Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas

Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas. The film series has spawned an extensive media franchise called the Expanded Universe including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books. These supplements to the two film trilogies have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise active in the interim between the film trilogies. The franchise depicts a galaxy described as far, far away in the distant past, and it commonly portrays Jedi as a representation of good, in conflict with the Sith, their evil counterpart. Their weapon of choice, the lightsaber, is commonly recognized in popular culture. The fictional universe also contains many themes, especially influences of philosophy and religion. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released. The three prequel films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final film of the trilogy released on May 19, 2005. In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced that it would produce three new films, with the first film, Star Wars Episode VII, planned for release in 2015.[1] 20th Century Fox still retains the distribution rights to the first two Star Wars trilogies, owning permanent rights for the original film Episode IV: A New Hope, while holding the rights to Episodes I–III, V and VI until May 2020.[2] Reactions to the original trilogy were mostly positive, with the last film being considered the weakest, while the prequel trilogy received a more mixed reaction, with most of the praise being for the final movie, according to most review aggregator websites. All six of the main films in the series were also nominated for or won Academy Awards. All of the main films have been box office successes, with the overall box office revenue generated by the Star Wars films (including the theatrical Star Wars: The Clone Wars) totalling $4.38 billion,[3] making it the fourth-highest-grossing film series.[4] The success has also led to multiple re-releases in theaters for the series. Contents 1 Setting 2 Theatrical films 2.1 Plot overview 2.2 Themes 2.3 Technical information 2.4 Production history 2.4.1 Original trilogy 2.4.2 Prequel trilogy 2.4.3 Sequel trilogy 2.4.4 Stand-alone films 2.4.5 3D releases 3 Cast and crew 3.1 Cast 3.2 Crew and other 4 Box office performance 5 Critical reaction 5.1 Academy Awards 6 Expanded Universe 6.1 Other films 6.2 Animated series 6.3 Literature 6.4 Games 6.5 Fan works 7 Attractions 8 Animal species named after Star Wars characters 9 Legacy 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 References 14 Further reading 14.1 Star Wars, religion, and philosophy 14.2 Joseph Campbell's influence on Star Wars 15 External links Setting "Star Wars galaxy" redirects here. For other uses, see Star Wars Galaxy (disambiguation). The events depicted in Star Wars media take place in a fictional galaxy. Many species of alien creatures (often humanoid) are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire. One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", an omnipresent energy that can be harnessed by those with that ability, known as Force-sensitives. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together."[5] The Force allows users to perform various supernatural feats (such as telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition, and mind control) and can amplify certain physical traits, such as speed and reflexes; these abilities vary between characters and can be improved through training. While the Force can be used for good, it has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the Jedi, who use the Force for good, and the Sith, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, many dark side users are Dark Jedi rather than Sith, mainly because of the "Rule of Two" (see Sith Origin).[5][6][7][8][9][10] Theatrical films The original trilogy (left) and the prequel trilogy (right) DVD box sets of the film series in Costco. The film series began with Star Wars, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The opening crawl of the sequels disclosed that they were numbered as "Episode V" and "Episode VI" respectively, though the films were generally advertised solely under their subtitles. Though the first film in the series was simply titled Star Wars, with its 1981 re-release it had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to remain consistent with its sequel, and to establish it as the middle chapter of a continuing saga.[11] In 1997, to correspond with the 20th anniversary of A New Hope, Lucas released a "Special Edition" of the Star Wars trilogy to theaters. The re-release featured alterations to the three films, primarily motivated by the improvement of CGI and other special effects technologies, which allowed visuals that were not possible to achieve at the time of the original filmmaking. Lucas continued to make changes to the films for subsequent releases, such as the first ever DVD release of the original trilogy on September 21, 2004 and the first ever Blu-ray release of all six films on September 16, 2011.[12] More than two decades after the release of the original film, the series continued with the long-awaited prequel trilogy; consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released on May 19, 1999; Episode II: Attack of the Clones, released on May 16, 2002; and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005.[13] On August 15, 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released theatrically as a lead-in to the weekly animated TV series of the same name. Episode VII is scheduled to be released in 2015. In 2013 it was announced the original Star Wars film will be the first Hollywood movie to be dubbed into Navajo.[14] Plot overview A figure of Darth Vader in Amsterdam, who is considered to be one of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars franchise.[15] The prequel trilogy begins with the Trade Federation blockading the planet Naboo, in response to the Galactic Republic's taxation of trade routes. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious had secretly planned the blockade to give his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow and replace the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. At the Chancellor's request, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to Naboo to negotiate with the Federation, but are forced to instead help the planet's monarch, Padmé Amidala, escape from the blockade and plea her case before the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. When their spaceship is damaged during the escape, they land on the desert planet Tatooine for repairs, where Qui-Gon discovers a young slave named Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon comes to believe that Anakin is the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force, and he helps liberate the boy. The Jedi Council, led by Yoda, reluctantly allows Obi-Wan to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by Palpatine's first apprentice, Darth Maul, during the Battle of Naboo.[6] The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's gradual fall to the dark side of the Force as he fights in the Clone Wars, which Palpatine secretly engineers to destroy the Republic and lure Anakin into his service.[7] Anakin and Padmé fall in love and secretly wed, and eventually Padmé becomes pregnant. Anakin has a prophetic vision of Padmé dying in childbirth, and Palpatine convinces him that the dark side holds the power to save her life; desperate, Anakin submits to the dark side and takes the Sith name Darth Vader. While Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the tyrannical Galactic Empire—appointing himself Emperor for life—Vader participates in the extermination of the Jedi Order, culminating in a lightsaber battle between himself and Obi-Wan on the volcanic planet Mustafar.[8] Obi-Wan defeats his former apprentice and friend, severing his limbs and leaving him for dead. Palpatine arrives shortly afterward and saves Vader, placing him into a mechanical suit of armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padmé dies while giving birth to twins Luke and Leia. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their real parents are.[8] The original trilogy begins 19 years later as the Death Star space station nears completion, which will allow the Empire to crush the Rebel Alliance, an organized resistance formed to combat Palpatine's tyranny. Vader captures Princess Leia, who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in the astromech droid R2-D2. R2, along with his protocol droid counterpart C-3PO, escapes to Tatooine. There, the droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2, he accidentally triggers a message put into the droid by Leia, who asks for assistance from Obi-Wan. Luke later assists the droids in finding the Jedi Knight, who is now passing as an old hermit under the alias Ben Kenobi. When Luke asks about his father, Obi-Wan tells him that Anakin was a great Jedi who was betrayed and murdered by Vader.[16] Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan, Leia's home world, which they eventually find has been destroyed by the Death Star. Once on board the space station, Obi-Wan allows himself to be killed during a lightsaber rematch with Vader; his sacrifice allows the group to escape with the plans that help the rebels destroy the Death Star. Luke himself fires the shot that destroys the deadly space station.[5] Three years later, Luke travels to find Yoda, now living in exile on the swamp-infested world Dagobah, to begin his Jedi training. However, Luke is interrupted when Vader lures him into a trap by capturing Han and the others. During a fierce lightsaber duel, Vader reveals that he is Luke's father and attempts to turn him to the dark side.[9] Luke escapes, and, after rescuing Han from the gangster Jabba the Hutt a year later, returns to Yoda to complete his training. However, now over 900 years old, Yoda is on his deathbed. Before he passes away, Yoda confirms that Vader is Luke's father; moments later, Obi-Wan's spirit tells Luke that he must face his father before he can become a Jedi, and that Leia is his twin sister. As the Rebels attack the second Death Star, Luke confronts Vader as Palpatine watches; both Sith Lords intend to turn Luke to the dark side and take him as their apprentice.[10] During the subsequent lightsaber duel, Luke succumbs to his anger and brutally overpowers Vader, but controls himself at the last minute; realizing that he is about to suffer his father's fate, he spares Vader's life and proudly declares his allegiance to the Jedi. An enraged Palpatine then attempts to kill Luke with Force lightning, a sight that moves Vader to turn and kill his master, suffering mortal wounds in the process. Redeemed, Anakin Skywalker dies in his son's arms. Luke becomes a full-fledged Jedi, and the Rebels destroy the second Death Star.[10] Themes See also: Philosophy and religion in Star Wars and Force (Star Wars) Star Wars features elements such as knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre.[17] The Star Wars world, unlike fantasy and science-fiction films that featured sleek and futuristic settings, was portrayed as dirty and grimy. Lucas' vision of a "used future" was further popularized in the science fiction-horror films Alien,[18] which was set on a dirty space freighter; Mad Max 2, which is set in a post-apocalyptic desert; and Blade Runner, which is set in a crumbling, dirty city of the future. Lucas made a conscious effort to parallel scenes and dialogue between films, and especially to parallel the journeys of Luke Skywalker with that of his father Anakin when making the prequels.[6] Technical information All six films of the Star Wars series were shot in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on Arriflex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital cameras.[19] Lucas hired Ben Burtt to oversee the sound effects on A New Hope. Burtt's accomplishment was such that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done.[20] Lucasfilm developed the THX sound reproduction standard for Return of the Jedi.[21] John Williams composed the scores for all six films. Lucas' design for Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with leitmotifs for different characters and important concepts. Williams' Star Wars title theme has become one of the most famous and well-known musical compositions in modern music history.[22] Lucas hired 'the Dean of Special Effects' John Stears, who created R2-D2, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, the Jedi Knights' lightsabers, and the Death Star.[23][24] The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by leading filmmaking sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson trained actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and performed all the sword stunts as Darth Vader during the lightsaber duels in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, wearing Vader's costume. Anderson's role in the original Star Wars trilogy was highlighted in the film Reclaiming the Blade, where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.[25] Production history Original trilogy "Original trilogy" redirects here. For the video game, see Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make American Graffiti and Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages. American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice CJ Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.[26] Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then began writing a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars on April 17, 1973, which had thematic parallels with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.[27] By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke Starkiller. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "The Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.[28] John Williams, composer of the musical scores for all six films of the original and prequel trilogies. At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realized the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye: It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story. The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels.[29] The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays.[30] He had also by that point developed an elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.[31] When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.[32] However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center—what would become Skywalker Ranch—and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent.[33] Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory in which Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel. Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film, except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.[34] Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died of cancer.[35] With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II.[36] As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story.[37] He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the yearlong struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts,[38] both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.[9] This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father;[39] there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.[40] With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft.[38] Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.[41] By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burned out and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.[42] Prequel trilogy After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi.[43] Nevertheless, the prequels, which were quite developed at this point, continued to fascinate him. After Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he was now considering returning to directing.[44] By 1993 it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that he would be making the prequels. He began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga".[45] In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Following the release of that film, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time.[46] The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it.[47] Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure."[48] In writing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Princess Leia in A New Hope;[49][50] he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi.[51] The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine secretly orchestrated the crisis.[7] Lucas began working on Episode III before Attack of the Clones was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles.[52] As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot.[53] 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 his apprentice, Count Dooku, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.[54] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Padmé's life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.[55] Lucas often exaggerated the amount of material he wrote for the series; much of it stemmed from the post‐1978 period when the series grew into a phenomenon. Michael Kaminski explained that these exaggerations were both a publicity and security measure. Kaminski rationalized that since the series' story radically changed throughout the years, it was always Lucas' intention to change the original story retroactively because audiences would only view the material from his perspective.[8][56] When congratulating the producers of the TV series Lost in 2010, Lucas himself jokingly admitted, "when Star Wars first came out, I didn't know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories – let's call them homages – and you've got a series".[57] Sequel trilogy Main article: Star Wars sequel trilogy The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by Lucasfilm as a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) released between 1977 and 1983.[58] While the similarly discussed Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II and III) was ultimately released between 1999 and 2005, Lucasfilm and George Lucas have for many years denied plans for a sequel trilogy, insisting that Star Wars is meant to be a six-part series.[59][60] In May 2008, speaking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lucas maintained his status on the sequel trilogy: "I get asked all the time, 'What happens after Return of the Jedi?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."[61] In January 2012, Lucas announced that he would step away from blockbuster films and instead produce smaller art-house films. In an interview regarding whether or not the scrutiny he received from the prequel trilogy and the alterations made on the original trilogy were a factor in his retirement, Lucas stated: "Why would I make any more,... when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"[62] In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that a new Star Wars Episode VII film will be released in 2015. The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy became president of the company, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. In addition, Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with franchise creator and Lucasfilm founder Lucas serving as creative consultant.[63] The screenplay for Episode VII will be written by Michael Arndt.[64] On January 25, 2013, The Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm officially announced J.J. Abrams as Star Wars Episode VII's director and producer, along with Bryan Burk and Bad Robot Productions.[65] On November 20, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lawrence Kasdan, writer of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Simon Kinberg will write and produce Episodes VIII and IX.[66] Kasdan and Kinberg were later confirmed as creative consultants on those films, in addition to writing stand-alone films. Stand-alone films On February 5, 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the development of two stand-alone films, each individually written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg.[67] On February 6, Entertainment Weekly reported that Disney is working on two films featuring Han Solo and Boba Fett.[68] 3D releases At a ShoWest convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new 3D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.[69] However, by January 2007, Lucasfilm stated on StarWars.com that "there are no definitive plans or dates for releasing the Star Wars saga in 3-D." At Celebration Europe in July 2007, Rick McCallum confirmed that Lucasfilm is "planning to take all six films and turn them into 3-D," but they are "waiting for the companies out there that are developing this technology to bring it down to a cost level that makes it worthwhile for everybody".[70] In July 2008, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation, revealed that Lucas plans to redo all six of the movies in 3D.[71] In late September 2010, it was announced that The Phantom Menace would be theatrically re-released in 3-D on February 10, 2012.[72][73] The plan was to re-release all six films in order, with the 3-D conversion process taking up to a year to complete for each film.[74] However, the 3D re-releases of episodes II and III have been postponed to enable Lucasfilm to concentrate on Episode VII.[75] Cast and crew Cast Further information: List of Star Wars films cast members and List of Star Wars characters Cast and characters by film Character Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Star Wars: The Clone Wars Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker David Prowse James Earl Jones (voice only) David Prowse James Earl Jones (voice only) C. Andrew Nelson (1997 Special Edition) Vader: David Prowse James Earl Jones (voice only) Anakin: Sebastian Shaw Hayden Christensen (2004 DVD release) Jake Lloyd Hayden Christensen Anakin: Hayden Christensen Vader: James Earl Jones (voice only) Matt Lanter Obi-Wan Kenobi Alec Guinness Ewan McGregor James Arnold Taylor R2-D2 Kenny Baker Kenny Baker (credit only) C-3PO Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels (voice only) Anthony Daniels Yoda Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering) Frank Oz (voice and puppeteering / voice only; 2011 3-D re-release) Frank Oz (voice only) Tom Kane Palpatine / Darth Sidious Mentioned only Elaine Baker Clive Revill (voice only) Ian McDiarmid (2004 DVD release) Ian McDiarmid Ian Abercrombie Leia Organa Carrie Fisher Aidan Barton Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill Aidan Barton Owen Lars Phil Brown Joel Edgerton Beru Shelagh Fraser Bonnie Piesse Grand Moff Tarkin Peter Cushing Wayne Pygram Chewbacca Peter Mayhew Peter Mayhew Han Solo Harrison Ford Greedo Paul Blake Maria De Aragon (close-up shots) Larry Ward (voice only) Jabba the Hutt Uncredited actor (voice only; 1997 Special Edition) Mentioned only Larry Ward (voice only) Uncredited actor (voice only) Kevin Michael Richardson Boba Fett Mark Austin (1997 Special Edition) Jeremy Bulloch John Fass Morton (one scene) Jason Wingreen (voice only) Temuera Morrison (voice only; 2004 DVD release) Jeremy Bulloch Nelson Hall (one scene; 1997 Special Edition) Don Bies (one scene; 1997 Special Edition) Daniel Logan Wedge Antilles Denis Lawson Colin Higgins (one scene) Denis Lawson Admiral Piett Kenneth Colley Lando Calrissian Billy Dee Williams Bib Fortuna Michael Carter Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) Matthew Wood Admiral Ackbar Timothy M. Rose Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) Wicket Warwick Davis Qui-Gon Jinn Liam Neeson Liam Neeson (voice only) Mentioned only Nute Gunray Silas Carson Padmé Amidala Natalie Portman Catherine Taber Captain Panaka Hugh Quarshie Sio Bibble Oliver Ford Davies Jar Jar Binks Ahmed Best (voice only) Boss Nass Brian Blessed (voice only) Silent cameo Sabé Keira Knightley Darth Maul Ray Park Peter Serafinowicz (voice only) Watto Andy Secombe (voice only) Sebulba Lewis MacLeod (voice only) Shmi Skywalker Pernilla August Chancellor Valorum Terence Stamp Mace Windu Samuel L. Jackson Ki-Adi-Mundi Silas Carson Captain Typho Jay Laga'aia Bail Organa Jimmy Smits Zam Wesell Leeanna Walsman Jango Fett Temuera Morrison Dexter Jettster Ronald Falk (voice only) Cliegg Lars Jack Thompson Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus Christopher Lee General Grievous Matthew Wood (voice only) Ahsoka Tano Ashley Eckstein Asajj Ventress Nika Futterman Crew and other Crew/Detail Film A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith The Clone Wars VII Director George Lucas Irvin Kershner Richard Marquand George Lucas Dave Filoni J. J. Abrams Producer Gary Kurtz Howard Kazanjian Rick McCallum Catherine Winder J. J. Abrams Bryan Burk Executive Producer George Lucas Kathleen Kennedy Editor Paul Hirsch Richard Chew Marcia Lucas Paul Hirsch Sean Barton Marcia Lucas Duwayne Dunham Ben Burtt Paul Martin Smith Ben Burtt Roger Barton Ben Burtt Jason Tucker Maryann Brandon Mary Jo Markey Director of Photography Gilbert Taylor Peter Suschitzky Alan Hume David Tattersall Music John Williams Kevin Kiner Theme: John Williams Writer George Lucas Screenplay: Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan Story by: George Lucas Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas Story by: George Lucas George Lucas Screenplay: George Lucas, Jonathan Hales Story by: George Lucas George Lucas Henry Gilroy, Steven Melching, Scott Murphy Michael Arndt Distributor 20th Century Fox Warner Bros. Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures MPAA Rating PG PG-13 PG Running time 125 minutes 129 minutes 136 minutes 136 minutes 142 minutes 140 minutes 98 minutes Box office performance Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking United States Non-US Worldwide Adjusted for inflation (US)[a] All-time US All-time worldwide Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[77] May 25, 1977 $460,998,007 $314,400,000 $775,398,007 $1,275,650,843 #6 #41 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[78] May 21, 1980 $290,475,067 $247,900,000 $538,375,067 $728,808,996 #49 #92 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi[79] May 25, 1983 $309,306,177 $165,800,000 $475,106,177 $702,477,833 #37 #117 Original Star Wars trilogy totals $1,060,779,251 $728,100,000 $1,788,879,251 $2,706,937,672 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace[80] May 19, 1999 $474,544,677 $552,500,000 $1,027,044,677 $678,225,508 #5 #11 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones[81] May 16, 2002 $310,676,740 $338,721,588 $649,398,328 $402,490,646 #35 #61 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[82] May 19, 2005 $380,270,577 $468,484,191 $848,754,768 $447,007,448 #18 #30 Prequel Star Wars trilogy totals $1,165,491,994 $1,359,705,779 $2,525,197,773 $1,527,723,602 Star Wars: The Clone Wars[83] August 15, 2008 $35,161,554 $33,121,290 $68,282,844 $37,492,977 #1,857 — Complete Star Wars film series totals $2,261,432,799 $2,120,927,069 $4,382,359,868 $4,272,154,251 Critical reaction Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 94% (67 reviews)[84] 91 (13 reviews)[85] Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 97% (71 reviews)[86] 78 (15 reviews)[87] Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 79% (66 reviews)[88] 52 (14 reviews)[89] Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 57% (186 reviews)[90] 51 (36 reviews)[91] Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 67% (218 reviews)[92] 53 (39 reviews)[93] Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 80% (253 reviews)[94] 68 (40 reviews)[95] Star Wars: The Clone Wars 19% (153 reviews)[96] 35 (30 reviews)[97] Academy Awards The six films together were nominated for 25 Academy Awards, of which they won ten. Three of these were Special Achievement Awards. Award Awards Won A New Hope The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith Actor in a Supporting Role Nomination (Alec Guinness) Art Direction-Set Decoration Win Nomination Nomination Costume Design Win Director Nomination (George Lucas) Film Editing Win Makeup Nomination Music (Original Score) Win Nomination Nomination Picture Nomination Screenplay – Original Nomination Sound Editing Nomination Nomination Sound (Mixing) Win Win Nomination Nomination Visual Effects Win Nomination Nomination Special Achievement Award Win (Alien, Creature and Robot Voices) Win (Visual Effects) Win (Visual Effects) Expanded Universe Main article: Star Wars Expanded Universe Cosplay of the Star Wars character, Boba Fett. The popular character was first incorporated in the Expanded Universe in the television film The Star Wars Holiday Special until appearing in the main film series.[98] The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.[99] George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies.[100] Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in Attack of the Clones.[101] Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.[102] Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.[103] Other films In addition to the two trilogies and The Clone Wars film, several other authorized films have been produced: The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 two-hour television special, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba Fett. Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a 1984 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a 1985 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas. The Great Heep, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: Droids TV series. Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2, a 2009 official comedy spoof primarily based on The Clone Wars film. Animated series Following the success of the Star Wars films and their subsequent merchandising, several animated television series have been created: Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3PO as they shift through various owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Star Wars: Ewoks, also known as Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable Ewok characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Star Wars: Clone Wars, an animated micro-series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, which aired on Cartoon Network from November 2003 to March 2005. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a CGI-animated series based on the animated movie of the same name, which aired on Cartoon Network from October 2008 to March 2013. Star Wars: Detours,[104] an animated comedy series written by Brendan Hay, who is a writer for the comedy news show The Daily Show, and with creative consulting from the co-creators of Robot Chicken: Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. The series will take place during the original trilogy and the setting will be remote from the front line of war.[105] Star Wars Rebels,[106] an animated series set between Episode III and Episode IV that will start as a special on Disney Channel and air on Disney XD in Fall 2014. Literature Main articles: List of Star Wars novels and List of Star Wars comic books Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original trilogy (1977–83) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and accompanying video game and comic book series.[107] LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. For younger audiences, three series have been introduced. The Jedi Apprentice series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to The Phantom Menace. The Jedi Quest series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The Last of the Jedi series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and another surviving Jedi almost immediately, set in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. The Los Angeles Times Syndicate published a Star Wars newspaper strip by Russ Manning, Goodwin and Williamson[108][109] with Goodwin writing under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the popular Dark Empire stories.[110] They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. There have also been parody comics, including Tag and Bink.[111] Games Main articles: Star Wars computer and video games, List of Star Wars video games, Star Wars trading card, and Star Wars role-playing games Since 1977, dozens of board, card, video, miniature, and tabletop role-playing games, among other types, have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning in 1977 with the board game Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star[112] (not to be confused with another board game with the same title, published in 1990).[113] Star Wars video games commercialization started in 1982 with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, role-playing video games, RTS games, and others. Three different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s and one by Fantasy Flight Games in the 2010s. The best-selling games so far are the Lego Star Wars and the Battlefront series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively[114][115] while the most critically acclaimed is the first Knights of the Old Republic.[116] The most recently released games are Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, for the PS3, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. While The Complete Saga focuses on all six episodes of the series, The Force Unleashed, of the same name of the multimedia project which it is a part of, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game features a new game engine, and was released on September 16, 2008 in the United States.[117][118] There are three more titles based on the Clone Wars which were released for the Nintendo DS (Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance) and Wii (Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes). Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977.[119] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare "promos", such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II "floating Yoda" P3 card often commanding US$ 1 000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "chase cards" are very rare.[120] From 1995 until 2001 Decipher, Inc. had the license for, created and produced a collectible card game based on Star Wars; the Star Wars Collectible Card Game (also known as SWCCG). The board game Risk has been adapted to the series in two editions by Hasbro: and Star Wars Risk: The Clone Wars Edition[121] (2005) and Risk: Star Wars Original Trilogy Edition[122] (2006). From 25 July to 15 August, 2013, Disney's online game Club Penguin will host a Star Wars Takeover event based on the films.[123] Fan works Main article: Star Wars fan films The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own non-canon material set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007 Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.[124] While many fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. However, the lead character from the Pink Five series was incorporated into Timothy Zahn's 2007 novel Allegiance, marking the first time a fan-created Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon.[125] Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.[126] Attractions The original Star Tours ride at Disneyland in 1996. Before Disney's acquisition of the franchise, George Lucas had established a partnership in 1986 with Disney and its Walt Disney Imagineering division to create Star Tours, an attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1987. The attraction also had subsequent incarnations at other Disney Parks worldwide, with the exception of Hong Kong Disneyland. The attractions at Disneyland, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Tokyo Disneyland closed on July 27, 2010, September 7, 2010 and April 2, 2012, respectively, in order to allow the rides to be converted into Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and June 3, at Disneyland. The Japan version is expected to open in 2013. The Jedi Training Academy is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the Jedi Knights and the Force in order to become Padawan learners. The show is present at the Rebels stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland. The Walt Disney World Resort's Disney's Hollywood Studios park hosts an annual festival, Star Wars Weekends during specific dates from May to June. The event began in 1997. Animal species named after Star Wars characters Several animal species have been named after Star Wars characters. Han solo Turvey, 2005, is a species of agnostid trilobite found in the Ordovician Zitai Formation of southern China. According to the scientific publication, the genus name Han refers to the Han Chinese, and the species name solo to the species being the youngest Diplagnostidae fossil found to that date.[127] However, Turvey has stated elsewhere that he named it after Han Solo because some friends dared him to name a species after a Star Wars character.[128] Albunione yoda is an isopod. Darthvaderum is an oribatid mite genus. Polemistus chewbacca and Polemistus vaderi are names given to wasps. Agathidium vaderi is a beetle.[128] Legacy Main article: Cultural impact of Star Wars Just like the franchise, its fictional weapons contained in it, such as the lightsaber and the blaster, have been used in popular culture and have been an iconic part of the franchise. The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American pop culture. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television. Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars, a 13-minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.[129][130] Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries: Return of the Ewok (1982), about Warwick Davis, who portrayed Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi; and R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".[131][132] There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies: "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks; and "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.[133] In television, the creators of the Robot Chicken series have produced three television specials satirizing the Star Wars films ("Robot Chicken: Star Wars", "Episode II", and "III"), and are developing an animated comedy series based in the Star Wars universe.[134] The creators of the Family Guy series have also produced three Star Wars specials titled "Blue Harvest", "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", and "It's a Trap!".[135] During the 2012 Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, Washington several prominent cartoon voice-over actors including Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche Tara Strong and Kevin Conroy performed a parody reading of A New Hope as a radio play in cartoon character voices that they perform on other animated series, i.e. Jess Harnell and Rob Paulsen as Wakko and Yakko Warner from Animaniacs, Tara Strong as Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls and Princess Clara from Drawn Together, Maurice LaMarche and John DiMaggio as Kiff Kroker and Bender Rodriguez from Futurama and Kevin Conroy narrating as Batman.[136] When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labeled "Star Wars," implying that it was science fiction and linking it to Ronald Reagan's acting career. According to Frances FitzGerald, Reagan was annoyed by this, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle told colleagues that he "thought the name was not so bad."; "'Why not?' he said. 'It's a good movie. Besides, the good guys won.'"[137] This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire". In 2013, Star Wars was translated into Navajo, making it the first major motion picture translated into any Native American language. [138] [139] See also Architecture of Star Wars Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy List of Star Wars creatures Comparison of Star Wars and Star Trek Physics and Star Wars Star Wars canon Star Wars Day Portal icon Star Wars portal The Story of Star Wars Jedi census phenomenon Jediism Star Wars music Notes ^ Adjusting for inflation is complicated by the fact that the first four films have had multiple releases in different years, so their earnings cannot be simply adjusted by the initial year of release. Inflation adjusted figures for 2005 can be found in Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. HarperCollins. p. 519. ISBN 978‐0‐06177889‐6. Adjustment to constant dollars is undertaken in conjunction with the United States Consumer Price Index provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, using 2005 as the base year.[76] References ^ Nakashima, Ryan (October 30, 2012). "Disney to make new 'Star Wars' films, buy Lucas co". MSN Money. Retrieved October 31, 2012. ^ Masters, Kim (October 30, 2012). "Tangled Rights Could Tie Up Ultimate 'Star Wars' Box Set (Analysis)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2012. ^ "Star Wars – Box Office History". The numbers. Retrieved June 17, 2010. ^ "Movie Franchises". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved January 3, 2013. ^ a b c Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2006. ^ a b c Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2001. ^ a b c Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2002. ^ a b c d Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2005. ^ a b c Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004. ^ a b c Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004. ^ Lucas, George (2004). DVD commentary for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD). 20th Century Fox. ^ Arnold, Gary (January 26, 1997). "The Force returns: ‘Star Wars' Special Edition features some new tinkering but same old thrills". The Washington Times. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ "Episode III Release Dates Announced". Star Wars. April 5, 2004. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "Star Wars translated into Navajo". 3 News NZ. April 29, 2013. ^ "Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker – #1 Star Wars character". IGN. Retrieved August 9, 2012. ^ "Star Wars plot summary". Ruined Endings. Retrieved March 29, 2008. ^ Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (DVD). Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary. 2004. ^ The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars. Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD Box Set: Bonus Materials. 2004. ^ "Widescreen-O-Rama". The Digital Bits. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ Sergi, Gianluca (March 1998). "Tales of the Silent Blast: Star Wars and Sound". Journal of Popular Film & Television 26 (1). ^ "Quality Home Theater Systems Products". Digital Home Theater. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Trilogy". Amazon. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "John Stears, 64, Dies; Film-Effects Wizard". New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2013 ^ "John Stears; Special Effects Genius Behind 007 and R2-D2", Los Angeles Times, retrieved January 28, 2013. ^ Reclaiming the Blade, IMDb, 2009. ^ Rinzler 2007, p. 8. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 50. ^ "Starkiller". Jedi Bendu. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ Rinzler 2007, p. 107. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 38. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 134. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 142. ^ Baxter, John (1999). Mythmaker. p. 173. ISBN 0-380-97833-4. ^ Biodrowski, Steve. "Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – Then And Now". Hollywood Gothique. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ Bouzereau 1997, p. 144. ^ Bouzereau 1997, p. 135. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 161. ^ a b Bouzereau 1997, p. 123 ^ Kaminski 2007, pp. 120–21. ^ Kaminski 2007, pp. 164–65. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 178. ^ "Lawrence Kasdan". Star Wars. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 227. ^ Kaminski 2007, pp. 294–95. ^ Kaminski 2007, pp. 299–300. ^ "Star Wars Insider". Star Wars Insider (45): 19. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 371. ^ Kaminski 2007, p. 374. ^ Bouzereau 1997, p. 196. ^ Kaminski 2008, p. 158. ^ Kaminski 2008, p. 162. ^ Rinzler 2005, pp. 13–15. ^ Rinzler 2005, p. 36. ^ Kaminski 2007, pp. 380–84. ^ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith documentary "Within a Minute" (DVD documentary). 2005. ^ Arnold, William (May 12, 2005). "Director George Lucas Takes a Look Back—and Ahead". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. ^ "George Lucas sends letter to 'Lost'". Hollywood Reporter. 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2011-11-28. ^ "Mark Hamill talks Star Wars 7, 8 and 9!". Movieweb. September 10, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2008. ^ "George Lucas talks on Star Wars sequels 7, 8 & 9". Killer Movies. September 13, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2008. ^ "George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode I)". Industry Central. Retrieved October 18, 2008. ^ Davis, Erik (May 7, 2008). "Will Lucas Extend His Star Wars Story Beyond Return of the Jedi?". Cinematical. Retrieved 2008-10-18. ^ "George Lucas Done With 'Star Wars' Fanboys, Talks 'Red Tails'". The Huffington Post. January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012. ^ Block, Alex (October 30, 2012). "Disney to Buy Lucasfilm for $4.05 Billion; New 'Star Wars' Movie Set for 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 31, 2012. ^ "Michael Arndt to write screenplay for Star Wars: episode VII", Star Wars. ^ "Star Wars Is Being Kick-Started with Dynamite J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars: Episode VII". Star Wars. January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013. ^ "J.J. Abrams Set to Direct Next 'Star Wars' Film (Exclusive)". November 20, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012. ^ "Disney Earnings Beat; 'Star Wars' Spinoffs Planned". CNBC. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013. ^ Breznican, Anthony (February 6, 2013). "'Star Wars' spin-offs: A young Han Solo movie, and a Boba Fett film – Exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 6, 2013. ^ "Star Wars to enter third dimension". London: Guardian. March 18, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "Rick McCallum Talks Live Action TV Series and Star Wars 3-D". The Official Star Wars Blog. July 14, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007. ^ Chacksfield, Marc (July 25, 2008). "Star Wars 3D not so far, far away". World of tech News. Tech radar. Retrieved December 8, 2008. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (March 3, 2011). "First 3-D ‘Star Wars' Film Not So Far, Far Away: ‘Phantom Menace' Coming Feb. 10". The New York Times. ^ "Star Wars in 3D Gets an Official Release Date". Lucasfilm. Star wars. 2011-03-03. Archived from the original on 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-03-03. ^ Fernandez, Jay; Masters, Kim (September 28, 2010). "'Star Wars' saga set for 3D release starting 2012". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2010. ^ "Star Wars 3D release postponed". BBC News. January 15, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved March 31, 2013. ^ "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 21, 2012. ^ "Star Wars". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 11, 2008. ^ "Empire Strikes Back". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "The Empire Strikes Back". Metacritic. Retrieved June 25, 2008. ^ "Return of the Jedi". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Return of the Jedi". Metacritic. Retrieved June 25, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace : Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 25, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2007. ^ "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 25, 2008. ^ "Star Wars: The Clone Wars". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 28, 2012. ^ "Star Wars: The Clone Wars". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2010. ^ Vilmur, Pete (2006-10-19). "Proto-Fett: The Birth of Boba". Lucasfilm. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-04. ^ "Lost Star Warriors". AOL. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ Pollock, Dale (May 19, 2005). "Star Wars: George Lucas' Vision". Washington Post. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "From EU to Episode II: Aayla Secura". Star Wars. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Live-Action Series Delayed". IGN. March 17, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "Ultimate Timeline". The Force. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ Facebook - Star Wars Detours ^ Lieberman, Jason; Eric, Goldman (June 29, 2010). "Exclusive: Seth Green Talks Star Wars Series". IGN. Retrieved August 3, 2010. ^ "New animated series ‘Star wars Rebels’ coming Fall 2014", Star wars. ^ "Alan Dean Foster". Version 2.0. March 1, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ "Al Williamson remembered", Star Wars, June 14, 2010, retrieved January 29, 2011 ^ "Star Wars". I Love Comix Archive. Retrieved May 10, 2010. ^ "Company timeline". Dark Horse comics. Retrieved April 16, 2008. ^ "Kevin Rubio on the Return of Tag and Bink". Dark Horse comics. March 30, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2008. ^ Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star (description), Board game geek, 1977. ^ Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star (description), Board game geek, 1990. ^ Martin, Matt (August 11, 2007). "Warner Bros. swoops for Traveller's Tales". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron sends PSP system owners to the front" (Press release). LucasArts. May 10, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "Star Wars series metascore page". Game rankings. Retrieved October 30, 2010. ^ "Overview". Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. LucasArts. Retrieved March 8, 2008. ^ Berardini, César A. (April 3, 2008). "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Dated". Team Xbox. Retrieved April 3, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Trading Cards". Star Wars cards. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Promotional Trading Card List". The Star Wars Collectors Archive. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ "Star Wars Clone Wars Edition". Hasbro. Retrieved March 23, 2009. ^ "Risk Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Edition". Board game geek. Hasbro. Retrieved March 23, 2009. ^ "Special July 2013 Party Announcement". Club Penguin. Polo Field. Retrieved June 20, 2013. ^ "Filmmaker Kevin Smith Hosts ‘The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards' on SCI FI Channel; George Lucas to Present Special Honor". Business Wire. April 23, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2008. ^ Peter Rowe. "Final installment of 'Star Wars' parody is out there - somewhere". The San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2009. ^ Knapton, Sarah (April 7, 2008). "Court to rule in Star Wars costume battle". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved April 15, 2008. ^ Samuel T. Turvey (2005). "Agnostid trilobites from the Arenig–Llanvirn of South China". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 95 (3–4): 527–542. doi:10.1017/S0263593304000355. Retrieved February 9, 2009. ^ a b "Etymology: Names from Fictional Characters". Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature. Retrieved February 5, 2009. ^ ""Hardware Wars": The movie, the legend, the household appliances". Salon.com. Retrieved March 27, 2008. ^ Mel Brooks. Spaceballs (DVD). ^ "Mystery Ewok Theater 2005: Return of the Ewok". Star Wars. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" (DVD). Star Wars. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ ""Weird Al" – Nerdy Something". Star Wars. October 26, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2008. ^ "New Star Wars Animated Series in the Works". Star Wars. April 5, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2010. ^ "What's coming in Family Guy's new Star Wars spoofs". SCI FI Wire. Retrieved December 15, 2009. ^ "ECCC 2012: Star Wars Trilogy: The Radio Play – Official", You tube (video), Google. ^ Fitzgerald, Frances. Way Out There in the Blue. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84416-8. ^ http://www.npr.org/2013/06/20/193496493/translated-into-navajo-star-wars-will-be ^ http://navajotimes.com/news/2013/0713/070413starwars.php References Arnold, Alan (1980). Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-29075-5. Bouzereau, Laurent (1997). The Annotated Screenplays. Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-40981-7. Kaminski, Michael (2007). "The Secret History of Star Wars". ——— (2008) [2007]. "The Secret History of Star Wars" (3.0 ed.). Retrieved May 21, 2008. Rinzler, Jonathan W (2005). The Making of Star Wars, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-43139-1. ——— (2007). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (Star Wars). Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-49476-8. Further reading Star Wars, religion, and philosophy Bortolin, Matthew (April 25, 2005). The Dharma of Star Wars. Wisdom. ISBN 0-86171-497-0. Decker, Kevin S. (March 10, 2005). Star Wars and Philosophy. Open Court. ISBN 0-8126-9583-6. Porter, John M. (January 31, 2003). The Tao of Star Wars. Humanics. ISBN 0-89334-385-4. Snodgrass, Jon (September 13, 2004). Peace Knights of the Soul. InnerCircle. ISBN 0-9755214-7-0. Staub, Dick (March 25, 2005). Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7894-9. Joseph Campbell's influence on Star Wars Campbell, Joseph (June 1, 1991). The Power of Myth. Anchor. ISBN 0-385-41886-8. Henderson, Mary (November 3, 1997). Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-10206-0. Larsen, Stephen (April 1, 2002). Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind. Inner Traditions. ISBN 0-89281-873-5. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Star Wars Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Star Wars Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Star Wars Official website Star Wars on Facebook Star Wars on Google+ Star Wars on Twitter Star Wars's channel on YouTube Star Wars at the Open Directory Project Wookieepedia (wiki), Wikia – devoted to Star Wars. [show] v t e Star Wars [show] v t e Star Wars film crew [show] v t e Lucasfilm [show] v t e Disney Consumer Products [show] v t e George Lucas [show] v t e Hasbro This is a good article. Click here for more information. Help improve this page What's this? Did you find what you were looking for? Yes No Categories: Star Wars 1977 introductions Disney franchises Elstree Studios films Science fiction films by series Adventure films by series Fantasy films by series