Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film[a] and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe.[b] Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
The original 1977 film, retroactively subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope, was followed by the sequels Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), forming the original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas later returned to the series to write and direct a prequel trilogy, consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). In 2012, Lucas sold his production company to Disney, relinquishing his ownership of the franchise. This led to a sequel trilogy, consisting of Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
All nine films, collectively referred to as the "Skywalker Saga", were nominated for Academy Awards, with wins going to the first two releases. Together with the theatrical live action "anthology" films Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018), the combined box office revenue of the films equate to over US$10 billion, making Star Wars the third-highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
The Star Wars franchise depicts the adventures of characters "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"[2] across multiple fictional eras, in which humans and many species of aliens (often humanoid) co-exist with droids, which may be programmed for personal assistance or battle.[3] Space travel between planets is common due to lightspeed hyperspace technology.[4][5][6] The planets range from wealthy, planet-wide cities to deserts scarcely populated by primitive tribes. Virtually any Earth biome, along with many fictional ones, has its counterpart as a Star Wars planet which, in most cases, teem with sentient and non-sentient alien life.[7] The franchise also makes use of other astronomical objects such as asteroid fields and nebulae.[8][9] Spacecraft range from small starfighters to large capital ships, such as the Star Destroyers, as well as space stations such as the moon-sized Death Stars.[10][11][12] Telecommunication includes two-way audio and audiovisual screens, holographic projections, and hyperspace transmission.[13]
The universe of Star Wars is generally similar to the real universe but its laws of physics are less strict allowing for more imaginative stories.[14] One result of that is a mystical power known as the Force which is described in the original film as "an energy field created by all living things ... [that] binds the galaxy together".[15] The field is depicted as a kind of pantheistic god.[16] Through training and meditation, those whom "the Force is strong with" exhibit various superpowers (such as telekinesis, precognition, telepathy, and manipulation of physical energy);[17] it is believed nothing is impossible for the Force.[18] These superpowers are wielded by two major knightly orders at conflict with each other: the Jedi, peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic who act on the light side of the Force through non-attachment and arbitration, and the Sith, who use the dark side by manipulating fear and aggression.[19][20] While Jedi Knights can be numerous, the Dark Lords of the Sith (or 'Darths') are intended to be limited to two: a master and their apprentice.[21]
The franchise is set against a backdrop of galactic conflict involving republics and empires, such as the evil Galactic Empire.[22] The Jedi and Sith prefer the use of a weapon called the lightsaber, a blade of plasma that can cut through virtually any surface and deflect energy bolts.[23] The rest of the population, as well as renegades and soldiers, use plasma-powered blaster firearms.[24] In the outer reaches of the galaxy, crime syndicates such as the Hutt cartel are dominant.[25] Bounty hunters are often employed by both gangsters and governments, while illicit activities include smuggling and slavery.[25]
The combination of science fiction and fantasy elements makes Star Wars a very universal franchise, capable of telling stories of various genres.[26]
The Star Wars film series centers around three sets of trilogies, the nine films of which are collectively referred to as the "Skywalker Saga".[43] The saga was produced non-chronologically, beginning in media res with the release of the original trilogy between 1977 and 1983. This was followed by the prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005, and the sequel trilogy, released between 2015 and 2019.[44]
Each trilogy focuses on a generation of the Force-sensitive Skywalker family and their struggle against the evil Sith lord Palpatine (Darth Sidious).[45] The original trilogy depicts the heroic development of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and his fight against Palpatine's Galactic Empire alongside his sister, Leia.[46] The prequels tell the tragic backstory of their father, Anakin, who is corrupted by Palpatine and becomes Darth Vader.[47] The sequels follow the conflict between Leia's son, Ben Solo, and Luke and Leia's protegé, Rey, and their eventual alliance against Palpatine after the fall of the Empire.[48]
In 1971, George Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial, but could not obtain the rights, so he began developing his own space opera.[49][c] After directing American Graffiti (1973), he wrote a two-page synopsis, which 20th Century Fox decided to invest in.[50][51] By 1974, he had expanded the story into the first draft of a screenplay.[52] Fox expected the film would be of limited financial success, and so it was given a relatively low budget, with production being moved to Elstree Studios in England to help save on cost.[53]
Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977, and first subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in the 1979 book The Art of Star Wars.[54] The film's success led Lucas to make it the basis of an elaborate film serial.[55] With the backstory he created for the sequel, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy of trilogies.[56] Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980, also achieving wide financial and critical success. The final film in the trilogy, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, was released on May 25, 1983.
According to producer Gary Kurtz, loose plans for a prequel trilogy were developed during the outlining of the original two films.[57] In 1980, Lucas confirmed that he had the nine-film series plotted,[58] but due to the stress of producing the original trilogy, he had decided to cancel further sequels by 1981.[59] In 1983, Lucas explained that "There was never a script completed that had the entire story as it exists now ... As the stories unfolded, I would take certain ideas and save them ... I kept taking out all the good parts, and I just kept telling myself I would make other movies someday."[60]
Technical advances in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the ability to create computer-generated imagery (CGI), inspired Lucas to consider that it might be possible to revisit his saga. In 1989, Lucas stated that the prequels would be "unbelievably expensive".[61] In 1992, he acknowledged that he had plans to create the prequel trilogy.[62] A theatrical rerelease of the original trilogy in 1997 "updated" the 20-year-old films with the style of CGI envisioned for the new trilogy.[63]
Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released on May 19, 1999, Episode II: Attack of the Clones on May 16, 2002, and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on May 19, 2005.[64] The first two films were met with mixed reviews, with the third being received somewhat more positively. Together with the original trilogy, Lucas has referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader".[65]
Prior to releasing the original 1977 film, and made possible by its success, Lucas planned "three trilogies of nine films".[56][66] However, he announced to Time in 1978 that he planned "10 sequels".[67] He confirmed that he had outlined the prequels and sequels in 1981.[68] At various stages of development, the sequel trilogy was to focus on the rebuilding of the Republic,[69] the return of Luke as a Jedi Master (a role similar to that of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy),[66] Luke's sister (not yet determined to be Leia),[57] Han, Leia,[70] R2-D2 and C-3PO.[56][71] However, after beginning work on the prequel trilogy, Lucas insisted that Star Wars was meant to be a six-part series and that there would be no sequel trilogy.[72][73]
Lucas decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would make no more Star Wars films.[74] That October, the Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that Episode VII would be released in 2015.[75] The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, became president and served as executive producer of new Star Wars feature films.[76] Lucas provided Kennedy his story treatments for the sequels during the 2012 sale,[77] but in 2015 it was revealed Lucas's sequel outline had been discarded.[78][79] The sequel trilogy also meant the end of the Star Wars Expanded Universe stories, which were discarded from canon to give "maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience."[1]
Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released on December 16, 2015, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi on December 13, 2017, and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker on December 18, 2019, in many countries.[e] The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were both critical and box office successes.[80][81] Episode IX received a mixed reception from critics and audiences.[82]
Several Star Wars films have been produced separately from the Skywalker Saga. In 2008, Lucasfilm released the animated film The Clone Wars, which is set during the prequel trilogy and serves as the theatrical pilot of the television series of the same name.[85] Following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, an "anthology" film series set between the main episodes of the Skywalker Saga entered development in parallel with the production of the sequel trilogy,[86] described by Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo as origin stories.[87]