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 sequel trilogy decided to end the saga as six films. This prevented him from developing a sequel trilogy during that time-frame. In an interview published in the February 1999 issue of "Vanity Fair", Lucas said: "When you see it in six parts, you'll understand. It really ends at part six. I never had a story for the sequels, for the later ones." In early May 2002, just before the worldwide release of "" and while Lucas was working on the script for "Episode III", rumors of "Star Wars" episodes VII, VIII, and IX were posted on the Internet. In reply, Lucas noted