Star Wars

Star Wars logo

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 Disney.

Star Wars has been so 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.

Settings

Star Wars Galaxy Map KOTOR Quest

'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 (telling people commands they must follow), and the ability to heal others (they are healed by transferring ones life force to another to heal there 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]

Lightsaber

See the main article: Lightsaber

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 cololrs 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.

Story

Star Wars characters at Madame Tussaud

The main nine movies (Episodes 1 to 9) are about the Skywalker family. However, the story is told from the point of view of R2-D2 and C-3PO, two droid (robots), who appear in every movie.

Episodes 1—3

Two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn travel to a remote desert planet and find a young boy named Anakin Skywalker. They free Anakin from slavery and take him to learn the ways of the Force and to become a Jedi.

Although Jedi are not allowed to get married, as an adult, Anakin falls in love with Senator Padmé Amidala and they get married. Anakin's later has nightmares of Padmé dying in childbirth so he asks for help from the evil Darth Sidious. Sidious teaches Anakin to become a Sith and Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Sidious uses his army to kill all of the Jedi, with only Yoda and Obi-Wan surviving.

Padmé gives birth to two twins: Luke and Leia, who Vader doesn't know about. After birth, the twins are separated to prevent Vader and the Dark Side from finding and hurting the children. Padmé has died shortly after giving birth. Obi-Wan Kenobi sends Luke to a planet called 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, Luke meets Obi-Wan, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They rescue Princess Leia, who has been captured by Darth Vader and the evil Galactic Empire. After Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan, Luke travels to a remote swamp planet to learn the Jedi ways from Yoda. Luke becomes a Jedi and rescues Han Solo from a gangster called Jabba the Hutt.

They join the Rebellion and help to fight the Empire. Vader tells Luke that he is his father. Luke and Leia soon find out that they are siblings. Luke meets Darth Sidious, who is now the Evil Emperor. However, Darth Vader turns good again after Sidious begins to torture Luke. Vader kills Sidious and dies.

Episodes 7—9

Thirty years later, however, the Empire's remnants have come together to form First Order. However, the New Republic does not believe that it is a threat. Those who do believe form the Resistance, led by Leia. During this time Leia has married Han Solo. They had a child, named Ben, but Ben was corrupted by the First Order and a dark-side force user named Snoke and is now called Kylo Ren. Luke spent the thirty years rebuilding the Jedi but has now vanished because Kylo Ren turned evil and killed the others.

Rey, a desert scavenger who doesn't know her family, fights with Han against the First Order, but Kylo Ren kills Han. Rey joins the Resistance and manages to find Luke, who refuses to teach her to become a Jedi. Meanwhile, the First Order has destroyed the New Republic and is chasing the Resistance through space. Luke finally accepts to teach Rey how to be a Jedi. Rey develops a Force-connection with Kylo Ren. She is convinced she can turn him good so she goes to his spaceship. He brings her before Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo Ren kills Snoke so that he can become Supreme Leader.

A year later, the Resistance finds out that Darth Sidious has come back from the dead and he is the true leader of the First Order. Rey, Finn (a former stormtrooper), Poe Dameron, Chewbacca and some of their other friends go on a hunt to find the map leading to the planet that Sidious is hiding on. Rey finds out that Sidious is her grandfather. Kylo Ren finally turns good after his mother, Princess Leia dies. Kylo Ren and Rey use the help of the spirits of every dead Jedi to kill Sidious once and for all. Kylo Ren dies shortly after, meaning that all members of the Skywalker family are dead.

Rey returns 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".

Major characters

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.

Star Wars vehicles

Major planets in the Star Wars universe

Expanded universe

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.

Media

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.

The Skywalker Saga
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
10 Circle The Round Circle 2025 Rian Johnson
11 The Grand Circle 2027 Dave Filoni
12 The Great Circle 2029 Rian Johnson
13 The Bible Circle 2031 James Wan
Anthology films
Title Year Director
The Clone Wars 2008 Dave Filoni
Rogue One 2016 Gareth Edwards
Solo 2018 Ron Howard
Upcoming movies
Title Year Diretor
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.

Television series (listed in chronological order)
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.

Upcoming projects

Movies

  • Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is a future Star Wars movie set to be released 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 "will introduce 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

Games

  • Star Wars Battlefront II (2005)
  • Angry Birds Star Wars (2012)
  • Star Wars Battlefront (2015)
  • Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023)
  • Star Wars Bloody Bunny: The Filtro Duelved (2024)

References

  1. ↑ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2006.
  2. ↑ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2001.
  3. ↑ Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2001.
  4. ↑ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2001.
  5. ↑ Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004.
  6. ↑ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004.
  7. ↑ "Future Lucasfilm projects revealed". Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ "EW TV". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Collider". Collider. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Hollywood reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Star Wars.com". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Lucasfilm reveals future projects". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Slashfilm". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "The verge". 10 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.

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