Star Wars radio dramas

A series of radio adaptations that greatly expanded on the original Star Wars trilogy were created in 1981, 1983, and 1996. National Public Radio produced and aired the first two radio programs, which were based on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, as part of the NPR Playhouse program. HighBridge Audio took on the production of the Return of the Jedi adaptation, with the majority of the original team returning and the broadcast occurring on NPR's L.A. Theatre Works.

George Lucas fully supported the creation of these radio serials, and he famously sold the rights to the first Star Wars movie for just one dollar to KUSC-FM, the public radio station linked to his alma mater, the University of Southern California. This arrangement granted the production team complete access to the films' sound effects and musical score. Lucas employed similar deals for the subsequent two films, granting the radio rights for a single dollar each. HighBridge produced recordings of all three adaptations, and Del Rey later published the scripts of the three adaptations as books.

Star Wars

Cast

Due to scheduling conflicts, a lot of the original movie actors could not play their roles again; Harrison Ford, for example, was busy filming the first Indiana Jones film. However, Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels did come back to play Luke Skywalker and C-3PO, respectively.

The supporting cast also featured James Blendick, Clyde Burton, Bruce French, David Alan Grier, Jerry Hardin, John Harkins, Meshach Taylor, Marc Vahanian, John Welsh, and Kent Williams.

The Empire Strikes Back

Cast

Billy Dee Williams came back as Lando Calrissian, and John Lithgow voiced Yoda; Madden was directing Lithgow in Beyond Therapy at the time.

Again, David Alan Grier was part of the supporting cast, along with Sam McMurray, Steven Markle, Stephen D. Newman, John Pielmeier, Geoffrey Pierson, Gary Tacon, and Jerry Zaks.

Return of the Jedi

Cast

While many of the original radio cast returned for this adaptation, Joshua Fardon replaced Mark Hamill as Luke, and Arye Gross took over from Billy Dee Williams as Lando. Ed Begley, Jr. provided the voice for Boba Fett, and Ed Asner made a guest appearance as Jabba the Hutt, only making grunting sounds. Anthony Daniels was the only actor to appear in both the movies and all three radio dramas.

The supporting cast featured various performers, including Rick Hall, Andrew Hawkes, Sherman Howard, Karl Johnson, John Kapelos, Ron Le Paz, Joe Liss, Paul Mercier, Steven Petrarca, Jonathan Penner, Gil Segel, Nia Vardalos and Ron West.

Other broadcasts and releases

  • A number of radio promos, scenes that were cut, and extra music tracks are available; these came from earlier releases of this collection and the NPR broadcast versions.
  • BBC Radio 1 aired the series in the UK, but a crucial scene in the last episode was awkwardly cut to fit the time constraints.
  • All three series have been made available on both cassette tape and CD.

Canonicity and continuity

The earliest statements regarding Star Wars canon, which were made in 1994 in A Guide to the Star Wars Universe and Star Wars Insider 23, gave the radio dramas and novelizations a special place alongside the films, considering them all as official standards for what existed within the Star Wars universe. In 2000, Lucasfilm changed the canon structure, designating the films alone as the highest level, "G-canon." Since then, any content in the radio dramas that goes beyond the events depicted in the movies has been part of the Expanded Universe, which was rebranded as Star Wars Legends in 2014.

Media

Editions

Cover gallery

Sources

Notes and references

External links

  • Star Wars radio drama on HighBridge Audio's official website (backup link)

  • Star Wars: A New Hope Topps Collector's Edition: Light Side radio drama on HighBridge Audio's official website (backup link)

  • Star Wars: A New Hope Topps Collector's Edition: Dark Side radio drama on HighBridge Audio's official website (backup link)

  • The Empire Strikes Back radio drama on HighBridge Audio's official website (backup link)

  • Return of the Jedi radio drama on HighBridge Audio's official website (backup link)

  • Related categories:

  • NPR audio dramas

  • NPR audio dramas

Appearances