George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur. Lucas is best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
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. In 2020, its total value was estimated at US$70 billion, and it is currently the fifth-highest-grossing media franchise of all time.
Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The sequel to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980), it is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, the third film to be produced, and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". 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. A preteen Boba is portrayed by Daniel Logan 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.
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 throughout 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". He has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever.
The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas. The sequel to Star Wars (1977), it is the second film in the Star Wars film series and the fifth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set three years after the events of Star Wars, the film recounts the battle between the malevolent Galactic Empire, led by the Emperor, and the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia. Luke Skywalker trains to master the Force so he can confront the powerful Sith lord, Darth Vader. The ensemble cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002), it is the sixth film in the Star Wars film series, the final installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and third chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga".
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses whilst in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound, and computer animation for films. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California; most of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. Disney acquired Lucasfilm on October 30, 2012, for $4.05 billion in the form of cash and stock, with $1.855 billion in stock.
Changes in Star Wars re-releases vary from minor differences in color timing, audio mixing, and take choices to major insertions of new visual effects, additions of characters and dialogue, scene expansions, and replacement of original cast members with newer ones. Though changes were also made to the prequel trilogy, the original trilogy saw the most alteration. Dissatisfied with the original theatrical cuts of the original Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, creator George Lucas altered the films in ways that were ostensibly not initially possible, primarily due to limitations of time, budget, and technology.
The original Star Wars trilogy, formerly marketed as the Star Wars Trilogy, is the first set of three films produced in the Star Wars franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox, and consists of Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Beginning in medias res, the original trilogy serves as the second act of the nine-episode Skywalker saga. It was followed by a prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005, and a sequel trilogy between 2015 and 2019. Collectively, they are referred to as the "Skywalker Saga" to distinguish them from spin-off films set within the same universe.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy, colloquially referred to as the prequels, is a series of epic space-opera films written and directed by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy was released from 1999 to 2005 and is set before the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–83), making it the first act of the Skywalker saga, despite being the second released. Lucas had planned a prequel trilogy before the release of the original film, but halted major Star Wars films beyond the original trilogy by 1981. When computer-generated imagery (CGI) had advanced to the level he wanted for the visual effects he wanted for subsequent films, Lucas revived plans for the prequels by the early 1990s. The trilogy marked Lucas's return to directing after a 22-year hiatus following the original Star Wars in 1977.
Christopher Patrick Gore is an American speaker and writer on the topic of independent film.
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.
The People vs. George Lucas is a 2010 documentary comedy film directed by Swiss director Alexandre O. Philippe. It explores the issues of filmmaking and fanaticism pertaining to the Star Wars franchise and its creator, George Lucas. The film combines filmmaker and celebrity interviews with fan films, mainly taken from the 2010 online video Star Wars Uncut, which were submitted via the film's site.
Doug Adams is a musician, author, lecturer, and educator. He is the author of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, a book about the music in The Lord of the Rings films.
Star Wars: Aftermath is a trilogy of Star Wars science fiction novels by American author Chuck Wendig. Set soon after the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, the series explores the time period between that film and 2015's The Force Awakens. The trilogy began in 2015 with Aftermath, which was followed by the sequels Aftermath: Life Debt (2016) and Aftermath: Empire's End (2017). Aftermath is one of the projects in "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens", a 2015 Star Wars publishing initiative to connect The Force Awakens with previous film installments.
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen. The film follows three childhood friends, Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb, from 1982 to 1989 as they set out to make a fan film of Raiders of the Lost Ark. 35 years later in 2014, it shows how they get back together to finish filming the "plane sequence", a previously missing scene from their remake.
Star Wars: SC 38 – Reimagined is a 2019 fan remake of the 38th scene in Star Wars (1977), in which the characters of Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi and Darth Vader engage in a lightsaber duel on the first Death Star. It was directed by Philip Silvera, and stars stuntpeople, Dan Brown and Richard Cetrone, performing in the new footage as Kenobi and Vader respectively. It was uploaded by FXitinPost to YouTube on May 8, 2019.
