Galactic Empire (Star Wars) Galactic Empire (Star Wars) The Galactic Empire is a fictional autocracy featured in the "Star Wars" franchise. It was first introduced in the 1977 film "Star Wars" and also appears in its two sequels: "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) and is the main antagonist faction of the original trilogy. By the time of the sequel trilogy, which starts three decades following the events of the original trilogy, the government has since collapsed and has been succeeded by the First Order. The Empire's origins are depicted in the prequel "" (2005), where it replaces the
Star Wars comics 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced that they would acquire Lucasfilm for $4 billion. In January 2014, it was announced that in 2015, the "Star Wars" comics license would return to Marvel Comics, whose parent company, Marvel Entertainment, Disney had purchased in 2009. Meanwhile, with the sequel film "" in production, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. Early reports in May 2014 suggested that Marvel would announce two new ongoing "Star Wars" comic series