Star Wars is an American epic space opera media 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.
Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film that is a sequel to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". It is directed by Richard Marquand based on a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The film follows the ongoing struggle between the malevolent Galactic Empire and the freedom fighters of the Rebel Alliance. As the Rebels attempt to destroy the Empire's second Death Star, Luke Skywalker tries to bring his father, Darth Vader, back from the dark side of the Force. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.
Boba Fett is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. First appearing in the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel film trilogies. In the original trilogy, the character is a supporting antagonist and was mainly portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch and voiced by Jason Wingreen. Notable for his taciturn demeanor and for never removing his helmet, Fett appears in both The Empire Strikes Back (1980), employed by the Galactic Empire, and Return of the Jedi (1983), serving the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. While seemingly killed in Return of the Jedi after falling into a sarlacc, he has since appeared in Star Wars media set after the film, confirming his survival within the new canon, portrayed by Temuera Morrison. Daniel Logan plays a preteen Boba in the prequel film Attack of the Clones (2002), which reveals the character's origins as the genetic clone and adoptive son of Jango Fett, also a famous bounty hunter. Morrison appeared first in Star Wars media playing Jango. The animated series The Bad Batch further reveals Boba to have been born Alpha, and to have a biological twin sister, Omega. The series also reveals that he has another sister named Emerie Karr.
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout Star Wars. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent laser sword about 3 feet (0.91 m) in length emitted from a metal hilt around 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length. First introduced in the original Star Wars film, it has since appeared in most Star Wars films, with at least one lightsaber duel occurring in each installment of the "Skywalker saga". The lightsaber's distinct appearance was created using rotoscoping for the original films, and with digital effects for the prequel and sequel trilogies.
Katee Sackhoff is an American actress. She is known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series Another Life (2019–2021), Victoria "Vic" Moretti on the A&E / Netflix series Longmire and Bo-Katan Kryze on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2020–present). She also provided the voice for Kryze in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012–2020), Star Wars Rebels (2017) and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024), as well as the voice of Bitch Pudding on Robot Chicken (2005–present). She was nominated for four Saturn Awards for her work on Battlestar Galactica and won the award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2005.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy is the third trilogy of the main Star Wars franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It is produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The trilogy consists of episodes VII through IX, chronologically following the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, serving as the final act of the "Skywalker Saga". Lucas had planned a sequel trilogy as early as 1976, but canceled it by 1981. He produced only the first six episodes, and for a time described these as comprising the complete story. The sequel trilogy concept was revived when the Walt Disney Company entered negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm in 2011. Lucas produced new story treatments, but these were largely discarded. Both the acquisition and plans to produce the trilogy were announced in late 2012.
Tales of the Bounty Hunters (1996) is an anthology of short stories set in the fictional Star Wars universe. It presents the background stories about each bounty hunter that was seen aboard Darth Vader's Star Destroyer in the film The Empire Strikes Back. It contains the tales of IG-88, Dengar, Bossk, Zuckuss and 4-LOM, and Boba Fett.
Another Hope is a Star Wars fan fiction novel that became controversial in 2006 when its author, Lori Jareo, released it for commercial sale.
George Lucas's science fiction multi-film Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern popular culture. Star Wars references are deeply embedded in popular culture; references to the main characters and themes of Star Wars are casually made in many English-speaking countries with the assumption that others will understand the reference. Darth Vader has become an iconic villain, while characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 have all become widely recognized characters around the world. Phrases such as "evil empire", "May the Force be with you", "Jedi mind trick" and "I am your father" have become part of the popular lexicon. The first Star Wars film in 1977 was a cultural unifier, enjoyed by a wide spectrum of people.
Gina Joy Carano is an American actress and former mixed martial artist. She competed in Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women's MMA", although Carano rejected this title. She and Cris Cyborg were the first women to headline a major MMA event during their 2009 Strikeforce bout. Carano retired from competition after her first professional MMA defeat to Cyborg.
Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries.
Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series ; the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.
Star Wars has been expanded to media other than the original films. This spin-off material is licensed and moderated by Lucasfilm, though during his involvement with the franchise Star Wars creator George Lucas reserved the right to both draw from and contradict it in his own works. Such derivative works have been produced concurrently with, between, and after the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, as well as the spin-off films and television series. Commonly explored Star Wars media include books, comic books, and video games, though other forms such as audio dramas have also been produced.
Star Wars Forces of Destiny is a 2D animated web series by Lucasfilm Animation released through Lucasfilm's YouTube channel. Set across multiple eras of the Star Wars franchise, it is a collection of two- to three-minute shorts centering on female characters featured in previous Star Wars installments. The series premiered on July 3, 2017, beginning the daily release of a set of eight episodes; these episodes subsequently began broadcasting on Disney Channel on July 9. An additional eight episodes were released in late 2017, and the second season of sixteen episodes was released in 2018.
The Mandalorian is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise and begins five years after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). It follows a lone bounty hunter who protects a Force-sensitive child, Grogu, from remnant Imperial forces.
Vader Episode I: Shards of the Past is a 2018 Star Wars fan film created by Star Wars Theory. On December 20, 2018, a screening was held at the Landmark's Regent Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, and on December 21, 2018, it was released to YouTube. As of October 2022, a sequel, Vader Episode II: The Amethyst Blade is in pre-production. About six minutes of the episode have been released on YouTube via two cinematic teasers, and the full episode is expected to release within the next couple years with a planned third episode in early development.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is an American space opera television miniseries produced by Lucasfilm for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise. Set ten years after the Jedi Order was purged during the events of the film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), the series follows surviving Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi who emerges from hiding to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia from the Galactic Empire's Inquisitors. This brings Kenobi into conflict with his former apprentice, Darth Vader.
Ahsoka, also known as Star Wars: Ahsoka, is an American space fantasy television series created by Dave Filoni for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise and a spin-off from The Mandalorian, taking place in the same timeframe as that series and its other interconnected spin-offs after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). Ahsoka follows former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano and her allies as they fight the remnants of the Galactic Empire during the time of the fledgling New Republic.
