Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977, and first subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in the 1979 book The Art of Star Wars. The film's success led Lucas to make it the basis of an elaborate film serial. With the backstory he created for the sequel, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy of trilogies.
Now, let's not get it twisted. The film version of Star Wars is not secretly based on a 1976 book by Alan Dean Foster. Even though the book came out before the movie, Foster was hired by George Lucas to write a tie-in novelization of Lucas's screenplay. The book hit shelves early because Star Wars, the film, was late.
For other uses, see Star Wars saga (disambiguation) and Skywalker Saga (disambiguation). The Star Wars saga, also referred to as the Skywalker saga, is the main line of Star Wars films that began in 1977 by George Lucas, with Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope being the first film.
The film, directed by Lucas, was in production for four years, with scenes shot in Tunisia and Death Valley, California, and on soundstages in England. When it was released on May 25, 1977, Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope) met with runaway success.
Summary. While the Star Wars franchise has many sources of inspiration, one of George Lucas' main influences on the films was the Vietnam War. The Empire in Star Wars was inspired by the Nazis during World War II, but Lucas also took inspiration from the United States' actions during the Nixon administration.
Released in 1977, the film was primarily inspired by the Vietnam War and the Cold War. The film's director and creator, George Lucas, was compelled by the idea of "how democracies get turned into dictatorships" as he was working on the movie.
The film was titled The 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 shortened the title to The Star Wars, and finally just Star Wars.
The 1977 self-titled film, later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope, was followed by the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), subtitled onscreen as Episode V and Episode VI; these films form the original trilogy.
Later, Princess Leia comes to save Han but is captured by Jabba, who turns her into a slave. While Luke Skywalker comes to rescue them, Leia chokes Jabba to death by wrapping the chain connected to her around his neck and pulling it tightly.
The early scripts were originally called The Star Wars, because it was about — you guessed it — a war that takes place among the stars. It's not some metaphorical title. There is a literal war going on between the Empire and the Rebellion. It's a very literal title.
The saga was produced non-chronologically, beginning in media res with the release of the original trilogy between 1977 and 1983. This was followed by the prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005, and the sequel trilogy, released between 2015 and 2019.
One of the biggest questions fans have had is why 1977's Star Wars was called Episode IV, despite being the first film in what would become a blockbuster franchise. The logical explanation for why Star Wars starts with Episode IV is that the prequel trilogy was (naturally) set before the original; hence, the numbering.
The work of the mythologist Joseph Campbell, especially his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, directly influenced Lucas, and is what drove him to create the "modern myth" of Star Wars.
During his fight with Luke Skywalker his suit was partially damaged (he had his arm cut off… again). So technically the explanation in RotJ was correct; Vader did die from massive electrical trauma to his body and suit.
Darth Vader didn't learn he had a daughter until Return of the Jedi, when he stood before Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor's power probed Luke's mind, attempting to goad him to fall to the dark side, and he discovered Leia's existence. "Sister," the Emperor taunted.
The Star Wars Trilogy began with Star Wars: A New Hope (originally released as simply Star Wars) in 1977. The films included in the original Star Wars Trilogy are listed below.
Biography. Legend had it that Yoda—a Jedi who became Grand Master—was trained by N'Kata Del Gormo. A Force-sensitive Hysalrian, N'Kata Del Gormo was trained in the ways of the Force and achieved the rank of Master within the Jedi Order.
The Prime Jedi was an individual who became the first Jedi to ever use the Force. The Prime Jedi was also the founder of the Jedi Order, which they established on the planet Ahch-To around 25,025 BBY.
The Perlemian Trade Route is founded, linking Coruscant with Ossus and the Tion Cluster. The Corellian Run is mapped, ensuring the economic dominance of Corellia in the forming Republic; the Corellian Run forms the southern border of the Slice. The last year that the Alzoc system was part of the Infinite Empire.
The “real-life” Order 66 occurred in Ancient Rome, when Constantius II purged the Roman imperial family in order to, like Palpatine, centralize his power and ultimately become emperor. Perhaps even George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, was inspired by Constantius II's act.
The Big Picture. Darth Vader's character design in Star Wars was heavily influenced by Date Masamune, a legendary samurai from Japan known as the "One-Eyed Dragon."
In addition, stormtroopers would serve with the regular infantry to enforce oppressive rule over the galaxy. Taking their name from the "storm" of galactic history, clone troopers served as the first generation of stormtroopers, and were gradually replaced by Imperial recruits known as TK stormtroopers.
