Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the original Star Wars film (1977) and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. It has 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. Star Wars is the fourth highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

The original film, later retitled 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 Oscars going to the first three releases. Together with the spin-off films Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018), the combined box office revenue of Star Wars theatrical live-action films equals over US$10 billion, making Star Wars the third-highest-grossing film franchise in cinematic history.

Premise

Star Wars stories are set in a fictional galaxy in the distant past. They span multiple fictional eras, in which humans and many species of aliens (often humanoid) co-exist with droids (robots), which may be programmed for personal assistance or battle. Space travel between planets is common due to lightspeed hyperspace technology. The various planets depicted contain a range of societies, 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. The franchise also makes use of other astronomical objects such as asteroid fields and nebulae. 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. Telecommunication includes two-way audio and audiovisual screens, holographic projections, and hyperspace transmission.

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. 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". The field is depicted as a kind of pantheistic god. Through training and meditation, those whom "the Force is strong with" exhibit various superpowers (such as telekinesis, precognition, telepathy, and manipulation of physical energy); it is believed nothing is impossible for the Force. 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 anger, fear and aggression. While Jedi Knights can be numerous, the Dark Lords of the Sith (or 'Sith Lords') are intended to be limited to two: a master and their apprentice.

The franchise is set against a backdrop of galactic conflict involving republics and empires, such as the evil Galactic Empire. The Jedi and Sith prefer the use of a weapon called the lightsaber, a retractable blade of plasma that can cut through virtually any surface and deflect energy bolts. The rest of the population, as well as renegades and soldiers, use plasma-powered blaster firearms. In the outer reaches of the galaxy, crime syndicates such as the Hutt cartel are dominant. Bounty hunters are often employed by both gangsters and governments, while illicit activities include smuggling and slavery.

While the franchise is best-known as an archetypal space opera, the combination of science fiction and fantasy elements makes Star Wars very universal, capable of telling stories of various genres.

Films

The Skywalker Saga

The Star Wars film series centers on three sets of trilogies, the nine films of which are collectively referred to as the "Skywalker Saga". The saga was produced non-chronologically, beginning with 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.

Each trilogy focuses on a generation of the Force-sensitive Skywalker family and their struggle against the Sith lord Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious). The original trilogy depicts the development of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and his fight against Palpatine's Galactic Empire alongside his sister, Leia. The prequels tell the backstory of their father, Anakin, who is seduced to the dark side by Palpatine and becomes Darth Vader. 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.

Original trilogy

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. After directing American Graffiti (1973), he wrote a two-page synopsis, which 20th Century Fox decided to finance. By 1974, he had expanded the story into the first draft of a screenplay. Fox expected the film would be of limited financial success, and so it was given a relatively low budget, with production moved to Elstree Studios in England to lower costs.

Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977, and was first subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in the 1979 book The Art of Star Wars. The film's success led Lucas to make it the basis of an elaborate film serial. With the backstory he created for the sequel, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy of trilogies. 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.

Prequel trilogy

According to producer Gary Kurtz, loose plans for a prequel trilogy were developed during the outlining of the original two films. In 1980, Lucas confirmed that he had the nine-film series plotted, but due to the stress of producing the original trilogy, he had decided to cancel further sequels by 1981. 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."

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". In 1992, he acknowledged that he had plans to create the prequel trilogy. 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.

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. The first two films were met with mixed reviews, with the third being received 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".

Sequel trilogy

Prior to releasing the original 1977 film, and made possible by its success, Lucas planned "three trilogies of nine films". However, he announced to Time in 1978 that he planned "10 sequels". He confirmed that he had outlined the prequels and sequels in 1981. At various stages of development, the sequel trilogy was to focus on the rebuilding of the Republic, the return of Luke as a Jedi Master (a role similar to that of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy), Luke's sister (not yet determined to be Leia), Han, Leia, R2-D2 and C-3PO. 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.