Star Wars (franchise)

''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. ''Star Wars'' is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

The original film (''Star Wars''), retroactively subtitled '' Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977), was followed by the sequels '' Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' (1983), forming the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. Lucas later returned to the series to direct a prequel trilogy, consisting of '' Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' (1999), '' Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002), and '' Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' (2005). In 2012, Lucas sold his production company to Disney, relinquishing his ownership of the franchise. This led to a sequel trilogy, consisting of '' Episode VII: The Force Awakens'' (2015), '' Episode VIII: The Last Jedi'' (2017), and '' Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019).

All nine films of the "Skywalker Saga" were nominated for Academy Awards, with wins going to the first two releases. Together with the theatrical live action "anthology" films ''Rogue One'' (2016) and ''Solo'' (2018), the combined box office revenue of the films equated to over  billion, which makes it the second-highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Additional upcoming films are in the works, including an untitled movie from Taika Waititi and ''Rogue Squadron'' directed by Patty Jenkins, both currently without release dates.

Premise

The ''Star Wars'' franchise depicts the adventures of characters "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away", in which humans and many species of aliens (often humanoid) co-exist with robots (typically referred to in the films as ' droids'), who may assist them in their daily routines; space travel between planets is common due to lightspeed hyperspace technology. The planets range from wealthy, planet-wide cities to deserts scarcely populated by primitive tribes. Virtually any Earth biome, along with many fictional ones, has its counterpart as a ''Star Wars'' planet which, in most cases, teem with sentient and non-sentient alien life. The franchise also makes use of other astronomical objects such as asteroid fields and nebulae. Spacecraft range from small starfighters, to huge capital ships such as the Star Destroyers, to space stations such as the moon-sized Death Stars. Telecommunication includes two-way audio and audiovisual screens, holographic projections, and HoloNet (internet counterpart).

The universe of ''Star Wars'' is generally similar to ours but its laws of physics are less strict allowing for more imaginative stories. One result of that is a mystical power known as the Force which is described in the original film as "an energy field created by all living things ... hatbinds the galaxy together". The field is depicted as a kind of pantheistic god. Through training and meditation, those whom "the Force is strong with" exhibit various superpowers (such as telekinesis, precognition, telepathy, and manipulation of physical energy). It is believed nothing is impossible for the Force. The mentioned powers are wielded by two major knightly orders at conflict with each other: the Jedi, peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic who act on the light side of the Force through non-attachment and arbitration, and the Sith, who use the dark side by manipulating fear and aggression. While Jedi Knights can be numerous, the Dark Lords of the Sith (or 'Darths') are intended to be limited to two: a master and their apprentice. Another notable fictional element of ''Star Wars'' is hyperspace, an alternate dimension that allows faster-than-light travel.

Force-wielders are very limited in numbers in comparison to the population. The Jedi and Sith prefer the use of a weapon called a lightsaber, a blade of plasma that can cut through virtually any surface and deflect energy bolts. The rest of the population, as well as renegades and soldiers, use plasma-powered blaster firearms. As a result of galaxy-scaled politics (involving republics, empires, kingdoms, alliances, etc.), all this weaponry is made use of in various military conflicts during which most ''Star Wars'' material takes place. In the outer reaches of the galaxy, crime syndicates such as the Hutt cartel are dominant. Bounty hunters are often employed by both gangsters and governments. Illicit activities include smuggling and slavery.

The combination of science fiction and fantasy elements makes ''Star Wars'' a very universal franchise, capable of telling stories of various genres.

Films

The Skywalker Saga

Spin-off films

Upcoming films

The ''Star Wars'' film series centers around three sets of trilogies, the nine films of which are collectively referred to as the "Skywalker Saga". They were produced non-chronologically, with ''Episode''s ''IV''–''VI'' (the original trilogy) being released between 1977 and 1983, ''Episode''s ''I''–''III'' (the prequel trilogy) being released between 1999 and 2005, and ''Episode''s ''VII''–''IX'' (the sequel trilogy), being released between 2015 and 2019. Each trilogy focuses on a generation of the Force-sensitive Skywalker family. The original trilogy depicts the heroic development of Luke Skywalker, the prequels tell the backstory of his father Anakin, while the sequels feature Luke's nephew, Ben Solo, and Luke's protegé Rey.

An anthology series set between the main episodes entered development in parallel to the production of the sequel trilogy, described by Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo as origin stories. The first entry, ''Rogue One'' (2016), tells the story of the rebels who steal the Death Star plans just before ''Episode IV''. ''Solo'' (2018) focuses on Han Solo's backstory, also featuring original trilogy co-protagonists Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian and involving prequel trilogy villain Darth Maul.

Lucasfilm has a number of ''Star Wars'' films in development, two of which were confirmed during Disney Investor Day 2020. The first will be an unspecified film from Taika Waititi, who in May 2020 was announced to be directing a ''Star Wars'' film he was co-writing with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The second is a film titled ''Rogue Squadron'', which is being directed by Patty Jenkins. Additionally, a trilogy independent from the Skywalker Saga is being written by ''The Last Jedi'' writer/director Rian Johnson. In September 2019, it was announced that Kathleen Kennedy and Kevin Feige would collaborate to develop a ''Star Wars'' film, however the film was no longer in active development as of 2022. In February 2020, a film was announced to be in development from director J. D. Dillard and writer Matt Owens, however, Dillard announced he was no longer attatched to direct that film in November 2022. In May 2022, the Waititi film was expected to be the next ''Star Wars'' film to be produced, ahead of the previously announced ''Rogue Squadron'', with Kennedy stating that they were aiming for a late 2023 release date but had not yet officially scheduled one. As of September 2022, untitled films are scheduled for release on December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027.

The Skywalker Saga

Original trilogy

In 1971, George Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the ''Flash Gordon'' serial, but could not obtain the rights, so he began developing his own space opera. After directing ''American Graffiti'' (1973), he wrote a two-page synopsis, which 20th Century Fox decided to invest in. By 1974, he had expanded the story into the first draft of a screenplay.
Fox expected the film would be of limited financial success, and so it was given a relatively low budget, with production being moved to Elstree Studios in England to help save on cost. Many of the scenes were shot in England, and so featured a number of British actors. The ''Star Wars'' robots were built by the small English company ''Peteric Engineering''. A 2019 BBC
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