Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace effort after a 22-year hiatus following "Star Wars" in 1977. "The Phantom Menace" was released in theaters on May 19, 1999, almost 16 years after the premiere of the previous "Star Wars" film, "Return of the Jedi". The film's premiere was extensively covered by media and was greatly anticipated because of the large cultural following the "Star Wars" saga had cultivated. It received mixed reviews; critics praised the visuals, action sequences, John Williams' musical score and some of the performances, but criticized the screenplay, characterization, and Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd's performances (as Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker respectively).
Star Wars titles, instead carrying the promotional ""A Star Wars Story"" subtitle. Focused on how the rebels obtained the Death Star plans from the 1977 film, the first anthology film, "Rogue One", was released on December 16, 2016 to favorable reviews and box office success. The second, "", centered on a young Han Solo with Chewbacca and Lando as supporting characters, was released on May 25, 2018 to mixed reviews and underperformance at the box office. Despite this, more anthology films are expected to be released. In November 2017, Lucasfilm announced that Rian Johnson, the writer/director of "The Last Jedi", would be