Tomb Raider, known as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise is currently owned by CDE Entertainment; it was formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, then by Square Enix Europe after Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in 2009 until Embracer Group purchased the intellectual property alongside Eidos in 2022. The franchise focuses on the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins. Gameplay generally focuses on exploration, solving puzzles, navigating hostile environments filled with traps, and fighting enemies. Additional media has been developed for the franchise in the form of film adaptations, comics and novels.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader". Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. His masked face and helmet, in particular, is one of the most iconic character designs of all time.
"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" is a musical theme present in the Star Wars franchise. It was composed by John Williams for the film The Empire Strikes Back. Together with "Yoda's Theme", "The Imperial March" was premiered on April 29, 1980, three weeks before the opening of the film, on the occasion of John Williams' first concert as official conductor-in-residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. One of the best known symphonic movie themes, it is used as a leitmotif throughout the Star Wars franchise.
Ralph Angus McQuarrie was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original Star Wars trilogy, the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and the film Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award.
Keith Short was a British sculptor, primarily working within the feature film industry in the UK.
Shepperton Design Studios is an England-based manufacturer of Star Wars replica props and memorabilia that was sued by Lucasfilm for copyright infringement.
The Sith are the main antagonists of many works in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Separatist Alliance, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant and the First Order, all originated, either directly or indirectly, from the Sith.
A Star Wars Pez is a Pez candy dispenser themed after the Star Wars movies, and is one of the company's most prominent merchandising deals. Over 90 dispensers have been released on the market from 1997 to 2022, among the many collectibles spawned by the franchise.
Stormtroopers are soldiers in the fictional Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in the original Star Wars film, the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his lieutenants, most notably Lord Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, during the original film trilogy (1977–1983) and Rebels (2014–18). The prequel trilogy (1999–2005) and The Clone Wars (2008–2020) explores their predecessors in the Galactic Republic's clone troopers, clones of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, used by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to "win" the Clone Wars and later to take over the government and exterminate the Jedi. After this, in The Bad Batch (2021–present), stormtroopers are established as human recruits, trained by clone troopers gradually being phased out of active service; at the time of the original trilogy, only a few stormtroopers are clones, with the only known legion to still contain a significant number of clones being the 501st Legion, a.k.a. "Vader's Fist", with many stormtroopers remaining in service to Imperial remnants following the Empire's fall under Moff Gideon and Grand Admiral Thrawn in The Mandalorian (2019–present) and Ahsoka (2023). In the sequel trilogy (2015–2019), the First Order employs stormtroopers under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his enforcers, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma.
Mighty Muggs are a vinyl–plastic collectible toy series made by Hasbro. The toys resemble super deformed versions of characters from the following franchises: Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Indiana Jones, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. There is a line of smaller figures, called Mini Muggs, as well as blank Mighty Muggs for customization. The line was commercially dormant for a few years, but certain retailers received exclusive 'continuation' lines. Comic-Con International 2011 had an exclusive Avengers line.
"Robot 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. Like "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" it has been released on its own DVD, on July 21, 2009, and will not be part of a season box set. The DVD contains the original broadcast version, and the "Extended Version", which features an additional 15 minutes of footage cut from the broadcast version. It was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.
"Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III" is a 2010 episode special 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. The special is 45 minutes long, as opposed to the usual 11-minute Robot Chicken runtime and the 21-minute runtime of the two previous Star Wars specials. It was the final Robot Chicken: Star Wars special.
Lucasfilm Limited v Ainsworth[2011] UKSC 39 was a 2011 court ruling by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The case concerned an intellectual property dispute over the production of Lucasfilm's Stormtrooper costumes by model maker Andrew Ainsworth. Mr Ainsworth argued that the helmets, which he continues to manufacture and sell, were functional props covered only by design right legislation, as opposed to Lucasfilm's assertion that they were sculptures or art which fall under copyright law. Design right protection is retained for 15 or 10 years, whereas copyright protection in this case would last 70 years after the death of the author.
Tomb Raider is a 2018 action-adventure film directed by Roar Uthaug, with a screenplay by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Alastair Siddons, from a story by Evan Daugherty and Robertson-Dworet. An American and British co-production, it is based on the 2013 video game of the same name, with some elements of its sequel by Crystal Dynamics, a reboot, and the third installment in the Tomb Raider film series. The film stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, who embarks on a perilous journey to her father's last-known destination, hoping to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, and Kristin Scott Thomas appear in supporting roles.
Elizabeth Moore was a British sculptor, known for working in the props for various films.
I Am Your Father is a 2015 Spanish documentary film written and directed by Toni Bestard (es) and Marcos Cabotá (es). The film deals with actor David Prowse many years after he played the role of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy.
