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
Journey to Star Wars the release of "The Force Awakens" in December 2015. Three novels and a comic miniseries related to the 2017 film "" were announced in April 2017. A large number of licensed novels and comics were produced between the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" and the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, set in what was dubbed the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe. In April 2014, with "The Force Awakens" in production, Disney rebranded this body of work as "Star Wars Legends" and declared it non-canon to the franchise. "Journey to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"", consisting of "at