The Star Wars fandom has grown substantially since A New Hope was released in 1977. Since then, Lucasfilm and Disney have made eight other movies and several spin-offs.
The New Hope (Episode 4) – 1977
The Impire Strikes Back (Episode 5) – 1980
The Return of the Jedi (Episode 6) – 1983
The Phantom Menace (Episode 1) – 1999
The Attack of the Clones (Episode 2) – 2002
The Revenge of the Sith (Episode 3) – 2005
The Force Awakens (Episode 7) – 2015
The Last Jedi (Episode 8) – 2017
The Rise of Skywalker (Episode 9) – 2019
Background of Star Wars
Even though George Lucas was most reconized for his success for the Star Wars movies, before the nine movies were made, he directed American Graffiti which set him on the path to fame and recognition.
After the American Graffiti primered, George was still looking for something sci-fi. Myint from Biography says “There was no shortage of sci-fi in Hollywood at the time. But most were dark, dystopian tales like Rollerball, Logan’s Run, or THX 1138 (Lucas’s 1971 feature-film debut). Lucas was determined to make a different kind of sci-fi movie—something fun that was aimed at 14 and 15-year-olds.”
Lucas and Kurtz (Lucas’ friend who helped direct A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back) had a hard time finding companies to sponsor them and their start to A New Hope. Finally, 20th Century Fox decided that they were going to give the two a shot.
It is said that it took years to finalize their script for A New Hope. Myint from Biography says “In fact, early drafts of Star Wars would be unrecognizable to even die-hard fans: Luke Skywalker is a grizzled old general, Han Solo is a frog-like alien, there’s a main character named Kane Starkiller and the dark side of the force is called ‘the Bogan.’” The more drafts the crew made, the more it fit the story-line we know today.
The second draft was published in 1975, and on January 1st 1976, the crew finished their fourth script which they used in A New Hope.
It cost Lucas and Kurtz 18 million for the film. To support them, Fox gave them 7.5 million. The filming began on March 25, 1976.
“The reason I’m making Star Wars is that I want to give young people some sort of faraway exotic environment for their imaginations to run around in,” he said in an interview. “I have a strong feeling about interesting kids in space exploration. I want them to want it. I want them to get beyond the basic stupidities of the moment and think about colonizing Venus and Mars. And the only way it’s going to happen is to have some dumb kid fantasize about it — to get his ray gun, jump in his ship and run off with this wookie into outer space. It’s our only hope in a way.”
George Lucas
How Lucasfilm got sold to Disney
In late 2012, George Lucas announced that he was retiring the Star Wars franchise and was selling the franchise to Disney. The transaction was made on October 30, 2012.
“It’s a very, very, very hard thing to do,” Lucas said about letting go of the franchise, as well as another Lucasfilm property that is now Disney’s, ‘Indiana Jones.’ “You have to say, ‘I have to move on,’ and everything in your body says, ‘Don’t. You can’t.’ These are my kids.” – Guerrasio “George Lucas Said He Sold”
George Lucas
Disney Plus
Disney + is a streaming service owned by Disney. It holds most all of the new and old Disney movies and television series’.
All of the Star Wars movies from episode 1 – 8 can now be watched on Disney plus. After The Rise of Skywalker comes out, it will eventually be put on Disney +. The popular streaming service will then have all 9 and their spinoffs.
Spinoffs
The nine main story-line movies weren’t the only movies to be produced that still somewhat followed the original timeline. Since Lucasfilm has been in Disney’s hands, Disney has made spin-offs that relate to the story-line movies. Rogue One, Solo, and the Mandalorian (A Disney + original) are, for right now, the only spin-off movies / shows on the market. There are rumors that there might be a Kenobi series filming soon.
Meet the Director
J.J. Abrams is directing the Rise of Skywalker. He previously directed Star Trek (2009), Mission: Impossible 3 (2006), The Force Awakens (2015), and many other movies. He is also the winner of two Emmy Awards. The Rise of Skywalker will be released on December 20, 2019.
Popular Theories for the Upcoming Movie
In some of the trailers for the new movie, you can hear Palpatine’s evil laugh. Palpatine supposedly died in The Return of the Jedi. However, our previous suspisions may have not been true.
Here’s the question everyone has been wanting the answer to: who are Rey’s parents?
In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren admits to Rey that her parents were nobodys. There is a possibility that this could be true, but also that it is not. Some people think that she’s a Skywalker, others think she is related to Obi – Wan Kenobi, or Zorri Bliss. She could also be a Solo, or she could, in fact, be no one.
There are so many possibilities. We will all find out when the movie primers!
Fun Facts
- In A New Hope, when Luke was complaning to Han about not being able to see out of his helment, this was not a part of the script. Mark Hamill did not know that the cameras were still rolling, but the writers kept the scene anyways. It worked out great!
- When viewers see the Jedi in their ships in space, the Jedi’s feet were actually sticking out of the front window. At least they don’t have to clean the front!
- Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas’ dog.
- Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), fell alseep behind a tree on set in the Last Jedi!
- Liam Neeson’s (Qui – Gon – Jinn) wig went missing in a thunderstorm while they were filming in Tunisia.
Star Wars Today
Star Wars has become known worldwide. Star Wars merchandise ranges from coffee mugs to decorative plates. Without noticing it, you probably walk by someone posessing some type of Star Wars merchandise a couple times a day. Knowing that the fandom has grown so much, you have a very good chance of striking a conversation up with a stranger about the Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars has been one of the greatest series on Earth, and it’s sad to see the Skywalker saga come to an end after almost 40 years. It has brought a lot of people together…from galaxies far far away. Cheers to the series, cast, and directors!
Works Cited
Guerrasio, Jason “George Lucas said he sold ‘Star Wars’ to ‘white slavers’ Businessinsider.com, 31 Dec, 2015
https://www.businessinsider.com/george-lucas-says-he-sold-star-wars-to-white-slavers-2015-12
Myint, B “George Lucas and the origin story behind ‘Star Wars” Biography.com, 21 Oct, 2019
https://www.biography.com/news/george-lucas-star-wars-facts
Romain, Lindsey “A guide to every theory about Rey’s parents in Star Wars” Nerdist.com, 7 Aug, 2019
https://nerdist.com/article/reys-parents-every-theory-star-wars/
Knox, Kelly “20 odd-but-true Star Wars facts to impress your friends on May the 4th” Starwars.com, 1 May, 2018
20 Odd-But-True Star Wars Facts to Impress Your Friends on May the 4th
THE WARRIOR WORD 
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