Star Wars opening crawl no other "Star Wars" movies prior to 1977. In addition, it was not certain if the film would be followed with a sequel. When "The Empire Strikes Back" was released in 1980, the episode number, "Episode V", and subtitle "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" appeared as the first two lines of the opening crawl. To match its sequel's crawl, the episode number "Episode IV" and subtitle "A NEW HOPE" were added for the film's theatrical re-release in April 1981. The original version, without the subtitle, was not released again until the 2006 limited edition DVDs. Star Wars opening crawl The opening
Star Wars Trilogy script titled "The Star Wars", sharing strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress" (1958). By 1974, he had expanded the script into the first draft of a screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith and the Death Star. Subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film. Lucas negotiated to retain the sequel rights. Tom Pollock, then Lucas' lawyer writes: "We came to an agreement that George would retain the sequel rights. Not all the [merchandising rights] that came later, mind you; just the sequel rights. And Fox would get a first opportunity and last refusal right to