when was the first star wars film made
Star Wars Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977. It was followed by The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The sequels were all self-financed by Lucasfilm.[21]
Star Wars In 1971, Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial, but couldn't obtain the rights. He began developing his own story inspired by the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs.[b][19] Immediately after directing American Graffiti (1973), Lucas wrote a two-page synopsis for his space opera, titled Journal of the Whills. After United Artists, Universal Studios and Disney rejected the film, 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it.[20][21][22] Lucas felt his original story was too difficult to understand, so on April 17, 1973, he began writing a 13-page script titled The Star Wars, sharing strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958).[23] By 1974, he had expanded the script into the first draft of a screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith and the Death Star. Subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film.[24]
Star Wars The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981),[3][4] which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. It was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed reactions from both critics and fans. A sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards (with wins going to the first two films released) and have been commercial successes, with a combined box office revenue of over US$7.5 billion,[5] making Star Wars the third highest-grossing film series.[6] Spin-off films include the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and Rogue One (2016), the latter of which is the first in a planned series of anthology films.
Star Wars The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981),[2][3] which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. It was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed reactions from both critics and fans. A sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards (with wins going to the first two films) and have been commercial successes, with a combined box office revenue of over US$7.5 billion,[4] making Star Wars the third highest-grossing film series.[5] Spin-off films include the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and Rogue One (2016), the latter of which is the first in a planned series of anthology films.