Star Wars [franchise]
Entry updated 7 August 2021. Tagged: Film, Theme.
At the heart of this now very substantial enterprise is the Cinema sequence whose first instalment was Star Wars (1977). To the end of 2017, there have been nine Star Wars films. In 1997, before the release of the second, "prequel" trilogy, George Lucas re-released the original films into cinemas with updated special effects and minor story changes as "Special Editions". These changes were controversial among fans at the time, as they were perceived by some to soften the movies. Further changes were made for the release of the Star Wars DVDs in 2004, with the stated aim of improving continuity between the original three films and the prequels (such as Hayden Christensen's Anakin being digitally inserted as a ghost in Return of the Jedi). [JN/PN]
The Star Wars films
- Star Wars (1977; vt Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
Star Wars on television
All shows are animated, unless stated otherwise. The first Star Wars Television show was the mainly live action Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), of which one segment, The Faithful Wookiee, was a cartoon. Next came the television film The Ewok Adventure (1984; vt Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure), followed by the sequel Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) and the series Ewoks (1985-1986; vt Star Wars: Ewoks; 26 episodes). Another series, Star Wars: Droids (1985-1986; vt Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO; 13 episodes and a special) debuted on the same day as Ewoks. An extended lull followed, until Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005), followed by the popular Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020; 133 episodes); then Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018; 75 episodes); Star Wars Resistance (2018-2020; 40 episodes); Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021-current; 7 episodes) and, scheduled for 2021, «Star Wars: Visions», a ten-episode anthology series. The Mandalorian (2019-current; 16 episodes) is live action, very popular and the winner of many awards, including seven Emmys and an Annie; as of 2021 there are several other live action tv series being developed, with the first, «The Book of Boba Fett», due at the end of that year. [SP]
Star Wars ties
A huge amount of authorized spinoff fiction has been set in the Star Wars universe. The official novelizations of the films are Star Wars (1976) by Alan Dean Foster (though credited to George Lucas), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) by Donald F Glut, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) by James Kahn, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) by Terry Brooks, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) by R A Salvatore, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) by Matthew Stover and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) by Alan Dean Foster. J W Rinzler (whom see) wrote a number of nonfiction books about aspects of the sequence as a whole and the making of several individual films, and adapted George Lucas's original rough draft script for the first movie as the Graphic Novel The Star Wars (graph 2014) with Rain Beredo, Mike Mayhew and Nick Runge.
Further authors of Star Wars universe Ties who have entries in this encyclopedia include Roger McBride Allen, Aaron Allston, Kevin J Anderson, Mike Baron (with Graphic Novels), Steven Barnes, Greg Bear, Terry Bisson, Daniel Abraham and Tyler Corey Franck writing together as James S A Corey, A C Crispin, Brian C Daley, Hollace Davids, Paul Davids, Troy Denning, William C Dietz, Shane Dix, Alexander Freed, Christie Golden, Barbara Hambly, Elizabeth Hand, K W Jeter, Drew Karpyshyn, J Gregory Keyes, Michael P Kube-McDowell, Tim Lebbon, James Luceno, John Jackson Miller, Vonda N McIntyre, Andy Mangels, Rebecca Moesta, Steve Perry, J Michael Reaves, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Joe Schreiber, David Sherman, L Neil Smith, Michael A Stackpole, Sean Stewart, Todd Strasser, Karen Traviss, Kathy Tyers, Joan D Vinge, Martha Wells, Chuck Wendig, Sean Williams, Walter Jon Williams, Dave Wolverton and Timothy Zahn.
Besides the authorized spinoff titles there are also unofficial Parodies by Steve Barlow, Adam Roberts and others; Ian Doescher has adapted the storylines of the first six films as cod Shakespeare plays. [DRL]
see also: Psi Powers; Star Wars Games.
further reading
- Jean Cavelos. The Science of Star Wars (New York: St Martin's Press, 1999) [nonfiction: Star Wars: pb/Scott Levine]
- David Brin and Matthew Woodring Stover, editors. Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time (Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books/Smart Pop, 2006) with Matthew Woodring Stover [nonfiction: anth: Star Wars: pb/Ralph Voltz]
- David Brin and Matthew Woodring Stover, editors. Star Wars on Trial The Force Awakens Edition (Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books, 2015) with Matthew Woodring Stover [nonfiction: anth: exp of the above: Star Wars: pb/Ralph Voltz]
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