Star Wars is an American epic
space operaSpace opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
film series created by
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title
Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
, by
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, and became a worldwide
pop culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
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
prequelA prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
trilogy of films was released. The three films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.
As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six
Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.41 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing film series, behind only the
Harry PotterThe Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
and
James BondThe James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films.
The
Star Wars film series has spawned a
media franchiseA media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
including
books, television series,
video gamesStar Wars has spawned over one hundred computer and video games, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on movie material, with the remaining games heavily involved in the Expanded Universe.-Early history:...
, and
comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the
Star Wars Expanded UniverseThe Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
, and have resulted in significant development of the series'
fictional universeA fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008,
Star Wars: The Clone WarsStar Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
was released to theaters as the first-ever worldwide theatrical
Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise's first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe
series of the same name-Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve...
, a
3DA 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animated series based on a previous 2D animated series
of a similar nameStar Wars: Clone Wars is an Annie Award-winning American animated television series set in the Star Wars galaxy. The series chronicles the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems under Count Dooku.Chronologically, the series...
.
Setting
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 EmpireThe Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
.
One of the prominent elements of
Star Wars is the "
ForceThe Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
", an omnipresent energy that can be harnessed by those with that ability. 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." The Force allows users to perform various
supernaturalThe supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
feats (such as
telekinesisThe term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
,
clairvoyanceThe term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
,
precognitionIn parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
, and
mind controlMind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
) 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 sideThe dark side of the Force is a prominent moral, philosophical, and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. It is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and appears in all subsequent Star Wars fiction...
that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the
JediThe Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
, who use the Force for good, and the
Sith-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the
Star Wars Expanded UniverseThe Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
, many dark side users are
Dark JediDark Jedi is the name given in the Star Wars universe to fictional characters attuned to the Force and adept in its dark side. They exist by that name only in the Expanded Universe, including video games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Jedi Knight series; the term is never...
rather than Sith, mainly because of the "
Rule of TwoDarth Bane: Rule of Two, the sequel to the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, is part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was written by Drew Karpyshyn, and was released on December 26, 2007. The novel centers around the young Sith apprentice Darth Zannah, recently taken under the wing of...
" (see Sith Origin).
Feature films
The film series began with
Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels:
The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
, released on May 21, 1980, and
Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, released on May 25, 1983. The
opening crawlEach film in the Star Wars series opens with a crawl of text which provides an explanation of the backstory and context of the film...
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, it later had the subtitle
Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels.
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 MenaceStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
, released on May 19, 1999;
Episode II: Attack of the ClonesStar Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, released on May 16, 2002; and
Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
, released on May 19, 2005.
In 1997, to correspond with the 20th anniversary of
Star Wars, Lucas released "Special Editions" of the original trilogy to theaters. The re-releases featured alterations to the original films, primarily motivated by the improvement of
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
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
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release of the original trilogy on September 21, 2004 and the first ever Blu-ray release of all six films on September 16, 2011.
Plot overview
The prequel trilogy follows life of a young slave named
Anakin SkywalkerDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
who is discovered by the Jedi Knight
Qui-Gon JinnQui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and a main protagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Liam Neeson. He also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of comic books, video games, and novels...
, who believes him to be the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi
prophecyProphecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
to bring balance to
the ForceThe Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
. The Jedi Council, led by
YodaYoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
, sense that Anakin's future is clouded by fear, but reluctantly allow Qui-Gon's apprentice
Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by the
Sith Lord-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
Darth MaulDarth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
. At the same time, the planet
NabooNaboo is a fictitious planet in the fictional Star Wars universe with a mostly green terrain and which is the homeworld of two societies: the Gungans who dwell in underwater cities and the humans who live in colonies on the surface...
is under attack, and its ruler,
Queen Padmé AmidalaPadmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction franchise. She first appeared on film in the 1999 feature film, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the young queen of the planet Naboo. In subsequent prequel trilogy films, Padmé represents Naboo in the Galactic Senate...
, seeks the assistance of the Jedi to repel the attack. The Sith Lord
Darth SidiousPalpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
secretly planned the attack to give his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor of the
Galactic RepublicThe Galactic Republic is the name of the interplanetary State used in the fictional Star Wars universe prior to the establishment of the Galactic Empire. The form of this government, created by the Senate, was introduced in the Prequel Trilogy. By the time of the original Star Wars trilogy, it is...
and take his place.
The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's gradual fall to the dark side of the Force as he fights in the
Clone WarsThe Clone Wars are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , but no details are given , and the wars themselves are not featured until the series' fifth and sixth...
, which Palpatine secretly engineers in order to destroy the Republic and lure Anakin into his service. 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 VaderDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
. While Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the tyrannical
Galactic EmpireThe Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
—appointing himself Emperor for life—Vader participates in the
extermination of the Jedi OrderThe Great Jedi Purge, or Order 66, is a major event in the Star Wars storyline. It is officially documented as a plot element in the 2005 film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and is further referenced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
, culminating in a
lightsaberA lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 metres long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close...
battle between himself and Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan ultimately defeats his former apprentice and friend, severing his limbs and leaving him for dead beside a lava flow. However, Palpatine arrives shortly afterward and saves Vader, putting him into a black, mechanical suit of armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padmé dies while giving birth to twins
LukeLuke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
and Leia. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their real parents are.
The original trilogy begins 19 years later as Vader nears completion of the massive
Death StarThe Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
space station, which will allow the Empire to crush the
Rebel AllianceThe Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
, which has formed to combat Palpatine's tyranny. Vader captures
Princess Leia OrganaPrincess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...
, who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in the astromech droid
R2-D2R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
. R2-D2, along with his counterpart
C-3POC-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
, escapes to the planet
TatooineTatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
. There, the droids are purchased by
Luke SkywalkerLuke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, 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.
Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smuggler
Han SoloHan Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and his
WookieeWookiees are a species of bipeds in the Star Wars universe. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo.-Inspiration:...
co-pilot
ChewbaccaChewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
to take them to
Alderaan, Leia's homeworld, which they eventually find has been destroyed by the Death Star. Once onboard 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.
Three years later, Luke travels to find Yoda and start his Jedi training, but 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. Luke escapes, and, after rescuing Han from the gangster
Jabba the HuttJabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
a year later, returns to his training with Yoda, who by this time 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.
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 on 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 and, with it, the Empire.
Cast and characters
| Character |
Film |
The Phantom MenaceStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
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Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
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Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
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A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
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The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
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Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
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Anakin Skywalker / Darth VaderDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
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Jake Lloyd Jake Lloyd is a former American actor , who gained worldwide fame when he was chosen by George Lucas to play the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the first film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and currently resides in Chicago. He reprised this role in five...
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Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
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Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
(voice only; Darth Vader) |
David ProwseDavid Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
(voice only) |
Vader: David ProwseDavid Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
(voice only)
Anakin: Sebastian ShawSebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions....
Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
(2004 DVD release) |
Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
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Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
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Alec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
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R2-D2R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
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Kenny BakerKenneth George "Kenny" Baker is a British actor and musician, best known as the man inside R2-D2 in the popular Star Wars film series.- Career :...
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C-3POC-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
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Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels is an English actor. He is best known for his role as the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005.-Early life:...
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YodaYoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
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Frank Oz Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
(voice only) |
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Frank Oz Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
(voice only) |
Palpatine / Darth SidiousPalpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
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Ian McDiarmidIan McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
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Mentioned only |
Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill is a New Zealand-born British character actor best known for his performances in musical theatre and on the London stage.-Early life and stage career:...
(voice only)
Ian McDiarmidIan McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
(2004 DVD release) |
Ian McDiarmidIan McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...
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Qui-Gon JinnQui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and a main protagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Liam Neeson. He also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of comic books, video games, and novels...
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Liam Neeson Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
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Liam Neeson Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
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| Nute Gunray Nute Gunray is a fictional character and supporting villain from the Star Wars universe, played by Silas Carson in the films. Besides Palpatine , he is the only villain to appear in all three episodes of the prequel trilogy....
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Silas CarsonSilas Carson is an English actor, mostly known for playing Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and Viceroy Nute Gunray in all three of the Star Wars prequels and providing the voice of the Ood in Doctor Who....
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Padmé AmidalaPadmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction franchise. She first appeared on film in the 1999 feature film, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the young queen of the planet Naboo. In subsequent prequel trilogy films, Padmé represents Naboo in the Galactic Senate...
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Natalie PortmanNatalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
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| Captain Panaka |
Hugh Quarshie- Early and Personal Life :Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry and was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was aged three...
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Oliver Ford Davies -Biography:From the King's School, Canterbury, he won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he read History and became President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society . He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1990 for Best Actor in a New Play for Racing Demon...
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| Jar Jar Binks Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars Saga , and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. His primary role was to provide comic relief, but many reacted negatively to his character...
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Ahmed Best Ahmed Best is an American voice actor and musician. He has won the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. He rose to prominence in the 2000s for providing the voice of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise. He later turned to television, where he played Jar Jar...
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| Boss Nass |
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice and "hearty, king-sized portrayals".-Early life:The son of William Blessed, a socialist miner, and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born in the town of Goldthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England...
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| Sabé |
Keira KnightleyKeira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
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Darth MaulDarth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
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Ray Park Raymond Park is a Scottish actor, stuntman and martial artist, best known for his playing the physical part of Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Toad in X-Men, Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Edgar on Heroes.-Early life:Park was born in Glasgow, Scotland...
Peter SerafinowiczPeter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
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| Watto Watto is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, featured in the films The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. He is computer-generated and played by voice actor Andy Secombe. He is a mean-tempered, greedy Toydarian, and owner of a second-hand goods store in Mos Espa on the planet...
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Andy Secombe Andrew Secombe , better known as Andy Secombe, is a Welsh actor, voice actor, and author.He played Rover the Dog in the Channel 4 children's series Chips Comic....
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| Sebulba |
Lewis MacLeod Euan Lewis MacLeod is a prolific Scottish character actor, who can be heard as the voice of a huge number of television commercials, movie trailers and cartoons in his native UK. He voices characters such as Sebulba from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Postman Pat...
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| Shmi Skywalker |
Pernilla August Pernilla August is a Swedish actress, director and script-writer. Being one of Sweden's leading actresses and a long time collaborator with director Ingmar Bergman, she won the Best Actress Award at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival for her role in his The Best Intentions...
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Jabba the HuttJabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
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Larry Ward Larry Ward was an American voice actor who provided voices for characters in three of the six Star Wars films. An electronically synthesized version of his voice was used in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as Greedo, a bounty hunter...
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Larry Ward Larry Ward was an American voice actor who provided voices for characters in three of the six Star Wars films. An electronically synthesized version of his voice was used in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as Greedo, a bounty hunter...
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Mentioned only |
Larry Ward Larry Ward was an American voice actor who provided voices for characters in three of the six Star Wars films. An electronically synthesized version of his voice was used in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as Greedo, a bounty hunter...
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| Bib Fortuna |
Matthew Wood |
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Michael Carter
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) |
| Chancellor Valorum |
Terence StampTerence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
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| Mace Windu Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, most famously portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films. However, Windu has also been voiced by other actors in assorted video game and animated projects....
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Samuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
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| Ki-Adi-Mundi Ki-Adi-Mundi is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. He was portrayed by actor Silas Carson in each of the films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy...
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Silas CarsonSilas Carson is an English actor, mostly known for playing Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and Viceroy Nute Gunray in all three of the Star Wars prequels and providing the voice of the Ood in Doctor Who....
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| Captain Typho |
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Jay Laga'aiaJay Laga'aia is an actor and singer. He is best known internationally for his role as Captain Typho in the films Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.-Career:...
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| Bail Organa |
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Jimmy SmitsJimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...
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| Zam Wesell |
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Leeanna Walsman Leeanna Walsman is an Australian actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Zam Wesell in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones , for playing Carly Bishop in the Australian film Looking For Alibrandi and for her starring role in the mini-series Jessica.She has been nominated for two...
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Jango FettJango Fett is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He first appeared as one of the main antagonists in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and later served as the protagonist of the LucasArts video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, played by Temuera Morrison.Jango Fett serves as...
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Temuera MorrisonTemuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...
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| Dexter Jettster |
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Ronald Falk (voice only) |
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| Boba Fett Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
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Daniel Logan Daniel Logan is an actor from New Zealand known to Star Wars fans as the young Boba Fett from the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.-Early life and career:Logan was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 6 June 1987...
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Jeremy BullochJeremy Bulloch is an English actor. He is best known for the role inside the costume of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, though he did not voice the character...
Jason WingreenJason Wingreen is an American actor.-Biography:Born in 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in Howard Beach, Queens, attended John Adams High School, and graduated from Brooklyn College in 1941. Wingreen lent his voice to Boba Fett in the original and 1997 theatrical versions of The Empire...
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Temuera MorrisonTemuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...
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| Owen Lars |
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Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
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Bonnie PiesseBonnie Piesse is an Australian actress and singer/songwriter. She got her break playing a trapeze artist in the Australian children's television series High Flyers at the age of 15 and not long after that was scouted by George Lucas to play the role of Beru Lars in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of...
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Shelagh Fraser Shelagh Fraser was a British actress.She was best-known for her role as Luke Skywalker's ill-fated aunt, Beru Lars in Star Wars...
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| Cliegg Lars |
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Jack ThompsonJack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
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| Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus Count Dooku is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. Dooku is one of the main antagonists of both Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the events of the Clone Wars and is a supporting villain in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Count Dooku plays a substantial role...
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Christopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
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General GrievousGeneral Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...
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Matthew Wood (voice only) |
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ChewbaccaChewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
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Peter MayhewPeter Mayhew is an English actor known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was tall.-Career:...
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Luke SkywalkerLuke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
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Aidan Barton |
Mark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
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Leia OrganaPrincess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...
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Aidan Barton |
Carrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
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| Grand Moff Tarkin Governor Wilhuff Tarkin or Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing as the main antagonist of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, played by British actor Peter Cushing. A younger version of the character makes a brief cameo in the prequel film Star Wars...
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Wayne Pygram Wayne Pigram , better known by his stage name Wayne Pygram, is an Australian actor, known for his role as Scorpius in the science fiction series Farscape and the miniseries that followed, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars .Pygram was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales and raised in Wagga Wagga,...
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Peter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
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| Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
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Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
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| Wedge Antilles Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original Star Wars trilogy. Antilles, also called the "greatest ace" pilot in the Rebel Alliance, also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and is the lead...
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Denis LawsonDenis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
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| Admiral Piett |
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Kenneth Colley Kenneth Colley is an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
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Lando CalrissianLando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
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Billy Dee WilliamsWilliam December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
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| Admiral Ackbar Admiral Ackbar is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction saga. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance who led major combat operations against the Galactic Empire and was later integral in the formation of the...
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Timothy M. Rose Timothy M. Rose is an actor and puppeteer.-Biography:Rose is best known for playing the role of Admiral Ackbar, the supreme commander of all space forces for the Rebel Alliance, in the sequel Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
Erik Bauersfeld (voice only) |
| Wicket |
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Warwick DavisWarwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
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Themes
Star Wars features elements such as
knightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s,
witchesWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
, and
princessPrincess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
es that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre. 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
AlienAlien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, which was set on a dirty space freighter;
Mad Max 2, which is set in a
post-apocalypticApocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
desert; and
Blade RunnerBlade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, 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.
Technical information
All six films of the
Star Wars series were shot in an
aspect ratioThe aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
of 2.40:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in
PanavisionPanavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on
Arri-History:Arri was founded in Munich, Germany as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik in 1917, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter. They produce professional motion picture equipment, digital and film cameras and cinematic lighting equipment...
flex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's
CineAltaSony's CineAlta 24P HD Cameras are a series of professional digital video cameras that offer many of the same features of a 35mm motion picture film camera.- Concept :...
high-definition digital cameras.
Lucas hired
Ben BurttBenjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
to oversee the sound effects on
A New Hope. Burtt's accomplishment was such that the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done. Lucasfilm developed the
THXTHX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd...
sound reproduction standard for
Return of the Jedi.
John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
composed the
scores for all six filmsThe music of Star Wars consists of the scores written for all six Star Wars films by composer John Williams from 1977 to 1983 for the Original Trilogy, and 1999 to 2005 for the Prequel Trilogy. It includes the Star Wars: The Clone Wars music written by Kevin Kiner...
. Lucas' design for
Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with
leitmotifA leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s 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.
The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by Hollywood sword-master
Bob AndersonBob Anderson is an English actor and fencer. Anderson also owns a claim to fame for being a swordfighting trainer for several films, as well as a stunt double for Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He is one of seven people to...
. Anderson trained actor
Mark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
(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 BladeReclaiming the Blade is a documentary produced by Galatia Films on the topic of swords, focusing on cinematic choreography of swordsmanship....
, where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.
Original trilogy
In 1971,
Universal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
agreed to make
American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
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 C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy. Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then wrote a 13-page treatment called
The Star Wars, which was a loose remake of
Akira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's
The Hidden Fortressis a 1958 jidai-geki film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune as General and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. A literal translation of the Japanese title is The Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress.-Plot:...
. By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the
Sith-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
, the
Death StarThe Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
, and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke Skywalker. Anakin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. "
The ForceThe Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
" 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.
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
EmpireThe Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
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 realised 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 EyeSplinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...
:
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 FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels. The intention was that if
Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays. He had also by that point developed an elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.
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. However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center—what would become
Skywalker RanchSkywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...
—and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent. 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 EyeSplinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...
the following year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the
James BondThe James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
series. In an interview with
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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 KenobiObi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.
Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author
Leigh BrackettLeigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
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.
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. 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. 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. 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, both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having
Han SoloHan Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
imprisoned in carbonite and left in
limboIn the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
.
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; 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
PalpatinePalpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
(who became a
Sith-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the 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
TatooineTatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
while the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.
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.
Lawrence KasdanLawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
, who had just completed writing
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director
Irvin KershnerIrvin Kershner was an American film director and occasional actor, best known for directing quirky, independent films early in his career, and then Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. -Background:...
. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer
Gary KurtzGary Kurtz is an American film producer whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He later produced The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz after departing from the Star Wars series...
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.
By the time he began writing
Episode VI in 1981 (then titled
Revenge of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
), 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 magazineTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. 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.
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. 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 HorseDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
's comic book line and
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...
's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
technology he was now considering returning to directing. By 1993 it was announced, in
VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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".
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. The first draft of
Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired
Jonathan HalesJonathan Hales is a British playwright and screenwriter. He is noted for his work with Lucasfilm, including The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.-Career:...
, a writer from
The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
, to polish it. Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure." In writing
The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that
Lando CalrissianLando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
was a
cloneCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in
A New Hope; 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. The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for
Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine secretly orchestrated the crisis.
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. As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot. Michael Kaminski, in
The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice,
Count DookuCount Dooku is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. Dooku is one of the main antagonists of both Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the events of the Clone Wars and is a supporting villain in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Count Dooku plays a substantial role...
, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side. 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.
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. When congratulating the producers of the TV series
LostLost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
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".
Sequel trilogy
The sequel trilogy was a reportedly planned trilogy of films (Episodes VII, VIII and IX) by
LucasfilmLucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
as a
sequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the original
Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) released between 1977 and 1983. While the similarly discussed
Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II and III) was ultimately released between 1999 and 2005, Lucasfilm and
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
have for many years denied plans of making a sequel trilogy, insisting that
Star Wars is meant to be a six-part series.
Future releases
At a
ShoWestThe National Association of Theatre Owners is a trade organization based in the United States whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most major theater chains are members, as are many independent theatre operators; collectively, they account for the operation of over 26,000 motion...
convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new
3-D filmA 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
format, beginning with
A New Hope in 2007. 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 McCallumRichard "Rick" McCallum is a German-born American film producer mostly known for his work on the The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as well as the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition and prequel trilogy...
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". In July 2008, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of
DreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
, revealed that Lucas plans to redo all six of the movies in 3D. In late September 2010, it was announced that
The Phantom Menace would be theatrically re-released in 3-D on February 10, 2012. All six films would be re-released in order, with the 3-D conversion process taking at least a year to complete per film.
Lucas has hinted in the past that he will release future, more definitive editions of the six
Star Wars films on a next-generation home-video format. There have been discussions that he will take this opportunity to make any final adjustments, changes, additions, and/or subtractions to his films for this final release. An altered clip from
The Phantom Menace included in a featurette on the DVD release of
Revenge of the Sith features a computer generated Yoda replacing the original puppet; animation director Rob Coleman stated that the clip had been created as test footage of Yoda prior to work on
Revenge of the Sith. Lucasfilm Vice President of Marketing Jim Ward announced that Lucasfilm is likely to do more work on the films, stating "As the technology evolves and we get into a high-definition platform that is easily consumable by our customers, the situation is much better, but there will always be work to be done." At Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo 2010, Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm's Director of Fan Relations, revealed that "a very full set of all six movies on
Blu-rayBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
with lots of extra material" is being prepared for release. On August 14, 2010, George Lucas announced that all six
Star Wars films will be released on Blu-ray Disc in the Fall of 2011. On January 6, 2011, Lucasfilm announced the release of the
Star Wars saga on Blu-ray for September 2011. In May 2011, a website counted down to
May the FourthStar Wars Day may refer to one of several dates or events honoring or involving Star Wars.-May 4:This day is considered an official holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate Star Wars culture and honor the films....
, and now has more information about the Blu-ray edition.
Box office performance
| Film |
Release date |
Box office revenue |
Box office ranking |
| United States |
Non-US |
Worldwide |
Adjusted for
inflation (US) |
All-time domestic |
All-time worldwide |
Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
|
May 25, 1977 |
$460,998,007 |
$314,400,000 |
$775,398,007 |
$ |
#4 |
#30 |
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
|
May 21, 1980 |
$290,475,067 |
$247,900,000 |
$538,375,067 |
$ |
#38 |
#62 |
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
|
May 25, 1983 |
$309,306,177 |
$165,800,000 |
$475,106,177 |
$ |
#29 |
#80 |
| Original Star Wars trilogy |
|
$1,060,779,251 |
$728,100,000 |
$1,788,879,251 |
$ |
|
|
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom MenaceStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
|
May 19, 1999 |
$431,088,301 |
$493,229,257 |
$924,317,558 |
$ |
#7 |
#11 |
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
|
May 16, 2002 |
$310,676,740 |
$338,721,588 |
$649,398,328 |
$ |
#27 |
#42 |
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
|
May 19, 2005 |
$380,270,577 |
$468,728,238 |
$848,998,815 |
$ |
#11 |
#20 |
| Prequel Star Wars trilogy |
|
$1,122,035,618 |
$1,300,679,083 |
$2,422,714,701 |
$ |
|
|
Star Wars: The Clone WarsStar Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
|
August 15, 2008 |
$35,161,554 |
$33,121,290 |
$68,282,844 |
|
#1,557 |
— |
| Complete Star Wars film series |
|
$2,217,976,423 |
$2,061,900,373 |
$4,279,876,796 |
$ |
|
|
Critical reaction
| Film |
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
|
MetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
|
| Overall |
Cream of the Crop |
Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
|
94% (67 reviews) |
88% (17 reviews) |
91 (13 reviews) |
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
|
97% (71 reviews) |
88% (17 reviews) |
78 (15 reviews) |
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
|
79% (65 reviews) |
76% (17 reviews) |
52 (14 reviews) |
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom MenaceStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
|
61% (161 reviews) |
40% (47 reviews) |
52 (35 reviews) |
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
|
67% (218 reviews) |
40% (40 reviews) |
53 (39 reviews) |
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
|
80% (253 reviews) |
67% (43 reviews) |
68 (40 reviews) |
Star Wars: The Clone WarsStar Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
|
19% (152 reviews) |
15% (27 reviews) |
35 (30 reviews) |
| Average |
71% |
59% |
61 |
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 |
| IV: A New Hope |
V: The Empire Strikes Back |
VI: Return of the Jedi |
I: The Phantom Menace |
II: Attack of the Clones |
III: Revenge of the Sith |
| Actor in a Supporting Role |
Nomination
(Alec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Art Direction-Set Decoration |
Win |
Nomination |
Nomination |
|
|
|
| Costume Design |
Win |
|
|
|
|
|
| Director |
Nomination
(George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
) |
|
|
|
|
|
| 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
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 ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
'
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 FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
's novel
Splinter of the Mind's EyeSplinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...
the following month.
George Lucas retains
artistic controlArtistic control or Creative Control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this commonly refers to the authority to decide on the final...
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. Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet
CoruscantCoruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...
, which first appeared in
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...
's novel
Heir to the EmpireHeir to the Empire is the first book in a trilogy of novels known as The Thrawn Trilogy, all written by Timothy Zahn.-Description:The book is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi...
before being used in
The Phantom Menace. Additionally, Lucas so liked the character Aayla Secura, who was introduced in
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
'
Star Wars series, that he included her as a character in
Attack of the Clones.
Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.
Star Wars has had
numerous radio adaptationsAn expanded radio dramatization of the original Star Wars trilogy was produced in 1981, 1983, and 1996. The first two radio series, based on A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, were produced and broadcast by National Public Radio as part of NPR Playhouse...
. 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 DaleyBrian Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.-Biography:...
and directed by
John MaddenJohn Philip Madden is an English director of theatre, film, television, and radio.- Biography :Madden was educated at Clifton College. He was in the same house as friend and fellow director Roger Michell. He began his career in British independent films, and graduated from the University of...
. 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 HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
,
Anthony DanielsAnthony Daniels is an English actor. He is best known for his role as the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005.-Early life:...
, and
Billy Dee WilliamsWilliam December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
reprised their roles as
Luke SkywalkerLuke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
,
C-3POC-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
, and
Lando CalrissianLando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
, respectively, except in
Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by
Arye Gross-Biography:Gross was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Sheri and Joseph Gross, who was an aerospace engineer and later worked in business....
. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and
Ben BurttBenjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
's original sound designs.
Other films
In addition to the two trilogies, several authorized films have been produced:
- The Star Wars Holiday Special
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television special set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was one of the first official Star Wars spin-offs, and was directed by Steve Binder. The show was broadcast in its entirety only once, in the United States and Canada, November 17, 1978, on the U.S...
, a 1978 two-hour television specialA television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba FettBoba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
.
- Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
For the series of road trips travelled by Hamish and Andy see:Caravan Of Courage The Ewok Adventure is a 1984 American made-for-TV film based in the Star Wars setting. It was released theatrically in Europe as Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, and is known by that title today...
, a 1984 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas.
- Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor is a 1985 made-for-TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. A sequel to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, it focuses on Cindel Towani, the little girl from the first film, who, after being orphaned, joins the Ewoks in protecting their village and defeating the evil...
, a 1985 American made-for-TV film—released theatrically overseas.
- The Great Heep
The Great Heep was a 48-minute, animated television special that aired on June 7, 1986. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, and was a follow-up to the Star Wars: Droids series.-Plot:...
, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: DroidsStar Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
TV series.
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
, a 2008 animated theatrical release that leads into the animated TV series-Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve...
of the same name.
- Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2
Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 is a 2009 comedy short film directed by a director Peder Pedersen and produced by M2Film for Lego and Cartoon Network in collaboration with Lucasfilm....
, 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 for the younger fan base:
- Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
, also known as Droids, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3P0 as they shift through various owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
and Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
.
- Star Wars: Ewoks
Star Wars: Ewoks is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
and colloquially as The Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable EwokEwoks originate from the Star Wars films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherers that inhabit the forest moon of Endor. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
.
- Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars: Clone Wars is an Annie Award-winning American animated television series set in the Star Wars galaxy. The series chronicles the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic under Chancellor Palpatine, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems under Count Dooku.Chronologically, the series...
cartoon micro-series created by Genndy TartakovskyGenndy Borisovich Tartakovsky is a Russian-American television animator, director and producer. His best-known creations are Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan...
, which aired on Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
from November 2003 to March 2005.
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
-Production:At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve...
computer animated series continuation of the animated movieStar Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
of the same name, which has been airing on Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
since October 2008.
- Untitled Star Wars Animated Series: an animated comedy series written by Brendan Hay
Brendan Hay is an American TV writer, comic book creator and a headline producer. Hay has worked for The Daily Show as a headline producer and was a contributing writer for the America . More recently, he has written for The Simpsons , Robot Chicken, The Mighty B!, and Frank TV...
, who is a writer for the comedy news show The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, and with creative consulting from the co-creators of Robot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
: Seth GreenSeth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
and Matthew SenreichMatthew Ian "Matt" Senreich is an American screenwriter, television producer and director, best known for his work with animated television series Robot Chicken, which he co-created with business partner Seth Green. Senreich and Green together run the production company Stoopid Monkey...
. The series will take place during the original trilogy and the setting will be remote from the front line of war.
Literature
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of
Star Wars (
ghost-writtenA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
by
Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel,
Splinter of the Mind's EyeSplinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...
, 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 (1977–1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however,
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...
's
Thrawn trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the
Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by
BantamBantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
and
Del ReyRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the
Steve PerrySteve Perry is an American television writer and science fiction author.-Biography:Perry is a native of the Deep South. His residences have included Louisiana, California, Washington and Oregon...
novel
Shadows of the EmpireStar Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...
, set in between
The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi, and accompanying video game and comic book series.
LucasBooks radically changed the face of the
Star Wars universe with the introduction of the
New Jedi OrderThe New Jedi Order is a series of nineteen science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy 21–26 years after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi...
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 ApprenticeStar Wars: Jedi Apprentice is a popular series of books in the fictional Star Wars universe. Jude Watson, is the primary author of the series, although the first book was written by Dave Wolverton. The books follow the adventures of young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, before the...
series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to
The Phantom Menace. The
Jedi QuestJedi Quest is a ten-book series written by Jude Watson about Obi-Wan Kenobi, his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, and the events that take place in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe between Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of the Clones, .-The Way of the Apprentice:Four...
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 JediThe Last of the Jedi is a series of young adult books written by Jude Watson, begun in 2005. The series is set in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe, in the time period between the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and a few years prior to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan and another surviving Jedi almost immediately following
Revenge of the Sith.
Marvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
published
Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including
Roy ThomasRoy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
,
Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
,
Howard ChaykinHoward Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...
,
Al WilliamsonAlfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
,
Carmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
,
Gene DayHoward Eugene Day was a Canadian comic book artist best known for Marvel Comics' Star Wars licensed series and Master of Kung Fu...
,
Walt SimonsonWalter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...
, Michael Golden,
Chris ClaremontChris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
,
Whilce PortacioWilliam "Whilce" Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book writer and artist. Noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher, X-Factor, and the Uncanny X-Men. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of Image Comics, though he did not become a partner in the company.-Early life:Portacio...
,
Jo DuffyJo Duffy, sometimes credited as Mary Jo Duffy is a comic book editor and writer, known for her work for Marvel Comics in the 1980s, and DC Comics and Image Comics in the 1990s.-Biography:...
, and
Ron FrenzRonald Wade Frenz is an American comic book artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well-known for his 1980s work on Amazing Spider-Man, and more recently, for his work on Spider-Girl...
. The Los Angeles Times Syndicate published a
Star Wars newspaper strip by
Russ ManningRussell Manning was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars...
, Goodwin and Williamson with Goodwin writing under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new
Star Wars comic by
Tom VeitchTom Veitch is an American writer, best known for his contributions to the Dark Horse Comics line of Star Wars comic books, primarily Dark Empire and Tales of the Jedi. For DC Comics Veitch wrote Animal Man, along with two Elseworlds series featuring Kamandi and an elder Superman...
and
Cam KennedyCampbell Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.-Biography:...
. However, in December 1991,
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
acquired the
Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the popular
Dark EmpireDark Empire is a Star Wars comic book metaseries produced by Dark Horse Comics. It consists of a six-issue limited series written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Cam Kennedy , followed by a second six-issue limited series by Veitch and Kennedy and a two-issue limited series written by Veitch and drawn...
stories. 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.
Games
Since 1982, dozens of video games have been published bearing the
Star Wars name, beginning with
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a scrolling shooter video game published by Parker Brothers in 1982 for the Atari 2600 and in 1983 for the Mattel Intellivision. It was the first Star Wars video game.-Gameplay:...
published for the
Atari 2600The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
by
Parker BrothersParker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
. Since then,
Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games,
first-person shooter gamesFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
,
roleplaying gamesRole-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
,
RTSReal-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games, and others. Two different official tabletop
role-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s have been developed for the
Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, and
one by Wizards of the CoastOn June 5, 2007, Wizards released the Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition. The game was streamlined to be easier to play and a greater emphasis was placed on miniatures. Some of the major changes include:...
in the 2000s. The best-selling games so far are the
Lego Star WarsLego Star Wars: The Video Game is a video game based on the Star Wars themed toy line by the Lego Group and the first game in TT Games' Lego videogame franchise. It takes place during the prequel trilogy , with a bonus segment from A New Hope...
and the
BattlefrontThe Star Wars: Battlefront series is a series of first-person/third-person shooter video games based on the Star Wars films by George Lucas. The game-play is very similar to Digital Illusion's/EA's Battlefield series. The series has installments available on the PC, Macintosh, Xbox, PlayStation 2,...
series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...
is also an extremely well known game.
The most recently released games are
Lego Star Wars: The Complete SagaLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a video game based on the Star Wars-themed toy line by the Lego Group. It is a combination of the game Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and its sequel Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy...
, Lego Star Wars, The Clone Wars,
Star Wars: The Force UnleashedStar Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...
and
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed IIStar Wars: The Force Unleashed II is LucasArts' sequel to 2008's Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. A trailer announcing the game was shown December 12, 2009, at the Spike Video Game Awards. The game was released across multiple platforms in October 2010, along with a collectors edition of...
, for the
PS3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
,
PSPThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
,
PS2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
,
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
,
Nintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and
WiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. 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
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
and
Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
and casts players as
Darth VaderDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
'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. There are two more titles based on the
Clone WarsThe Clone Wars are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , but no details are given , and the wars themselves are not featured until the series' fifth and sixth...
which were released in November 2008 for the
Nintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
(
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance) and
WiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
(
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels).
Star Wars trading cardsA Star Wars trading card is a nonsport, collectible trading card, sticker, wrapper, or cap based on the Star Wars movies and television shows. Both screen stills and original art are featured in the cards and other items. An avid collecting and trading community of these cards and sets exists...
have been published since the first 'blue' series, by
ToppsThe Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
, in 1977. Dozens of series have been produced, with
ToppsThe Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
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$1000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "
chase cardA trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
s" are very rare.
The board game
RiskRisk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
has been adapted to the series in two editions by
HasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
:
Risk Star Wars: The Original Trilogy EditionRisk: Star Wars Original Trilogy Edition is a commercial strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers, a division of Hasbro. It is a variation of the classic board game Risk, with the rules and appearance altered to fit within the fictional Star Wars universe, during the Galactic Civil War ...
(2006) and
Risk Star Wars: Clone Wars EditionThe factions represented in the game are the Galactic Republic, led largely by the Jedi, and the Separatists, led by charismatic Count Dooku.-Victory conditions:...
(2005).
Fan works
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 filmA fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...
s. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual
Official Star Wars Fan Film AwardsThe Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards is an annual contest put forth by Lucasfilm and AtomFilms to showcase and acknowledge the growing genre of fan films made by, for, and about fans of the Star Wars saga. The inaugural contest in 2002 was the first time Lucasfilm had officially sanctioned the...
, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential
copyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
issues, however, the contest was initially open only to
parodiesA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
,
mockumentariesA mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
, 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.
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 canonThe Star Wars canon consists of the six Star Wars feature films, along with all officially licensed, non-contradicting spin-off works to the six films. As once defined by Lucas Licensing:- History :...
. However, the lead character from the
Pink FivePink Five is a Star Wars fan film that made its debut on the Internet in 2002. It was written and directed by Trey Stokes and stars Amy Earhart as Stacey , a fast-talking Valley Girl-type dropped into an X-Wing cockpit during the Battle of Yavin, and presents familiar events and story points from...
series was incorporated into
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...
's 2007 novel
AllegianceAllegiance is a novel set in the Star Wars galaxy released in January 2007 by Del Rey. The book was written by Timothy Zahn.-Story:The story is set just after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
, marking the first time a fan-created
Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon. 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.
Attractions
In 1986, George Lucas established a partnership with
the Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and its
Walt Disney ImagineeringWalt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
division to create
Star ToursStar Tours is a motion simulator attraction currently operating at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. The ride is based on the successful Star Wars film series created by George Lucas, making it the first Disney attraction based on a non-Disney produced film.The first...
, an attraction that opened at Disneyland in 1987. The attraction also had subsequent incarnations at other
Disney ParksWalt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...
worldwide, with the exception of
Hong Kong DisneylandHong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The park opened to visitors on 12 September 2005...
.
The attractions at Disneyland and
Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
closed on July 27, 2010 and September 7, 2010 respectively, in order to allow the rides to be converted into
Star Tours: The Adventures ContinueStar Tours: The Adventures Continue is an attraction located at Disneyland Park and at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is also set to open at Tokyo Disneyland in Spring 2013. Set in the fictional Star Wars universe, The Adventures Continue updates the two parks' original Star Tours attractions...
. The successor attraction opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 20, 2011 and June 3, at Disneyland.
The Jedi Training Academy is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of the
Jedi KnightsThe Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
and
the ForceThe Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
in order to become
Padawan learnersThe Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
. The show is present at the
RebelsThe Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at the
Tomorrowland TerraceTomorrowland Terrace is a restaurant located in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California that is notable for its unique concert stage, which hydraulically rises out of the ground. It opened with the new Tomorrowland in 1967...
at Disneyland.
The
Walt Disney World ResortWalt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
's
Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
park hosts an annual festival,
Star Wars WeekendsStar Wars Weekends is a festival generally held annually at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Included with park admission, the event typically occurs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for four consecutive weekends in May and June and features appearances by...
during specific dates from May to June. The event began in 1997.
Legacy
The
Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American
pop culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television.
- Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars
Hardware Wars is a short film parody of the classic science fiction film Star Wars. The thirteen-minute film, which premiered in theatres only seven months after Star Wars, consisted of little more than inside jokes and visual puns that heavily depended upon audience familiarity with the...
, a 13-minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and SpaceballsSpaceballs is a 1987 American science fiction comedy parody film co-written by, directed by, Mel Brooks and starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, Mel Brooks & Rick Moranis. It also features, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, and the voice of Joan Rivers. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on...
, a feature film by Mel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.
- Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
: Return of the Ewok (1982), about Warwick DavisWarwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
, who portrayed Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi; and R2-D2: Beneath the DomeR2-D2: Beneath the Dome is a 2001 American mockumentary short, directed by Don Bies and Spencer Susser, starring Kenny Baker as R2-D2 in a fictionalized life story of the robot from the Star Wars film series...
(2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".
- There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
recorded two parodies: "Yoda"Yoda" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the song "Lola" by The Kinks. Written and inspired by the events of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the song is told from the point of view of Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker, and concerns his dealings with Jedi Master Yoda on...
", a parody of "Lola"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man and a transvestite he meets in a club in Soho, London....
" by The KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
; and "The Saga Begins"The Saga Begins" is a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic of "American Pie" by Don McLean, released from the 1999 album Running with Scissors, and later appearing on the compilation album entitled The Saga Begins...
", a parody of Don McLeanDonald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.
- In television, the creators of the Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
series have produced three television specials satirizing the Star Wars films ("Robot Chicken: Star WarsRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III is a 2010 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the third and final installment in the Annie Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Robot Chicken: Star Wars trilogy. It premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on December 19, 2010...
", "Episode IIRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II is a 2008 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the sequel to the Annie Award winning Robot Chicken Star Wars, which aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on November 16, 2008...
", and "IIIRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III is a 2010 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the third and final installment in the Annie Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Robot Chicken: Star Wars trilogy. It premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on December 19, 2010...
"), and are developing an animated comedy series based in the Star Wars universe. The creators of the Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
series have also produced three Star Wars specials titled "Blue Harvest"Blue Harvest" is the hour-long premiere to the sixth season of the FOX series Family Guy and the first part of the series' trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on September 23, 2007. The episode is a retelling and parody of the 1977 blockbuster film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New...
", "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side"Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" is the season finale of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and part of the series's trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 23, 2010...
", and "It's a Trap!".
When
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
proposed the
Strategic Defense InitiativeThe Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
(SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming
ICBMAn intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
s, 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 PerleRichard Norman Perle is an American political advisor, consultant, and lobbyist who began his career in government, a senior staff member to Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson on the Senate Armed Services Committee in the 1970’s...
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.'" This gained further resonance when Reagan described the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as an "
evil empireThe phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union especially by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words,...
".
See also
- Architecture of Star Wars
The Architecture of Star Wars includes the cities, buildings, ships, and other structures of the fictional Star Wars universe as described and depicted in books, movies, comics, and cartoons...
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy is a 2004 documentary film directed by Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. It documents the making of the original Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back , and Star Wars...
- List of Star Wars creatures
- List of Star Wars weapons
- Physics and Star Wars
The science fantasy interstellar epic Star Wars uses science and technology in its settings and storylines, although it is not considered "hard" science fiction. The series has showcased many technological concepts, both in the movies and in the "Expanded Universe" of novels and comics...
- Star Wars canon
The Star Wars canon consists of the six Star Wars feature films, along with all officially licensed, non-contradicting spin-off works to the six films. As once defined by Lucas Licensing:- History :...
- Star Wars Day
Star Wars Day may refer to one of several dates or events honoring or involving Star Wars.-May 4:This day is considered an official holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate Star Wars culture and honor the films....
- The Story of Star Wars
The Story Of Star Wars was a 1977 record album presenting an abridged version of the events depicted in the film Star Wars, using dialogue and sound effects from the original film. The recording was produced by George Lucas and Alan Livingston, and was narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne. The script was...
- Jedi census phenomenon
The Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was initiated in 2001 for residents of a number of English-speaking countries, urging them to record their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" on the national census.It is believed the majority of self-reported Jedi claimed the religion for...
- Jediism
Jediism is a religious movement based on the philosophical and spiritual ideas of the Jedi as depicted in Star Wars media.-Belief:Practitioners identify themselves with the Jedi Knights in Star Wars, believe in the existence of the Force and that interaction with the Force is possible. Believers...
- Star Wars music
The music of Star Wars consists of the scores written for all six Star Wars films by composer John Williams from 1977 to 1983 for the Original Trilogy, and 1999 to 2005 for the Prequel Trilogy. It includes the Star Wars: The Clone Wars music written by Kevin Kiner...
Further reading
- Star Wars, religion, and philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
- Joseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
's influence on Star Wars
External links