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 expanded to other media series, the 2015 film "" and its 2017 sequel "", the 2016 anthology film "Rogue One", the 2017 video game "Star Wars Battlefront II", the 2018 film "", and a number of novels and comic book series. "", Alan Dean Foster's novelization of the original 1977 film "Star Wars", was released six months before the film in November 1976. Based on George Lucas's 1976 version of the screenplay, it was ghostwritten by Foster but credited to Lucas. Lucas commissioned Foster's subsequent 1978 novel "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" as the basis for a potential low-budget sequel to "Star Wars" if