Akira Kurosawa) as an "homage."

The Star Wars films depict a universe filled with dirt and technology that appears aged and well-used, contrasting with the pristine, futuristic settings typical of previous science-fiction movies. In interviews, Lucas recounted how he applied dirt to the new props to give them a worn appearance. Lucas may have drawn inspiration from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western films of the 1960s, which had a similar effect on the Western genre much earlier. It is plausible to suggest that this divergence from traditional science-fiction cinema had an impact on the cyberpunk genre that gained prominence around 1984.

Officially licensed Star Wars books have been in circulation since the premiere of the original film in 1977. While these books are licensed by Lucas (implying that he receives a portion of the royalties), he maintains ultimate creative authority over the Star Wars universe. This compels Lucas Licensing to dedicate substantial and ongoing efforts to ensure consistency among the works of different authors and Lucas' films. Occasionally, aspects from these books are integrated into the highest level of Star Wars canon, namely the films. Books, games, and narratives that are not directly derived from the nine Star Wars movies are categorized as the Extended or Expanded Universe (EU). Lucas has indicated that he does not actively engage with the EU, opting instead to focus primarily on his films rather than "…the licensing world of the books, games and comic books."

The original Star Wars from 1977 (A New Hope) and its initial follow-up, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), have been chosen for preservation within the United States National Film Registry.

In 1978, Lucas initiated legal proceedings against the creators of Battlestar Galactica due to its similarities to Star Wars. The case was dismissed in 1980 by a U.S. Federal judge, who found it to be without merit.

The central storyline of Star Wars, referred to as the The Skywalker Saga, came to a close in 2019 with the debut of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. Nevertheless, the Star Wars franchise persists and is progressing beyond the narrative of the original saga, with shows like The Mandalorian and the forthcoming initiative known as the Star Wars: The High Republic.

While George Lucas had garnered recognition among certain industry insiders for his contributions at USC, it wasn't until the premiere of American Graffiti in August of 1973 that he achieved widespread fame. The film generated over $115 million in box office revenue and, in terms of profit per dollar, was the most lucrative film in Hollywood history at that time. Lucas' share of the profits from Graffiti amounted to over $7 million. Lucas had now become a millionaire and one of the most sought-after young directors globally.

Alan Ladd, Jr., who was then the head of Twentieth Century Fox, had the opportunity to view a smuggled copy of American Graffiti prior to its theatrical release. He was determined that Fox would be the next studio to capitalize on Lucas' brilliance.

Fans, critics, and George Lucas himself have suggested a multitude of influences on the Star Wars films. Lucas has acknowledged that the plot and characters in the 1958 Japanese film The Hidden Fortress, directed by Akira Kurosawa, served as a significant source of inspiration. Furthermore, the film influenced Lucas to narrate the Star Wars story from the perspective of the humble droids, rather than a central character. It also played a role in the conception of Darth Vader, whose iconic black helmet was intentionally designed to resemble a samurai helmet.

George Lucas has frequently stated that his initial concept for the project that evolved into Star Wars was to remake the Flash Gordon movie serials from the 1930s (a "serial" being a movie presented in weekly segments of approximately 10-20 minutes each). However, the rights to Flash Gordon were unavailable, so Lucas shifted to other ideas, starting with Akira Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress and then Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Despite the changes in plot, the Star Wars films are still replete with influences from the Flash Gordon movie serials, including the conflict between the Rebels and the Imperial Forces, Cloud City, and even the famous "roll up" that initiates the movie.

The second primary direction for Star Wars (as outlined in the 1973 synopsis) was to employ the "vocabulary" of Flash Gordon to create a space-based rendition of Akira Kurosawa's Samurai films, particularly Kakushi toride no san akunin (The Hidden Fortress, 1958), Yojimbo (1961), and Tsubaki Sanjūrō (Sanjuro, 1962). Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces ultimately provided Lucas with a third and final major narrative direction, but numerous elements from Kurosawa's work remain, including the two quarreling peasants (who evolved into the droids) and the queen who frequently swaps places with her handmaiden. The Darth Vader-like villainous general who experiences a change of heart at the end wears a kamon (a Japanese family crest) that bears a strong resemblance to the Japanese Imperial Crest.

Lucas had already completed two drafts of Star Wars when he rediscovered Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces in 1975 (having previously read it in college). This framework for "The Hero's Journey" provided Lucas with the focus necessary to consolidate his expansive imaginary universe into a cohesive narrative. Campbell demonstrates in his book that all stories are variations of the same fundamental story-pattern, which he termed the Hero's Journey or the monomyth.

Lucas has frequently cited The Lord of the Rings series as a significant influence on Star Wars. Lucas learned from Tolkien how to effectively handle the delicate elements of myth. Tolkien posited that myth and fairytale appear to be the most effective means of conveying morality – providing guidance for distinguishing between right and wrong – and that this may indeed be their primary function. Lucas has also acknowledged in interviews that the Gandalf and Witch-king characters in the Lord of the Rings influenced the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader characters, respectively.

Numerous myths surround the writing of Star Wars, many of which have been perpetuated by Lucasfilm and George Lucas himself. Author Michael Kaminski endeavored to set the record straight in his book The Secret History of Star Wars, as did Jonathan Rinzler in The Making of Star Wars, both of which were released in 2007.

Lucas' initial concept was a daring space adventure film. He stated that "the film was a good concept in search of a story." He initially attempted to have a child acquire the rights to remake Flash Gordon, but was unsuccessful.

In 1971, United Artists agreed to produce American Graffiti and Star Wars as part of a two-picture deal, although they would later reject Star Wars in its early conceptual stages. Graffiti was produced first, and upon its completion in 1973, Lucas commenced work on his space adventure film. In early 1973, Lucas penned a concise summary titled "The Journal of the Whills," which recounted the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando under the tutelage of the legendary Mace Windy.

Frustrated by the complexity of his narrative, Lucas authored a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars, which was loosely based on the structure of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough-draft screenplay, which incorporated elements such as the Sith and the Death Star, and once again featured a young boy as the protagonist, named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas implemented significant simplifications and also introduced the young hero on a farm, renaming him Luke instead of Annikin. Luke/Annikin's father remained an active character in the story at this point, portrayed as a wise Jedi knight, and "the Force" evolved into a supernatural power. The subsequent draft eliminated the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi. By 1976, a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was initially titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's last name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and, ultimately, Star Wars.

At this juncture, Lucas envisioned the film as a standalone entry—the fourth draft underwent subtle alterations to make it more satisfying as a self-contained film that concluded with the destruction of the Empire, as the Death Star was purported to achieve. This may have been a consequence of the frustrating challenges Lucas encountered during pre-production. However, in earlier periods, Lucas had conceived of the film as the inaugural installment in a series of adventures. The second draft featured a teaser for a never-produced sequel centered around "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft several months later, Lucas had negotiated a contract that granted him the rights to produce two sequels. Shortly thereafter, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster and commissioned him to write these two sequels as novels. The intention was that if Star Wars proved successful—and if Lucas felt inclined—the novels could be adapted into screenplays. By this point, he had also developed a fairly detailed backstory, although it was not intended for filming but rather served as background information. "The backstory wasn't meant to be a movie," Lucas has stated.

When Star Wars achieved success, surpassing all previous records at the time, Lucas resolved to leverage the film as a foundation for an elaborate serial, although he contemplated abandoning the series altogether. However, Lucas aspired to establish an independent filmmaking center—which would later become Skywalker Ranch—and recognized an opportunity to utilize the series as a means of financing it. Alan Dean Foster had already commenced writing the sequel as a novel, but Lucas opted to disregard it for filming and instead create more elaborate film sequels. The book was subsequently released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following year. Initially, Lucas envisioned an unlimited number of sequels, akin to the James Bond series, and in an interview with Rolling Stone in August of 1977, he expressed his desire for his friends to direct them and provide unique interpretations of the series. He also mentioned that the backstory involving Darth Vader's descent to the dark side, the murder of Luke's father, and the battle between Vader and Ben Kenobi on a volcano during the fall of the Republic would make for an excellent sequel. Later that year, Lucas enlisted sci-fi author Leigh Brackett to co-write "Star Wars II" with him. They engaged in story conferences together, and by late November of 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment titled The Empire Strikes Back. The story closely resembled the final film, with the exception that Darth Vader did not reveal that he was Luke's father. In the initial draft that Leigh Brackett would write based on this treatment, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.

Around this time, Lucas had assigned a numeric value to the number of sequels, revealing to Time magazine in March 1978 that there would be a total of twelve films. This information was subsequently disseminated in the official Star Wars fan club newsletter, Bantha Tracks. The selection of 12 was likely influenced by its tradition in serial episodes.

Brackett completed her first draft of The Empire Strikes Back in early 1978. Lucas expressed his disappointment with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she passed away from cancer. With no writer available, Lucas was compelled to write the second draft himself. It was here that Lucas finally utilized the "Episode" designation in the film—The Empire Strikes Back was designated as Episode II. As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the initial draft likely prompted Lucas to consider alternative directions for the narrative. It was in this draft that he introduced a new plot twist: Darth Vader declares that he is Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, in contrast to the year-long struggles encountered during the creation of the first film, and he swiftly wrote two additional drafts within the same month—April of 1978—both of which retained the new Vader-as-father plot point. He further intensified this darker ending by imprisoning Han Solo in carbonite and leaving him in a state of limbo.

This new storyline, in which Vader is Luke's father, had profound implications for the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is improbable that this plot point had been seriously considered prior to 1978, or even conceived of before then, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternative storyline in which Vader was distinct from Luke's father. There is not a single reference to the Vader-as-father plot point prior to 1978. Following the second and third drafts of The Empire Strikes Back, in which Lucas first introduced this point, he reviewed the new backstory he had created: Annikin Skywalker is Ben Kenobi's brilliant student, has a child (Luke), but is swayed to the dark-side by the Emperor (who was now a Sith and not just a politician), battles Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and is wounded but resurrected as Darth Vader; meanwhile, Kenobi hides Luke on Tatooine while the Republic transforms into the Empire and Vader has hunted down the Jedi Knights. With this revised backstory, Lucas decided to film this as a trilogy—repositioning The Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the subsequent draft. Lawrence Kasdan, who had recently completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then enlisted to write the subsequent drafts, with additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz perceived the film as a more serious and mature work, which was facilitated by the new, darker storyline, and steered the series far from its light adventure roots of just a year prior.

Around this time, Lucas had also conceived of a third trilogy, which would take place twenty years after Episode VI.

By the time of writing Episode VI—Revenge of the Jedi, as it was then known—in 1981, much had transpired. The production of The Empire Strikes Back had been stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was deteriorating. Exhausted and unwilling to produce any more Star Wars films, he vowed to conclude the series, as he explicitly stated in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts of Revenge of the Jedi depicted Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft," Vader was transformed into a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was once again enlisted to take over, and in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and ultimately unmasked. This character transformation would serve as a springboard for the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline in the prequels.

Since the majority of major film production houses no longer maintained in-house special-effects departments, or because they believed that American audiences had lost interest in movies that weren't realistic, George Lucas was compelled to establish one independently. Ultimately, he assembled a team of special-effects experts and model builders, resulting in the creation of Industrial Light & Magic. This team operated out of a less-than-desirable, confined workspace in a neglected area of Van Nuys. Lucas himself procured used equipment at very low prices.

Simultaneously, George Lucas was in the process of casting actors for Star Wars. Defying the counsel of his friend Francis Ford Coppola, who had chosen established stage and screen actors for The Godfather, Lucas opted for a cast of relatively unknown performers. Numerous actors and actresses auditioned for the three leading roles: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. While established figures such as Burt Reynolds and Jodie Foster were considered, Lucas eventually selected Mark Hamill, a 25-year-old actor with primarily television experience, for the role of Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher, the 19-year-old daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, as Princess Leia. Harrison Ford was initially deemed unsuitable for the part of Han Solo due to his prior collaboration with Lucas on American Graffiti, but he eventually won Lucas over after assisting the other auditioning actors and actresses with their lines, thus securing the role.

Following the selection of the primary cast, Lucas needed to find performers to embody the film's two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. While ILM had constructed some quaint remote-controlled robots, these roles necessitated living actors. This led to the casting of Kenny Baker, a comedian who stood at three feet tall. His diminutive stature and the fact that children were unable to operate the heavy machine led to him being cast as R2-D2. Anthony Daniels, on the other hand, initially declined the role of C-3PO, but after viewing a sketch of C-3PO by Ralph McQuarrie, he immediately desired the part and was subsequently cast. Lucas eventually discovered Peter Mayhew, an Australian native who stood over seven feet tall, making him the ideal size for Han Solo's towering Wookiee companion, Chewbacca. With the entire cast assembled, Lucas commenced production on Star Wars in the middle of 1976.

The actors and production team of Star Wars commenced principal photography in Tunisia, North Africa, where temperatures soared to 105 degrees by mid-morning. Many members of the cast and crew considered the film to be a joke, and in addition to issues with props and equipment, Tunisia experienced its heaviest rainfall in years during filming. Throughout these challenges, Alec Guinness, the Academy Award-winning actor cast as the wise mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, maintained a positive outlook and served as an inspiration to the cast. The only positive aspect was that following the shoot in Africa, the team would move to a more controlled environment, Elstree Studios in London, for further filming.

After completing filming in Africa, the entire Star Wars cast and crew finally convened to film the action sequences on the Death Star battle station. Simultaneously, the problems at ILM were even more severe than those encountered during filming. Lucas ultimately found himself needing to oversee operations at ILM daily, which nearly led to him suffering a heart attack. Meanwhile, Fox studios, having grown weary of George Lucas and his "kid's movie," requested that Alan Ladd, Jr. terminate the project. Instead, Alan informed Lucas that he had only a few weeks to finish filming or risk the failure of his movie. The final, climactic scenes were completed hastily, with Lucas rushing from soundstage to soundstage. Eventually, the film was completed, and the process of editing and refining it began.

Upon viewing the initial cut of his film, Lucas was appalled. Adding to his distress, he had to dismiss his editor. Fortunately, his replacements (including his then-wife Marcia) significantly improved the film, but Lucas still insisted on reshooting certain scenes. This, among other factors, compelled Fox to postpone the release date from Christmas 1976 to the summer of 1977. After screening the film without its musical score for some of his acquaintances, only Steven Spielberg, who had recently achieved A-list director status with the release of Jaws, expressed enthusiasm for it. However, when Fox executives viewed the film, they were delighted. With his film edited and most of the sound elements completed (and with the assistance of Ben Burtt), Lucas began to consider the film's score. It was Spielberg who recommended John Williams (who had recently composed the score for Jaws). This was regarded as a bold decision, as thematic scores were out of vogue at the time, but Lucas proceeded with it nonetheless.

Following the completion of the score, Lucas commenced marketing his film. However, due to widespread skepticism about its potential success, few were willing to support him. One notable exception was the toy company Kenner Products, which decided to produce a limited number of action figures for the film's release. Ultimately, Lucas's film was released on May 25, 1977, a day that would be forever etched in their memories.

Upon its initial release, Star Wars was screened in a limited number of theaters. Within a month, it was playing in nearly every theater across the country and in hundreds more worldwide. Audiences, particularly children, flocked to see the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia repeatedly. Lines stretched for miles. Kenner, overwhelmed by the demand, exhausted its toy inventory by early fall of the film's release year, leading to the infamous "Empty Box" scheme. Fox's stock price soared. Merchandise sold rapidly, and Lucas amassed considerable wealth. Star Wars' theatrical run concluded in early 1978, having grossed over 260 million dollars, making it the highest-grossing film in history at that time. It was re-released over the subsequent 20 years, adding an additional 220 million to its overall total. Currently, it holds the position of the second-highest American grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation), surpassed only by Gone with the Wind.

Star Wars received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won 6. The nominations alone demonstrated to Fox and Lucas, who had always believed it, that the film was not merely a "kids' film."

In 1978, George Lucas, now a millionaire, began adapting his screenplays for Episodes V and VI into films, as he was already developing the concept of a "trilogy of trilogies," with Star Wars intended as only Episode IV, despite later claims to the contrary. In early 1978, Lucas commenced work on Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars was also renamed Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. However, this time Lucas left the Director's Guild, and Irvin Kershner took over as director, with Lucas serving as producer. Filming commenced in mid to late 1978, with the scenes set on the snowy planet of Hoth being shot in Norway. However, as if under a curse, Norway experienced its worst snowstorm in years during filming. Mark Hamill, who was still recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident, filmed a scene in the snow while the crew remained indoors. After the Norway shoot concluded, the next phase of filming shifted to Elstree Studios.

Because Lucas wanted this movie to be grander and more impressive than Star Wars, more sets were constructed, and new characters were introduced, including the first black Star Wars character, Lando Calrissian, portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, and a 2-foot puppet named Yoda voiced by Frank Oz. It also marked the first kiss between Han Solo and Princess Leia. But the most significant revelation was Darth Vader's disclosure to Luke. Moments before filming that scene, Kershner informed Hamill that Vader was Luke's father. To prevent the major spoiler from leaking, David Prowse, the actor in the Vader suit, was given a different line to utter on set: "Obi-Wan killed your father." When Vader's dialogue was recorded with James Earl Jones, the line was changed to "No. I am your father." (help·info) This line would later ignite the lightsaber duel in Episode VI and all the prequels.

Many anticipated that the sequel would not match the quality of Star Wars, but audiences disagreed. The Empire Strikes Back earned 6.4 million dollars during the weekend of May 21, 1980. It was also considered the darkest Star Wars film until Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was released. However, its domestic gross in the U.S. concluded at 290 million dollars, making it the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie.

Before embarking on the production of Episode VI, Lucas utilized the profits from Star Wars and Empire to establish Skywalker Ranch, a retreat where Lucas's friends could socialize and collaborate on films, primarily Star Wars–related projects. It would be used more extensively during the making of the prequel trilogy.

In early 1982, with Lucas still abstaining from the director's chair, Richard Marquand began filming Revenge of the Jedi. Novel elements introduced in the film included a speeder-bike chase, a second Death Star, and one of the most contentious groups of characters in Star Wars history, the Ewoks. Additionally, to prevent the title of Episode VI from being leaked, the working "title" of the movie was Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination. After filming for Jedi concluded, a few months before the film's release, Lucas changed the title to Return of the Jedi, stating that "revenge was not a quality of the Jedi," although some industry insiders attribute the title's change to Star Trek II : Wrath of Khan being released around the same time and Fox, and possibly Lucas, not wanting audiences confused between the similar titles. The "Revenge" title would eventually be used for Episode III.

After Jedi shattered single- and opening-day box office records on May 25, 1983, six years after the original Star Wars opening, George Lucas's wife divorced him, leaving him to raise their children. Subsequently, Lucas established several Lucasfilm companies, including THX Sound and Picture, Pixar Animation Studios (which would later be sold to Disney), and various others. In May 1987, a decade after the first movie's release, Lucas announced a second trilogy and hinted at a third. In mid-1996, with the necessary technology available, Lucas began refining the Star Wars movies according to his vision, adding new scenes and modifications along with THX Sound and superior picture quality.

Beginning with Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the Star Wars Expanded Universe saw a gradual increase in novels, comic strips, and television specials.

Nearly a decade after the release of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars merchandise sales had come to a standstill. To reignite interest and capitalize on the success of other franchises in books, Bantam Spectra and Lucas Licensing planned a four-year publishing initiative that would include several Star Wars novels.

It was 1991's Heir to the Empire that ignited the success of the initial wave of new novels and signaled a resurgence in Star Wars publishing. The Thrawn Trilogy by Hugo Award–winning author Timothy Zahn would become one of the most popular science-fiction series to date, and introduced some of the Expanded Universe's best-known characters, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Gilad Pellaeon. Bantam would continue to publish numerous books across various eras, leading to the use of era markers after Bantam was sold to Del Rey.

However, books were only the beginning. In the same year as Zahn's success, Dark Horse Comics released Star Wars: Dark Empire, the first serious Star Wars graphic novel. It, too, would be followed by numerous comic series.

Star Wars video and computer games also contributed to the Expanded Universe, but the 1996 Shadows of the Empire multimedia campaign marked a pivotal moment. The simultaneous release of a novel, video game, comics, soundtrack, toys, and other promotional tie-ins set the standard that would later be followed for the merchandising efforts of the prequel trilogy and expanded upon for the Clone Wars.

In the 1990s, thanks to ILM's technological advancements, George Lucas aimed to refine his Star Wars films and began modifying them to realize his initial vision for the films. New scenes were incorporated, though some minor aesthetic alterations sparked controversy among fans. Nonetheless, some fans appreciated other modifications.

After getting a divorce in 1983 and losing much of his wealth, Lucas had no desire to revisit Star Wars and had informally canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi. However, the prequels, which were quite developed, remained fascinating to him. After Star Wars regained popularity, following Dark Horse's comic line and Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy novels, Lucas realized that a substantial audience still existed. His children were growing older, and with the rise of CG technology, he considered returning to directing. By 1993, it was announced, in Variety and other sources, that he would produce the prequels. He began outlining the story, now suggesting that Anakin Skywalker would be the protagonist rather than Ben Kenobi and that the series would be a tragic one examining his transformation to evil. He also began to alter the prequels' relationship to the originals—initially, they were intended to "fill in" history, providing backstory that existed parallel or tangential to the originals, but he began to see that they could form the beginning of a long story: starting with Anakin's childhood and ending with Anakin's death. This was the final step in transforming the franchise into a "Saga."

In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay, titled Episode I: The Beginning. Initially, the plan was to write and film all three prequels simultaneously, but this was changed, possibly because the writing process took longer than anticipated. Although Lucas initially intended for others to write and direct, he continued writing on his own and eventually decided to direct the film himself. In 1999, Lucas announced that he would direct the next two films as well and began working on Episode II at that time. The first draft of this was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish his draft. Unsure of a title, Lucas jokingly called the film Jar Jar's Big Adventure. By this point, the backstory had undergone significant changes—Ben Kenobi had discovered Anakin as an adult in Episode I's first draft, but he was changed to be a young student, and Anakin a child, and in Episode II, the Clone Wars were decided to be a personal manipulation of Palpatine's. At the time of the original trilogy, Lucas had many ideas for this war: in The Empire Strikes Back, it was decided that Lando was a clone and came from a planet of clones that caused a war, but later a different version was decided wherein "Shocktroopers," including Boba Fett, waged war against the Republic from a distant galaxy but were then repelled by the Jedi Knights.

Lucas began working on Episode III even before Attack of the Clones was released, suggesting to concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles. However, as he reviewed the storyline that summer, he says he radically re-organized the plot. Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and Dooku killed by Anakin as a first act towards the dark side. Lucas' first draft was written in 2003 and is largely similar to the film, though much simplified. After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, rewriting his entire turn to the dark side—he would now turn out of a quest to save Padmé from dying, rather than the previous version where that was one of many reasons and genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental rewrite was accomplished through editing and many new and revised scenes filmed in additional pick-ups in 2004.

George Lucas has often exaggerated the amount of material he had written for the series, most of these exaggerations stemming from the post-1978 period where the film grew into a true phenomenon. Lucasfilm often indicated that he had written twelve stories to be filmed, and Lucas was quick to tell how Star Wars was always Episode IV that was meant as a middle chapter. Lucas also began to claim that Darth Vader's parentage of Luke and redemption was always a major part of his plan from early on, and even that this was his very first script or treatment. As Jonathan Rinzler and Michael Kaminski show, this is demonstrably false. Kaminski rationalizes that these exaggerations are part publicity device and part security measure—with the series and story radically changing throughout the years, Lucas would emphasize that its current embodiment was the original intention; with the series previously existing as different and often contradictory forms, this makes audiences view the material only from the perspective that Lucas wishes them to view the material, and it also may protect against outrage that such a popular storyline was being changed post-release after being cherished by so many.

Information on the screenplays comes from many sources. Most of the drafts of Star Wars were leaked to the public in 1977 and have circulated since then. 1987's Annotated Screenplays thoroughly documented the early drafts of the trilogy, and Rinzler's The Making of Star Wars supplemented this info with even more detail, including drafts which had not yet been publicly leaked, as well as Lucas' personal notes. Information on the prequel scripts is comparatively more scarce, but a number of making-of books give insight into the writing process and early drafts. The prequels' drafts are largely similar to the final films due to Lucas exploring ideas in the art department rather than on paper.

In 1994, George Lucas started writing his prequel trilogy, which was slated for production in the following years. By 1997, production had begun on Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Lucas would return to Tunisia, Africa and face similar challenges as his Star Wars past resurfaced. However, this time Lucas filmed all non-location photography in Leavesden Studios, England.

After wrapping up filming, Lucas began finalizing the special effects and other details. This would be his last film shot on traditional film. Meanwhile, as Lucas was finishing his film, the first Star Wars: Celebration took place, commemorating the release of Episode I and recurring for Episodes II and III.

Following the film's release on May 19, 1999, Lucas promptly began writing Episode II while The Phantom Menace shattered box-office records, earning over 900 million dollars worldwide, despite negative reviews and reactions to the acting and overall appearance of characters, particularly the widely criticized Jar Jar Binks.

Filming for Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones began at Fox Studios, Sydney, Australia, featuring new actors such as Hayden Christensen and the return of the now-famous Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, along with a fully digitized Yoda.

However, upon the film's release, many criticized Lucas's love scenes and dialogue, as well as Hayden's portrayal of a "whiny" Anakin. It became the first Star Wars film not to be the top-grossing film of the year, ranking only fourth globally (second to Spider-Man in North America).

In late 2002, Lucas began writing the screenplay for his final Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which would be the darkest Star Wars film. Anakin embraces the dark side, the Jedi Order is destroyed, and Palpatine becomes Emperor. The completion of the last scene and the cast's departure, anticipating the premiere in May 2005, would be a poignant moment.

The film garnered praise from both critics and fans. Revenge of the Sith broke midnight, opening, three-day, and five-day records, becoming the fastest film to reach $100 million and $300 million. It has grossed $848 million to date and became the second-highest-grossing film of 2005 in a year of box-office disappointments.

After finishing the prequels, Lucas began working on various Star Wars projects, including a new Clone Wars animated series, a live-action series, and a 3D conversion of all six films. The Clone Wars premiered in late 2008, and The Phantom Menace was released in theaters in 3D on February 10, 2012. However, the live-action series was put on hold due to budgetary issues.

George Lucas announced his retirement from filmmaking in January 2012, citing the birth of his daughter, his age relative to the decade he estimated it would take to produce any potential sequel trilogy, his plans to build a museum, his desire for hands-on control, and his desire to enjoy his life as his reasons. While in New York for The Daily Show, Lucas had lunch with veteran producer and filmmaker Kathleen Kennedy, asking her if she would serve as co-chair of Lucasfilm with the intention of transferring leadership to her entirely after roughly one year. On June 1, 2012, Kennedy began her tenure at Lucasfilm, and Lucas proposed that they begin work on the sequel trilogy. At this time, Lucasfilm began early development on Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, hiring Michael Arndt to begin work on Episode VII with Lawrence Kasdan as a consultant.

After considering directing Episode VII himself, Lucas and his company entered into negotiations with The Walt Disney Company and CEO Robert Iger in June 2012, with negotiations ongoing for five months. Lucas ensured that vital Lucasfilm personnel would remain and was initially hesitant to lose control over the new Star Wars films but had his fears reassured. Lucasfilm's acquisition was announced on October 30, 2012, for which Disney paid Lucas USD $4.05 billion. As part of the announcement, Disney revealed that it would be producing the sequel trilogy and new films.

On November 9, 2012, Lucasfilm confirmed that pre-production began on Episode VII and that Michael Arndt would write the script. Arndt worked on the Episode VII script throughout 2013, and at some point, Lucas's story outlines for the sequels were set aside. A writer's room was assembled, including Arndt, Kiri Hart, Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy, and Simon Kinberg.

As Lucasfilm was in the process of creating the script for Episode VII, work commenced in 2013 on two Star Wars-themed expansions for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Star Wars Rebels, a fresh animated series, was initially revealed on March 11, 2013, as a yet-to-be-named animated show intended to take the place of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. By May 2013, production had been in progress for quite some time, and pre-production for the first season wrapped up by December of that year.

Concurrently, scriptwriting for Episode VII proceeded for several months with minimal headway. Abrams characterized these sessions as a collection of ideas and outlines, involving "a lot of cards on the wall, a lot of writing on whiteboards." Ultimately, Arndt was taken off the project, and Kasdan was tapped to collaborate with Episode VII director J.J. Abrams on a revised script in November 2013. By January 2014, Abrams and Kasdan had crafted a script, though they were still refining crucial story details even after filming began in May of that year, given the intense pressure to deliver the script quickly. The previous month, in April, saw the commencement of preliminary filming.

By March 2014, the complete first season of Star Wars Rebels had been outlined, with Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman serving as executive producers. On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm made the announcement that the Star Wars Expanded Universe would be rebranded as Star Wars Legends, effective immediately. From that point onward, the only Star Wars content recognized as official and current canon comprised the original six Star Wars films, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, select content from the StarWars.com website, certain exceptions, and future releases. Certain material was excluded, remaining as stories within Star Wars Legends, such as the expansions for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, that were yet to be finalized. The Lucasfilm Story Group was established to ensure consistency in storytelling across all upcoming material. Simultaneously, new projects, including novels and games, were announced.

On May 22, 2014, Lucasfilm revealed that Gareth Edwards and Gary Whitta would be developing a standalone Star Wars film, marking the first installment in the Star Wars Anthology Series. Star Wars Rebels debuted with four short films on August 11, 2014, with the initial two episodes combined into a single movie titled Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion on October 3. The day before, on October 2, Lucasfilm confirmed that Disney XD had ordered a second season of Rebels. The season concluded with thirteen additional episodes, culminating in the finale on March 2, 2015. Several months prior, principal photography for the first sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, concluded on November 6, 2014.

On March 12, 2015, Lucasfilm announced that the standalone film would be titled Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and would be released on December 16 of the following year. It was also announced that Rian Johnson would both write and direct the next installment in the Star Wars saga, Episode VIII. Star Wars Rebels Season Two premiered with a TV movie consisting of the first two episodes, Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal. This film was broadcast on June 20, 2015. On July 7, 2015, Lucasfilm announced that Christopher Miller and Phil Lord would direct a second standalone film centered on the iconic Han Solo. Principal photography for Rogue One commenced in August in London. The remaining episodes of Rebels' second season were broadcast weekly starting on October 14 of that year. The third season of Star Wars Rebels was announced on November 30.

By this point, The Force Awakens was being heavily promoted in anticipation of its release on December 18, 2015. Industry reports indicated that The Force Awakens had an estimated production cost of $200 million USD, eventually grossing $2.069 billion USD by the conclusion of its initial theatrical run in early 2016, making it the highest-grossing Star Wars film. Shortly thereafter, principal photography for Episode VIII began in February. The second season of Star Wars Rebels concluded on March 30, 2016, with the episode "Twilight of the Apprentice."

Celebration Europe took place in London from July 15 to July 17. On July 22, principal photography for Episode VIII wrapped up. Adhering to the established pattern, the first two episodes of Rebels Season Three were released as a film titled Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow, which premiered on September 24, 2016. The episodes then began airing weekly on October 1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released in the United Kingdom on December 15, followed by its general release the next day, December 16. Rogue One's initial theatrical run ended in early 2016, with the film earning $1.056 billion USD worldwide against a reported $200 million USD budget.

On January 23, 2017, the title for Episode VIII of the Star Wars saga was revealed as The Last Jedi. On March 3, the fourth season of Star Wars Rebels was confirmed, with the third season concluding on March 25 with the two-part episode special "Zero Hour." Celebration Orlando, the largest Star Wars Celebration event with 70,000 attendees, was held from April 13 to April 16. The event commemorated the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, featuring appearances by George Lucas, John Williams, and numerous others, alongside various panels and events. On April 15, Filoni screened the TV film premiere of Rebels Season Four, Star Wars Rebels: Heroes of Mandalore, for Celebration attendees. On September 21, 2017, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson announced that post-production on the film was complete. The Rebels Season Four film was subsequently released on October 16, with the regular season airing weekly starting on October 23.

Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi premiered on December 15, 2017, although it was released earlier in select territories on December 13. The film grossed $1.332 billion USD against a $317 million USD budget by the end of its initial release, which concluded in early January of 2018. The Last Jedi garnered widespread critical acclaim, according to various polling sites and film reviews. Reportedly, George Lucas enjoyed the film, describing it as "beautifully made." Audience reception was also largely positive, although online user-generated reviews, which lacked controlled sampling, contained a greater proportion of negative scores. The film faced considerable backlash on social media, dividing the Star Wars fanbase and contributing to online toxicity.

Solo: A Star Wars Story was released on May 25, 2018. Ron Howard directed, and Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan wrote it. The third film in the trilogy, marketed as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, was released on December 20, 2019. Abrams directed, and Chris Terrio & Abrams wrote it, from a story by Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow and Terrio & Abrams.

Another installment in the Star Wars Anthology Series was announced on June 4, 2014, with Josh Trank slated to direct. The film was reported to center on the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and the group of bounty hunters from The Empire Strikes Back. Originally planned for announcement at a panel during Celebration Anaheim on April 19, 2015, the focus was instead shifted to the upcoming Rogue One film. However, on May 1, 2015, Lucasfilm announced Trank's departure from the second Anthology film. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy noted that the film was one Lucasfilm intended to continue developing but had postponed. Solo: A Star Wars Story was moved up to release in 2018, with Trank's film shifting to 2020. On August 17, 2017, reports indicated that the film would focus on Obi-Wan Kenobi. No film was released in 2020, as Lucasfilm shifted its focus to streaming.

On February 6, 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Game of Thrones creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff were slated to write and create a Star Wars film series, with the duo confirming they would commence work on the project after the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones aired. On August 15, Lucasfilm art director Neil Lamont revealed that a film featuring Tatooine was in development but was ultimately canceled. On February 10, 2019, reports indicated that the film series was a trilogy, with Benioff and Weiss collaborating with The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson as he developed his own Star Wars trilogy. On May 7, Disney announced that the next three Star Wars films would be released in 2023, 2025, and 2027. On October 28, it was reported that Benioff and Weiss had left the project to focus on new projects for Netflix.

Before Disney acquired Lucasfilm, George Lucas was developing Star Wars: Underworld, a live-action Star Wars series planned for one hundred episodes. However, the level of quality Lucas desired proved too expensive to achieve as a live-action series, leading to its abandonment in 2012. In 2017, Disney tasked Lucasfilm with making another attempt at producing live-action television series to support its upcoming Disney+ streaming service and compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

President Kathleen Kennedy's main goal was to launch a new era of films with the sequel trilogy. While the films made billions at the box office, the inconsistent narrative was clear and led to what was called "the hiatus," a pause in Star Wars film planning announced in early 2019, months before the sequel trilogy's final chapter was released. This was so Lucasfilm could reorganize. Kennedy said that the company knew this was a new chapter and that they all needed to work together to build the architecture for the future. Lucasfilm had been releasing one film per year with the Star Wars anthology films, so Kennedy stopped the annual deadlines and wanted to rethink goals. Kennedy believed that Star Wars needed more professional dedication from filmmakers. Kennedy noted that anyone entering the Star Wars universe needed to understand it was a three- to five-year commitment requiring nurturing. Kennedy felt that their series had to feel as big as the films to prepare for Disney+. As a result, Kennedy turned to Jon Favreau.

Favreau, who had worked with Disney on the groundbreaking visual effects films The Jungle Book and The Lion King, was always very interested in Star Wars as Kennedy understood. Favreau had previously played a Mandalorian animated character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Because of this, Kennedy first approached Favreau for this new era, and he showed that he was not only interested but also had an idea. For Kennedy, Favreau met her new criteria: his sole focus was being committed to Star Wars. After meeting in Kennedy's office, Favreau started working without a contract, and by the time he was hired, he had already written the first four episodes for his series about a lone gunslinging Mandalorian. At the same time, Lucasfilm executive Dave Filoni approached Kennedy, wanting a series about the Mandalorians to explore ideas never fully realized when developing The Clone Wars with George Lucas. Filoni began playing a critical role in Lucasfilm's new TV strategies and was indispensable as he channeled George Lucas. Kennedy had been nurturing his filmmaking ambitions since she arrived in 2012.

Although Favreau and Filoni were friendly, Kennedy feared conflict and arranged a meeting between them. They got along instantly, exchanging ideas and drawings for a Mandalorian show that could combine their ideas. Filoni's knowledge of Mandalorian history mixed well with Favreau's lone gunslinger idea. They also challenged each other, with Favreau's idea for the Child, Grogu, being the biggest point of contention. This paused development, with Filoni having reservations and sketches and concepts being created. There were many looks until Christian Alzmann's sketch made everything click. Additionally, Industrial Light & Magic developed the "Volume" in 2018, a large curved LED wall that envelops a film crew in a photorealistic digital environment.

The technology was unsteady but refined further. In the spring of 2018, legendary filmmaker James Cameron visited while working on the Avatar sequels nearby. Favreau had the team display the test shot done earlier on the monitors. Cameron approached the Volume and approved of how convincing it was. The Volume allowed Lucasfilm to produce The Mandalorian more cost-effectively and in half the time of a Star Wars or Marvel film. The Mandalorian debuted on November 12, 2019, to critical and commercial success, and further seasons were planned. It was one of the most-watched series in 2019, receiving many accolades, being nominated for fifteen Emmy Awards and winning seven. The second season debuted on October 30, 2020, and was nominated for twenty-four Emmy Awards, winning seven. The third season debuted on March 1, 2023.

Before The Mandalorian launched in November 2019, Lucasfilm revealed at the D23 Expo Event in July 2019 that the company was creating Obi-Wan Kenobi, a live-action TV series starring Ewan McGregor returning as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi after the events of Revenge of the Sith. On February 21, 2020, The Final Season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars premiered on Disney+ with twelve episodes, culminating in the finale's release on May 4.

Guillermo del Toro had a Star Wars film in production about Jabba the Hutt's rise to power, but it was eventually cancelled. Announced in Star Wars Celebration Chicago as Project Luminous, Star Wars: The High Republic was revealed in early February 24, 2020, as an expansive multi-media project spanning novels, comics, audio plays, and more, establishing and expanding the High Republic Era set before the prequel films. Split into three phases with three waves each, The High Republic includes dozens of storytelling materials. A new animated spin-off series of The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, was announced on July 13, 2020.

After the success of The Mandalorian and during The Mandalorian Seasons Two's release, Disney held the Disney Investor's Day 2020 event on December 10, showcasing various future projects across the entire company. Kennedy led the Lucasfilm section, revealing many new live-action and animated projects, both films and series. Kennedy announced The Mandalorian spin-off series Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Lando, A Droid Story, Star Wars: Visions, Rogue Squadron, and a film by Taika Waititi. Only eight days after the Investor's Day event on December 18, the finale of the second season of The Mandalorian revealed The Book of Boba Fett, the next chapter in The Mandalorian stories.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiered on May 4, 2021, with the hour-long episode "Aftermath." Starting a season of sixteen episodes, the series focused on Clone Force 99 during the fall of the Galactic Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire. On August 5, a second season of The Bad Batch was confirmed. Later that year, on September 22, Star Wars: Visions premiered with nine short anime films, the first Star Wars project in an anime format.

The Book of Boba Fett released on December 29, 2021, and centered on the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. Before The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm planned to feature the bounty hunter in a feature film developed by James Mangold, but the film was put on hold. Eventually, Favreau and Filoni picked up Boba Fett's story, officially reintroducing the bounty hunter in "Chapter 9: The Marshal" and fully in "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," with the latter episode directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Pleased with Rodriguez's direction on the episode, Favreau brought him on board to executive produce The Book of Boba Fett alongside himself and Filoni. Filming reportedly began by late November 2020 and brought titular characters such as Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker, who had appeared in the second season of The Mandalorian.

In 2017, Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor was invited to the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles for a screening of every Star Wars film. There, they asked McGregor if he would like to participate in introducing a new Star Wars film, and McGregor recalled that he suddenly felt that he really did want to continue being Kenobi. By this time, younger audiences who grew up with the prequel films enjoyed them, and McGregor found himself realizing that he enjoyed playing Obi-Wan. Around this time, McGregor was commonly asked if he would ever consider playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in interviews, which he always answered in the affirmative. In 2018, then Vice President of Development at Lucasfilm Kiri Hart asked McGregor if he was genuine and authentic, to which McGregor recalled that he would be happy to perform as Obi-Wan.

Initially, the plan was to create the new Obi-Wan Kenobi narrative as a motion picture, with Stephen Daldry directing and McGregor serving as an executive producer. Subsequently, the film was reimagined as an Obi-Wan TV show, intended to be a key part of Lucasfilm's fresh initiatives for the Disney+ streaming platform. At that point, Daldry left the project, and Deborah Chow, a director known for her work on The Mandalorian, joined the series' development to ensure it maintained a genuine cinematic feel. Early story drafts didn't include Darth Vader, which sparked a recurring debate within Lucasfilm: To what extent should established characters be utilized, and how much should they be reserved for future use? During the story's development, Lucasfilm deliberated whether incorporating Vader into an Obi-Wan story set after Revenge of the Sith would detract from or enhance their encounter in A New Hope. Michelle Rejwan, Kenobi producer and Senior Vice President of Live Action Development and Production, confirmed that these discussions are standard practice.

In the autumn of 2019, Director Chow approached Hayden Christensen, the actor who portrayed Anakin Skywalker, about potentially reprising his role as Vader in Star Wars, an offer he eventually accepted. While Chow championed a rematch between Vader and Kenobi, reportedly at Dave Filoni's urging, Lucasfilm's Story Group debated whether to pursue this direction. Consequently, soundstages booked in England were canceled, and the narrative underwent further internal review, leading to fan concerns that the show might be axed. By March 2020, the decision to bring Vader back in Obi-Wan Kenobi was officially confirmed.

Around 2019, Diego Luna, the actor who portrayed the Rebel Alliance spy captain Cassian Jeron Andor in Rogue One, received a phone call from Tony Gilroy, who reworked Rogue One's script during reshoots, while Luna was located in Mexico City. During this conversation, Gilroy shared his vision for a new series centered on Andor. Officially unveiled at Investor's Day 2020, Andor had its initial confirmation on November 8, 2018. Filming in London had already commenced by December 3, 2020, and concluded in September 2021. The first season of Andor premiered in the late summer of 2022, with production for the second season already in progress by May of that same year.

Also revealed during Investor's Day 2020 as a spin-off from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka debuted in August 2023. The series, centered around Ahsoka Tano, the titular character first introduced in The Clone Wars, was both written and produced by Dave Filoni. Filoni, who co-created the character with George Lucas, directs the series to focus on the quest to locate Grand Admiral Thrawn after her live-action debut in The Mandalorian and subsequent appearance in The Book of Boba Fett. Filoni clarified that Star Wars: Ahsoka would present a continuous narrative progressing toward a specific objective, rather than a collection of standalone episodic adventures. The commencement of filming for the series took place on May 9, 2022.

As Star Wars enters this new phase, Lucasfilm will require fresh talent, characters, and eras to build upon the existing canonical timeline. One such endeavor is the mystery thriller The Acolyte, which unfolds within the High Republic Era, a period introduced by the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. The first season of The Acolyte began its broadcast in June 2024 and concluded in July 2024. Leslye Headland had been working on The Acolyte since 2020, largely from her own residence. Another new Star Wars series, tentatively titled "Grammar Rodeo," is also being developed at Lucasfilm, with Jon Watts serving as executive producer and Christopher Ford as the writer. Lucasfilm describes this series as a quintessential coming-of-age adventure. The series of animated shorts, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, was initially announced at Celebration Anaheim on April 27, 2022.

Celebration Anaheim kicked off on May 26, triggering a wave of new announcements and details. "Grammar Rodeo" was revealed to be Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Andor premiered its inaugural teaser trailer. On May 27, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was formally announced, accompanied by a teaser.

Given Lucasfilm's shift towards television series, the company's return to cinemas may not replicate the frequent releases of the past. President Kathleen Kennedy mentioned that the company has a strategic outline for their theatrical projects, with the Star Wars film by Krysty Wilson-Cairns and Taika Waititi potentially being the first to debut, followed by Rogue Squadron directed by Patty Jenkins. In May 2022, Kathleen Kennedy verified in an interview with Vanity Fair that Rogue Squadron had been sidelined by Lucasfilm. Despite the announcement of a Star Wars film by Marvel CEO Kevin Feige on October 2, 2019, Kennedy asserted that such a project does not exist.

Reports indicated that J.D. Dillard was developing a new Star Wars film in February 2020, but by November 8, 2022, he disclosed that his Star Wars project was no longer in progress. Furthermore, the trilogy of Star Wars films from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has been postponed, as Johnson remains focused on the multiple Knives Out films for Netflix. Kennedy expressed her reluctance to use the term "trilogies" with Star Wars at present, emphasizing that the franchise is now more about ongoing storytellers, and that she must now enlist feature filmmakers who share her creative vision.

During Celebration Europe, on April 7, 2023, it was revealed that three forthcoming Star Wars films were in development. One film, directed by James Mangold, will explore the origins of the Jedi, set before the events of The Phantom Menace. Another, directed by Dave Filoni, will center on the New Republic era, taking place between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, and will connect the narratives of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. The final film announced will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and will follow Rey as she establishes a new Jedi Order.

The phrase "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…," which opens each Star Wars movie, serves as the sole definition of the Star Wars galaxy in relation to our own world. It evokes the classic fairy tale opening "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…" and similar variations. This may imply that the films should be interpreted as futuristic myths, rather than literal historical accounts. Lucas deliberately kept the details open to individual interpretation.

The saga portrays an "ancient" galactic civilization spanning thousands of years. The setting exists entirely separate from Earth, the Milky Way Galaxy, or reality, thus allowing for greater creative freedom. The Star Wars galaxy prominently features humans resembling those from Earth. According to the Expanded Universe, this civilization achieved space travel, terraforming capabilities, the construction of ecumenopoleis, and the establishment of space colonies as far back as 200,000 years "ago."

The phrase Star Wars originally pertained to the Galactic Civil War depicted in the original trilogy. However, when considering the prequels (which focus on the Invasion of Naboo and the Clone Wars), the sequels (depicting the First Order-Resistance War), and the Expanded Universe, these conflicts represent only a fraction of the millennia-long conflict between the Sith and the Jedi/Galactic Republic.

Star Wars also integrates scientific concepts with supernatural elements, drawing strong parallels to epic narratives and fairy tales (e.g., magic, knights, witches, princes, and "whimsical" alien races such as Ewoks, Wisties, etc.).

While the breadth of Star Wars history encompasses many millennia across all recorded Star Wars lore, and over 36,100 years in all existing fiction (from Dawn of the Jedi to Star Wars: Legacy), the films themselves only span two generations.

Subsequent novels in a series called The New Jedi Order broadened the Star Wars setting by introducing alien entities known as the Yuuzhan Vong, who originated from a different galaxy, which surprised some fans. Prior to this series, virtually all species and events were confined to a single galaxy.

The initial concept for Star Wars emerged in the early 1970s and underwent numerous revisions, yielding a wealth of material for the films. The first Star Wars film (Episode IV) premiered in 1977, but the novelization preceded it by six months, appearing in 1976. The sixth Star Wars film (Episode III) was released in 2005. Originally, the plan was for nine films across three trilogies (with some accounts suggesting twelve films across four trilogies); however, Lucas has stated that he has no plans to produce any further Star Wars films after Episode III.

On October 30, 2012, The Walt Disney Company, concurrent with the announcement of its acquisition of Lucasfilm, revealed intentions to produce a new series of films, commencing with Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens in 2015, along with plans for additional films. George Lucas announced that he would not be directing the films but would serve as a creative consultant.

The original films were primarily filmed at Elstree Studios, among other locations. Episode I was filmed at Leavesden Studios, and the subsequent prequels were filmed in Sydney, Australia. Tunisia served as the filming location for scenes set on the desert planet Tatooine.

Collectively, the first nine films in the main saga have grossed a total of $8,789,255,249 worldwide at the box office. An eighth film, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, was released in 2017, followed by a ninth, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.

Films by release order:

• Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope ( May 25 , 1977 )
• Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back ( May 21 , 1980 )
• Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi ( May 25 , 1983 )
• Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace ( May 19 , 1999 )
• Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones ( May 16 , 2002 )
• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith ( May 19 , 2005 )
• Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens ( December 18 , 2015 )
• Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi ( December 15 , 2017 )
• Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker ( December 20 , 2019 )

George Lucas has consistently refined the original trilogy. For the Special Editions of Episodes IV through VI, the films underwent extensive cleanup and restoration, and Lucas used this opportunity to implement a number of changes, incorporating previously omitted scenes and new effects. The Special Editions were released in theaters in early 1997, and on VHS later that year. Further modifications were made for the films' initial DVD release in September 2004. In 2006, Lucas ultimately released the original trilogy in unaltered form on DVD.

At a ShoWest convention in 2005, George Lucas showcased new technology and announced plans to release all six films in a new 3D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007. While this did not materialize, on September 28, 2010, StarWars.com announced the 3D release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in theaters in 2012.

Despite Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox was to retain original distribution rights to A New Hope, which they co-produced and co-financed, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. Fox was also to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films, which Lucasfilm produced and financed independently, through May 2020, at which time ownership was to transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, was to create an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising all nine films. On December 14, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced that it is acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope.

The Expanded Universe (EU) serves as a continuation of the films, playing a significant role in the overarching storyline. Readers can explore books set during the prequel era, between the films, or after Episode VI. Additionally, several books delve into the lives of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian in the period leading up to the movies. There are even books about the briefly seen Wedge Antilles. Notable characters within the EU include the twins Jaina and Jacen Solo, former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, the pilot-turned-Jedi Corran Horn, and the tactical mastermind Grand Admiral Thrawn.

The books set during or after the Star Wars original trilogy follow Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and other minor characters, as well as the growth of the New Republic. Kathy Tyers's The Truce at Bakura is the first book chronologically set after Return of the Jedi, but the first Expanded Universe story written was Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

Writers in the Expanded Universe often provided context for details in the movies, explaining, for instance, that the scarcity of non-humans within the Galactic Empire (compared to their presence in the Rebellion) stemmed from the xenophobic tendencies of most Imperials.

The earliest Expanded Universe stories chronologically are those in Dawn of the Jedi. Novels such as the Darth Bane Trilogy, The Old Republic: Revan, and Knight Errant feature both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order thousands of years before the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Thousands of years later, series about the training of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Naboo Crisis introduce the characters and situations that form the backbone of the story told in the films. The story then revolves around the Skywalker family and their friends and adversaries. The Skywalkers are involved in every important event from that point forward. They go through numerous wars, the last known being Cade Skywalker and the Second Imperial Civil War.

Star Wars, the NPR radio adaptation (1981), was followed by adaptations of the next two films of the series. These adaptations were written by science-fiction author Brian Daley, who also wrote three novels detailing the adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca prior to their appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

There are six official feature-length works besides the primary films of the three trilogies:

• The Star Wars Holiday Special ( 1978 )
• Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure ( 1984 )
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor ( 1985 )
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars ( 2008 )
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ( 2016 )
• Solo: A Star Wars Story ( 2018 )

The first three of these are live-action, and were originally made for TV, though the 1984 Ewok film was shown in theaters in some locations outside the U.S. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an animated theatrical feature kicking off the 2008 TV series. Rogue One and Solo are live-action standalone films.

The Star Wars Holiday Special gained notoriety for featuring the debut of Boba Fett. A detail that was originally minor, the Wookiee food wookiee-ookiees has evolved into a cult symbol within the Star Wars fan community, resulting in variations on its name like wookiee-cookiees (a Star Wars–themed dessert).

The term "Wookiee hooky" has been used by the media to describe high rates of absenteeism in order to attend a recently released Star Wars film.

Furthermore, other filmmakers unaffiliated with Lucasfilm have created films that pay homage to, document, parody, or informally extend the Star Wars universe.

Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987) serves as a parody of Star Wars and other science-fiction works.

The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards is a contest sponsored by Lucasfilm for short films created by Star Wars fans that are about, reference, or parody the Star Wars phenomenon.

Animated series, presented in order of release, include:

• Star Wars: Droids ( 1985 )
• Ewoks ( 1985 )
• Star Wars: Clone Wars ( 2003 )
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars ( 2008 )
• Star Wars Rebels ( 2014 )
• Star Wars Forces of Destiny ( 2017 )
• Star Wars Resistance ( 2018 )
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch ( 2021 )
• Star Wars: Visions ( 2021 )
• Tales (2022)
• Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures ( 2023 )

Animated television series represent another facet of the Star Wars universe. The initial pair of these emerged in 1985, with Clone Wars following in 2003, The Clone Wars in 2008, Rebels in 2014, Forces of Destiny in 2017, Resistance in 2018, The Bad Batch in 2021 and Tales in 2022. Ewoks chronicled the escapades of the Ewoks leading up to Return of the Jedi. Droids depicted the journeys of C-3PO and R2-D2 in the period between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Animated Series by release order:

• The Mandalorian ( 2019 )
• The Book of Boba Fett ( 2021 )
• Obi-Wan Kenobi ( 2022 )
• Andor ( 2022 )
• Ahsoka ( 2023 )
• The Acolyte ( 2024 )
• Skeleton Crew ( 2024 )

Back in 1984 and 1985, George Lucas took on the role of executive producer for a pair of live-action TV episodes belonging to a brief series known as Ewok Adventures. Set before the Battle of Endor, they trace the experiences of the Towani family after their stranding on Endor. These two installments were named Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, and Warwick Davis reprised his role as the brave Ewok Wicket W. Warrick. A peculiar aspect of this series was Wicket's newfound ability to speak English, a skill he never displayed in Return of the Jedi.

On November 9, 2017, Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, announced the development of a fresh live-action Star Wars television show, titled The Mandalorian. It was slated for release on Disney+, the company's new streaming platform, in 2019.

In addition to The Mandalorian, several other Star Wars television endeavors are being developed for Disney+, including the series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and The Acolyte by Leslye Headland, the mind behind Russian Doll.

Star Wars fiction actually came before the release of the first film. The novelization of A New Hope, penned by Alan Dean Foster (though credited to George Lucas), hit shelves a few months prior to the movie's debut. Foster also crafted the initial original Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which was published in 1978 and marked the beginning of a highly prosperous literary spin-off series.

The six Star Wars films have served as the foundation for over a hundred novels. Lucasfilm has authorized these novels, which were initially published by Bantam Books (with Ballantine handling a few early titles), but Del Rey has since regained the contract. The narratives within these books span from thousands of years before The Phantom Menace to several generations after Return of the Jedi. These Lucas-approved books are penned by enthusiasts of the films and belong to a collection referred to as the Expanded Universe. The first books considered part of the Expanded Universe began to appear in the late 1970s.

The majority of the novels written are set after the events of the films. However, a few take place between the movies, and an increasing number are set before the films. For some fans, these stories can be more captivating, as they offer narratives for numerous characters who only have minor roles, or are only briefly seen, in the movies. One notable example is Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire, which is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In addition to focusing on relatively minor characters, it bridges some events between the two films.

Furthermore, certain elements initially introduced in the Expanded Universe have later been incorporated into the films. These include Coruscant and Aayla Secura.

Beyond narrative books, there are also reference books that delve into details about the Star Wars universe in a nonfiction style, revealing information that wouldn't fit into a story. Examples include The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide, Inside the Worlds of, and the Visual Dictionaries.

Marvel Comics brought out adaptations of the original trilogy, in addition to a Star Wars comic book series that ran from 1977 to 1986, totaling 107 issues and 3 annuals. A diverse range of creators contributed to this series, including Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Walter Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Mary Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. In the 1980s, Marvel, through their Star Comics line aimed at young children, also released the short-lived series Ewoks and Droids, inspired by the Saturday-morning cartoons.

Star Wars also appeared as a daily newspaper comic strip from 1979 to 1984, primarily written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Al Williamson.

From the 1990s onward, Dark Horse Comics has been publishing a substantial number of original stories set within the Star Wars universe. As of 2006, these mainly encompass Star Wars: Republic, Star Wars: Empire, Star Wars Tales, Star Wars: Jedi, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Star Wars: Legacy. Dark Horse has also put out collections of the Marvel series in seven volumes and the comic strip as Classic Star Wars.

Since 1983, over 120 video games have been launched under the Star Wars banner, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which was published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers.

The initial games inspired by the franchise were launched on the Atari 2600. In the first, The Empire Strikes Back (1982), players controlled a snowspeeder during the Battle of Hoth, tasked with destroying AT-AT walkers. Despite its simplicity, the game effectively captured the essence of the movie within the limits of the available technology. Several other games followed, such as Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle (1982), where players piloted the Millennium Falcon on a mission to destroy the second Death Star, and Jedi Arena (1983), the first attempt to simulate a lightsaber duel (clearly inspired by the scene in A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker trains with a seeker). Also in 1983, Star Wars was released, based on A New Hope. In this game, the player assumes the role of Luke Skywalker towards the end of the film, battling through numerous TIE fighters in an attempt to destroy the first Death Star.

The video-game crash of 1983, which decimated the home-console market, led to a hiatus in the release of franchise-based games until 1991. That year, the platformer Star Wars was launched for both the NES and Game Boy. A year later, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back reused the engine with the plotline of the fifth episode of the saga. In 1992, Super Star Wars was released for the SNES (the "Super" prefix was often used in remakes of 8-bit games), followed by the remaining games in the trilogy: Super Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (1993) and Super Star Wars: Return of Jedi (1994).

Other early titles include the game Star Wars for the Nintendo Entertainment System (published by JVC) and three other titles for the Atari 2600.

Video game innovator Atari produced arcade games based on the original trilogy, commencing with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, both flight-simulator-style games that employed vector graphics. The third, Return of the Jedi, utilized more traditional raster graphics and a "3/4" perspective.

Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) marked the arrival of the first PC game of the "new generation" of games released by LucasArts. It revisited the space-fighter combat gameplay that had been absent since the Atari arcade games. Players typically assumed the role of a pilot for the Rebel Alliance, completing various objectives that culminated in the destruction of the Death Star. This game spawned sequels, namely Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance.

The longest-running series of computer games is the groundbreaking Dark Forces series. This first person shooter series began in 1995 with Star Wars: Dark Forces. The next installment was Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, which allowed players to embody a Jedi. The third game in the Dark Forces series, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, placed greater emphasis on a third-person Jedi adventure compared to its predecessors. The fourth and final release was Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, which initially began as an expansion pack for Jedi Outcast but evolved into a standalone game.

Another enduring video-game series commenced with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64 and continued in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for the Nintendo GameCube. The first title was also accessible on PCs, and all were developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts. Rogue Squadron III included emulated versions of the original Atari Star Wars arcade games.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released in 2003, garnered "Game of the Year" accolades from several prominent gaming magazines, websites, and more. A sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, was released for the Xbox in December 2004 and the PC in February 2005. Bioware developed an MMORPG sequel to Knights of the Old Republic I and II called Star Wars: The Old Republic, which was released on December 20, 2011, and set approximately 300 years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic II.

Star Wars Galaxies, an MMORPG developed by Sony, was launched on June 26, 2003, in the United States, November 7 in Europe, December 23, 2004, in Japan, and in 2006 in Australia. The game was set after the events of the Battle of Yavin and allowed players to create characters of various species and specializations (such as Bounty Hunter and Smuggler) and choose to align themselves with the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire.

Star Wars: Battlefront was launched in 2004 and is a first-/third-person shooter game that supports online play. It enables players to participate in both trilogies, as all factions, across diverse battlefields. Its sequels, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, were released in 2005, 2007, and 2009, respectively.

Star Wars: Republic Commando is a tactical shooter computer game featuring the elite commandos of Delta Squad and set during the Clone Wars. It was released on March 1, 2005.

Star Wars: Empire at War, a real-time strategy game, was developed by Petroglyph Games and released on February 16, 2006. An expansion pack, Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, was released in 2007.

LEGO Star Wars is a LEGO spinoff series where the characters of Star Wars and most other vehicles and objects are constructed from LEGO bricks. The second game in the series is LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. The third game, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, combines the first two games. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is a LEGO version of the Clone Wars animated series, taking place during seasons 1 and 2.

Three role-playing games set in the Star Wars universe have been published: a d6-based game from West End Games, a Wizards of the Coast game using the d20 system on which their popular Dungeons & Dragons is based, and a game from Fantasy Flight Games.

The movie casts include well-known actors, such as Sofia Coppola and Keisha Castle-Hughes. Notable supporting roles played by acclaimed actors include Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Oliver Ford Davies. In the prequel trilogy, professional models were cast in the non-speaking minor roles.

The core concept within Star Wars revolves around detachment. George Lucas holds the belief that happiness arises from embracing the entirety of reality's occurrences and practicing compassion by completely relinquishing one's self-centeredness—encompassing the apprehension of losing cherished possessions, indicative of avarice—to cultivate greater selflessness.

Star Wars underscores the detrimental nature of both anger and hatred, encapsulated in Yoda's words ("Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering" (help·info)) as well as setting aside one's feelings for certain people. For instance, Luke Skywalker is instructed to remain on Dagobah to complete his training rather than attempt to rescue his friends from Cloud City, as doing so would "destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Lucas has identified the transformation of a democracy into a dictatorship as the central theme of the saga. He has stated that the saga raises such ideas as the people relinquishing their authority in moments of desperation, and betrayal by their leaders who may believe they are acting justly while compromising freedom. In this vein, Star Wars serves as a cautionary narrative through which Lucas, by his own admission, alerts individuals to the ever-present threat to democracy and freedom, a threat that has manifested throughout history.

The films appear to convey anti-technological sentiments: the primitive Ewoks triumphing over technologically advanced adversaries, and the overarching concept of technology standing in opposition to humanity, aligning with Lucas's vision. Lucas explicitly attributed the Ewoks' victory over the Galactic Empire to the tactics employed by the Vietnamese National Liberation Front (also known as the Vietcong) during the Vietnam War. He also implied in his 1973 draft that the Rebels were similar representations of said theme in the original film.

The primary narrative arc in the films follows the rise, downfall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, mirrored by political events unfolding on a galactic scale. As Anakin succumbs to the dark side, the Republic descends into tyranny and war; when Anakin reclaims the Jedi values of peace and justice, the malevolent Empire that supplanted the Republic is overthrown by the Rebel Alliance.

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