Star Wars Star Wars Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, created by George Lucas and centered around a film series that began with the eponymous 1977 movie. The saga quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The first film was followed by two 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, albeit to mixed reactions from critics and fans. Finally, a sequel trilogy to conclude the nine-episode saga began in 2015 with "". The first eight
Star Wars sequel trilogy original "Star Wars" trilogy. During an interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce, and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of "The Force Awakens". Lucas described the previous six "Star Wars" films as his "children" and defended his vision for them, while criticizing "The Force Awakens" for having a "retro feel", saying: "I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new." Lucas also likened