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Star Wars is an American science-fiction media franchise created by George Lucas. As of December 2019, nine movies in the main series have been made by Lucasfilm Ltd, released by 20th Century Fox, and distributed by The Walt Disney Company. The first Star wars movie came out in 1977.
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Star Wars has been super popular that there have been Star Wars books, video games, television shows, toys, spin-off movies/television series and more. It is also known for its iconic music by John Williams. With influences such as, Starcrash, The Man Who Saved The World, etc.
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'The Force'
The Force is a mystical power. Those who can harness if for good follow a religion known as the Jedi. It is a belief that the force flows through every living thing. In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi:
The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.
People who can control the Force with their minds get a number of psychic powers, such telepathy (reading others thoughts), telekenesis (moving things with their minds), precognition (knowing about things before they happen), mind control (reaching people in their conscious to tell them commands they must follow), and the ability to heal others (they are healed by transferring one´s life force to another to heal their wounds)
The Jedi and the Sith
The Jedi are a group of beings who use the Force to bring peace and harmony to people, planets, and cultures. They are trained to use the force for good purposes. They are sworn enemies with another group called the Sith.
The Sith are a group of beings who use the force as a power source; they are trained to use the force to gain ultimate power. The Sith normally use the force to gain power in battles with their enemy who are the Jedi. They also use the force to bring destruction to the universe and anything in their way. They are the antagonists, and they usually use red lightsabers in contrast to the variety of colors used by the Jedi. There are usually only two Sith, a master and an apprentice.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Lightsabers
The lightsaber is a dangerous and powerful weapon used by the Jedi and the Sith. It can be described simply as a light sword. These weapons are very special to a Jedi or Sith. They are custom built to special specifications by the Jedi or Sith. The Sith tend to take a Jedi's lightsaber as a prize if they win the battle. Many epic battles have been fought with lightsabers between the Jedi and the Sith. For the lightsaber to be a weapon it is powered by a special crystal called a kyber crystal. The kyber crystal comes in many different colors such as: Red, white, yellow, orange, and many more. The reason it is powerful and dangerous is that when someone touches the blade, one gets burned straight away.
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The main nine movies (Episodes 1 to 9) are about the Skywalker family. However, there are many television series, spin-off films, and other media which tell more of the story.
Episodes 1—3
Two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, travel to a remote desert planet called Tatooine and find a young boy who is enslaved named Anakin Skywalker. They free Anakin from slavery and take him to learn the ways of the Force and to become a Jedi. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation attacks the planet Naboo. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fight the Sith lord Darth Maul, while Anakin helps to stop the Trade Federation army. Obi-Wan defeats Maul, but Qui-Gon is killed. Naboo's senator, Palpatine, uses the crisis to get elected as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
Ten years later, the Sith lord and Separatist leader Count Dooku tries to kill Senator Padmé Amidala. Anakin is told to protect her and falls in love. He then has nightmares of his mother in pain. Anakin returns to Tatooine to save her, but she was killed by Sandpeople. Anakin fights Dooku with Obi-Wan and Yoda. The Clone Wars begin and Anakin marries Padmé in secret. Later, Anakin kills Dooku and has nightmares of Padmé dying in childbirth. Palpatine, who is secretly the evil Darth Sidious, tells Anakin he can save her. Anakin becomes his apprentice, the Sith lord Darth Vader. Palpatine uses his army to kill the Jedi, with only Yoda and Obi-Wan surviving. He turns the Republic into the Empire and makes himself emperor.
Yoda fights Palpatine, while Obi-Wan fights Vader. Padmé gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia, who Vader doesn't know about. Padmé dies shortly after giving birth. The twins are separated to prevent Vader and Palpatine from finding them. Obi-Wan sends Luke to Tatooine to live with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Leia is raised by Senator Bail Organa of the planet Alderaan; she is called Princess Leia Organa.
Episodes 4—6
Nineteen years later, the Empire is fought by the Rebel Alliance. Rebel spies have stolen secret plans for the Empire's super weapon, the Death Star. Princess Leia hides the plans in R2-D2, a robot. He travels to Tatooine with his friend C-3PO to find Obi-Wan for help. The two robots meet Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They rescue Leia, who has been captured by Darth Vader. After Vader kills Obi-Wan, Luke joins the Rebel Alliance and destroys the Death Star.
The Empire try to find Luke and the hidden Rebel Alliance base. Luke travels to a remote swamp planet to learn the Jedi ways from Yoda. Darth Vader captures Leia, Han, Chewbacca and the two robots. Luke saves them and fights Vader. He tells Luke that he is his father. Later, Luke becomes a Jedi and rescues Han from a gangster called Jabba the Hutt. They travel to a forest planet to stop the Empire from building another Death Star.
Luke and Leia find out that they are siblings. Luke fights Vader again and meets Palpatine, who tortures him. Vader turns good and kills Palpatine to save Luke. Vader dies, the new Death Star is destroyed, and the Empire is defeated.
Episodes 7—9
Thirty years later, the New Republic rules the galaxy. However, the Empire's followers have come together to form the First Order. They are fought by the Resistance, led by Leia, who had a son called Ben with Han. Ben was corrupted by Supreme Leader Snoke and became the First Order's commander, Kylo Ren.
Luke rebuilt the Jedi but left because Ben killed Luke's students. Leia tries to find Luke, while Han fights the First Order with a scavenger called Rey and a former stormtrooper called Finn. The First Order destroy the New Republic and Kylo Ren kills Han. Rey finds Luke, who refuses to teach her how to become a Jedi. Meanwhile, the First Order chase the Resistance. Luke finally teaches Rey and she tries to turn Kylo Ren good again, but he kills Snoke to become Supreme Leader. Luke dies after saving the Resistance.
A year later, the Resistance find out that Palpatine has come back from the dead and is the true leader of the First Order. They go on an adventure to find him. Rey finds out that Palpatine is her grandfather. Kylo Ren finally turns good after his mother, Leia, dies. Rey kills Palpatine with the help of the spirits of every dead Jedi. Kylo Ren, the last surviving Skywalker, dies shortly after. Rey goes to Tatooine, the planet where both Anakin and Luke grew up. She buries their lightsabers and when a stranger asks for her name, she says, "Rey Skywalker".
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| Character | Description | Actor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| R2-D2 | Two droid (robot) companions who appear in all nine movies. R2-D2 was initially owned by the government of Naboo. C-3PO was built by Anakin Skywalker when he was a young boy. | Kenny Baker |
| C-3PO | Anthony Daniels | |
| Darth Vader | Darth Vader is one of the main villains of the series and is also the central character. He was a young boy named Anakin Skywalker who was discovered by the Jedi and taken to learn the ways of the Force. However, his fear of his wife, Padmé Amidala, dying, made him turn to the Dark Side.
As Darth Vader, he helped kill all of the Jedi and establish the Galactic Empire. He led the war against the Rebellion, who wanted to end the Empire. It wasn't until his son, Luke, was almost killed that he turned back to the Light Side of the Force and sacrificed himself. |
|
| Luke Skywalker | He is the son of Darth Vader. Luke grew up on a desert planet with his aunt and uncle. However, he eventually met Obi-Wan Kenobi and joined the Rebellion in the fight to defeat the Empire. Luke trains to become a Jedi and hopes to turn Darth Vader back to the Light Side. | Mark Hamill |
| Princess Leia | She is the daughter of Darth Vader. Leia grew up as the adopted daughter of the King and Queen of Alderaan. She is also the leader of the Rebellion and later the Resistance. Even though Leia is not a Jedi, she can still use the Force. | Carrie Fisher |
| Han Solo | Han Solo is a former gangster and pirate who helped Luke and Obi-Wan on their mission to rescue Leia from the Empire. Han later joined the Rebellion. He fell in love with Leia and they had a son. | Harrison Ford |
| Chewbacca | Chewbacca is an alien creature known as a "Wookiee". He is the companion of Han Solo. |
|
| Obi-Wan Kenobi | Obi-Wan Kenobi is a member of the Jedi. He was initially Anakin's Jedi Master (teacher) but later became his best friend. When all of the Jedi were killed, Obi-Wan was among the last two survivors. He later met Luke and began Luke's journey of saving the galaxy. |
|
| Yoda | Yoda is a small green alien who is over 800 years old. He is the leader of all the Jedi and wisest of them. After the Sith take over the galaxy, Yoda hides on a swamp planet named Dagobah. | Frank Oz |
| Palpatine | Publicly, Palpatine is a kind politician who is the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Secretly, however, he is an evil Sith called Darth Sidious. Palpatine is responsible for turning Anakin to the Dark Side, killing most of the Jedi and for ruling the galaxy under the Galactic Empire. | Ian McDiarmid |
| Padmé Amidala | Padmé is a young politician from Naboo. She was the elected Queen of Naboo. Padmé fell in love with Anakin and they married in secret. She eventually died while giving birth to Luke and Leia. | Natalie Portman |
| Rey | Rey is a scavenger girl who grew up on Jakku. She doesn't know who her family is. Rey joins the Resistance and is taught by Luke how to become a Jedi. She later finds out that she is related to Palpatine. | Daisy Ridley |
| Kylo Ren | Formerly known as Ben Solo, Kylo Ren is the son of Han and Leia. He was a Jedi but much like his granfather, Vader, he turned to the Dark Side. | Adam Driver |
| Finn | Finn was a stormtrooper, a soldier for the Empire/First Order, but he later deserted his position and joined the Resistance. | John Boyega |
| Poe Dameron | Poe Dameron is a pilot who works for the Resistance. He has a droid named BB-8. | Oscar Isaac |
| Boba Fett | Boba Fett is a mysterious bounty hunter who always wears a helmet. He has worked for the Galactic Empire and criminal groups. His father was also a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. |
|
| Jabba the Hutt | Jabba the Hutt is a slug-like alien gangster who operates a crime group. | Multiple pupetteers |
| General Hux | General Armitage Hux is the leader of the First Order's army. | Domhnall Gleeson |
| Captain Phasma | Captain Phasma is a stormtrooper with chrome armour. She is the leader of the stormtroopers in the First Order. | Gwendoline Christie |
| Qui-Gon Jinn | A rebellious Jedi Knight. He is the one who discovered Anakin and brought him in to the Jedi Order. | Liam Neeson |
| Supreme Leader Snoke | He is a deformed creature who is the public leader of the First Order, but is in fact just an underling of Darth Sidious. | Andy Serkis |
| Darth Maul | Maul is a horned alien with red and black tattoos. He was one of the first followers of Darth Sidious. | Ray Park |
| Mace Windu | Mace Windu is a strict Jedi Master known for his purple lightsaber. | Samuel L. Jackson |
| Count Dooku | Dooku is a former Jedi who later joined Darth Sidious. He is the leader of a group known as the Separatist Alliance. | Christopher Lee |
| Grand Moff Tarkin | He is a high-ranking member of the Galactic Empire. | Peter Cushing |
| Nute Gunray | Nute Gunray is a slimy alien businessman. He gives his army of droids to Palpatine for his evil schemes. | Silas Carson |
There are many more characters in the series who appear in the movies, books and television series such as Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger and Jyn Erso.
- X-wing Fighter
- TIE Fighter
- Millennium Falcon
Many books, short movies, and video games have been produced that deal with events that do not happen in the original movies. They also tell more about things that did happen in the movies. For example, the book Death Star tells about the building and destruction of the space station from the original movie. It tells much about things seen in that movie but from the point of view of the people on the station. A different example is that in the Expanded Universe, sometimes the Sith are shown as the protagonists. Most of the stories in the Expanded Universe are about the rebuilding of the Republic after the Empire's defeat. They are set anywhere from the early Sith Wars which happened 5,000 years before Episode VI to more than one hundred years after Episode VI.
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Movies
There are currently eleven live-action movies and one animated movie.
Nine of the movies are labelled as "episodes". These movies are part of the "Skywalker Saga", which is the central story of the franchise and follows the story of Darth Vader. Episodes 4—6 form the Original Trilogy (1977—1983), Episodes 1—3 form the Prequel Trilogy (1999—2005) and Episodes 7—9 form the Sequel Trilogy.
| No. | Trilogy | Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prequel | The Phantom Menace | 1999 | George Lucas |
| 2 | Attack of the Clones | 2002 | ||
| 3 | Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | ||
| 4 | Original | Star Wars | 1977 | |
| 5 | The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 | Irvin Kershner | |
| 6 | Return of the Jedi | 1983 | Richard Marquand | |
| 7 | Sequel | The Force Awakens | 2015 | J. J. Abrams |
| 8 | The Last Jedi | 2017 | Rian Johnson | |
| 9 | The Rise of Skywalker | 2019 | J. J. Abrams |
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| The Clone Wars | 2008 | Dave Filoni |
| Rogue One | 2016 | Gareth Edwards |
| Solo | 2018 | Ron Howard |
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Rogue Squadron | 2023 | Patty Jenkins |
| Untitled | 2025 | Unknown |
| Untitled | 2027 | Unknown |
| Untitled | N/A | James Mangold |
| Untitled | N/A | Kevin Feige |
| Untitled | N/A | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy |
| Untitled | N/A | Taika Waititi |
| Untitled | N/A | Rian Johnson |
| Untitled | N/A | |
| Untitled | N/A |
Television Specials
- Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
- Caravan of Courage (1984)
- The Battle of Endor (1985)
Television
There have been 18 television series and three television specials. The longest series is Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In addition, there have also been some short animated miniseries released on YouTube such as Forces of Destiny and Galaxy of Adventures.
| Title | Creator(s) | Network | Years | Seasons | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Began | Ended | |||||
| Visions | Multiple | Disney+ | 2021 | 2 | 18 | |
| Clone Wars | Genndy Tartakovsky | Cartoon Network | 2003 | 2005 | 3 | 25 |
| The Clone Wars | Dave Filoni | Cartoon Network | 2008 | 2020 | 7 | 133 |
| The Bad Batch | Dave Filoni | Disney+ | 2021 | 2 | 32 | |
| Droids | Ken Stephenson | ABC | 1985 | 1986 | 1 | 14 |
| Obi-Wan Kenobi | Deborah Chow | Disney+ | 2022 | 2022 | 1 | 6 |
| Rebels | Dave Filoni | Cartoon Network | 2014 | 2018 | 4 | 75 |
| Andor | Tony Gilroy | Disney+ | 2022 | 1 | 12 | |
| Ewoks | Ken Stephenson | ABC | 1985 | 1986 | 2 | 26 |
| Resistance | Dave Filoni | Disney Channel | 2018 | 2020 | 2 | 40 |
| The Mandalorian | Jon Favreau | Disney+ | 2019 | 3 | 24 | |
| The Book of Boba Fett | Jon Favreau | Disney+ | 2021 | 2022 | 1 | 7 |
| Ahsoka | Dave Filoni | Disney+ | 2023 | 1 | 8 | |
Video games
The Star Wars franchise has spawned over one hundred computer, video, and board games, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on the movie material, while others rely heavily on the non-canonical Expanded Universe (rebranded as Star Wars Legends and removed from the canon in 2014). Star Wars games have gone through three significant development eras, marked by a change in leadership among the developers: the early licensed games, those developed after the creation of LucasArts, and those created after the closure of the Lucasfilm division by Disney and the transfer of the license to Electronic Arts.
Early licensed games (1979–1993)
The first officially licensed electronic Star Wars game was Kenner's 1979 table-top Star Wars Electronic Battle Command. In 1982, Parker Brothers published the first Star Wars video game for the Atari 2600, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, followed soon the year later by Star Wars: Jedi Arena, the first video game to depict lightsaber combat. They were followed in 1983 by Atari's rail shooter arcade game Star Wars, with vector graphics to replicate the Death Star trench run scene from the 1977 film. The next game, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1984), has more traditional raster graphics, while the following Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1985) has vector graphics.
Platform games were made for the Nintendo Entertainment System, including the Japan-exclusive Star Wars (1987), an international Star Wars (1991), and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1992). Super Star Wars (1992) was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with two sequels over the next two years.
LucasArts and modern self-published games (1993–2014)
Lucasfilm founded its own video game company in 1982, becoming best known for adventure games and World War II flight combat games, but as George Lucas took more interest in the increasing success of the video game market, he wanted to have more creative control over the games and founded his own development company, LucasArts. Improved graphics allowed games to tell complex narratives, which allowed for the retelling of the films, and eventually original narratives set in the same continuity, with voice-overs and CGI cutscenes. In 1993, LucasArts released Star Wars: X-Wing, the first self-published Star Wars video game and the first space flight simulator based on the franchise. It was one of the bestselling video games of 1993 and established its own series of games. The Rogue Squadron series was released between 1998 and 2003, also focusing on space battles set during the films.
Dark Forces (1995), a hybrid adventure game incorporating puzzles and strategy, was the first Star Wars first-person shooter. It featured gameplay and graphical features not then common in other games, made possible by LucasArts' custom-designed game engine, the Jedi. The game was well received, and it was followed by four sequels. The series introduced Kyle Katarn, who would appear in multiple games, novels, and comics. Katarn is a former stormtrooper who joins the Rebellion and becomes a Jedi, a plot arc similar to that of Finn in the sequel trilogy films. A massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars Galaxies, was in operation from 2003 until 2011. After Disney bought Lucasfilm, LucasArts ceased its role as a developer in 2013, although it still operates as a licensor.
EA Star Wars (2014–present)
Following its acquisition of the franchise, Disney reassigned video game rights to Electronic Arts. Games made during this era are considered canonical, and feature more influence from the Star Wars filmmakers. Disney partnered with Lenovo to create the augmented reality video game Jedi Challenges, released in November 2017. In August 2018, it was announced that Zynga would publish free-to-play Star Wars mobile games. The Battlefront games received a canonical reboot with Star Wars: Battlefront in November 2015, which was followed by a sequel, Battlefront II, in November 2017. A single-player action-adventure game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, with an original story and cast of characters, was released in November 2019. A space combat game titled Star Wars: Squadrons, which builds upon the space battles from Battlefront, was released in October 2020.
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Movies
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is a Star Wars movie that was released on December 22, 2023. The movie is written and directed by Patty Jenkins making her the first woman to direct a Star Wars film. According to Starwars.com, the movie "introduces a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy."[7]
- Untitled Rian Johnson Trilogy a trilogy is currently being worked on by Rian Johnson who wrote and directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The trilogy was announced before the release of The Last Jedi but very little has been said about it. Rian Johnson said that he would start writing it after his film Knives Out and that it will take place in a new era with new characters.[8]
- Two Untitled Star Wars films are set to release in December 2025 and December 2027.[9]
- A Untitled Kevin Fiege film is currently in currently being developed by Marvel Cinematic Universe producer Kevin Feige[10]
- A Untitled Star Wars Taika Watiti film is currently in development and was announced on May 4, 2020. Taika Waititi will be co-writing the movie with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Taika will also be the director of the film.[11]
Television shows
- Lando is a future Disney+ show set in the Star Wars universe. The show will focus on the character Lando Calrissian but it is unclear if Donald Glover or Billy Dee Williams will come back to play Lando. The show is written by Justin Simien.[12]
- Rangers of the New Republic is a future Disney+ show set in the Star Wars universe. The show was announced in December 2020 and will be worked on by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. It will take place at the same time as, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.[13]
- Ahsoka is a Disney+ television show set in the Star Wars universe. It takes place during the time of The Mandalorian, Rangers of the New Republic, and The Book of Boba Fett. The shows all join together in a story event at an unknown time. Rosario Dawson plays Ahsoka Tano again and the show is written and directed by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau.[14]
- The Acolyte is a Star Wars Disney+ show written by Leslie Headland. The show takes place during the end of the High Republic Era of Star Wars and take a look at the dark forces in the galaxy as the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace get closer.[12]
- Visions is a Disney+ show that features ten short anthology anime films by different cartoonist set in the Star Wars universe. It was released in 2021.[12] A second season was released in 2023, featuring nine more films.[15]
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