Darth Vader große Plakette Star Wars Retro 70er Jahre Science Fiction

EUR 18,08 Sofort-Kaufen oder Preisvorschlag, EUR 8,34 Versand, 30-Tag Rücknahmen, eBay-Käuferschutz
Verkäufer: lasvegasormonaco ✉️ (3.187) 99.7%, Artikelstandort: Manchester, Take a look at my other items, GB, Versand nach: WORLDWIDE, Artikelnummer: 266508942692 Darth Vader große Plakette Star Wars Retro 70er Jahre Science Fiction. Combat vehicles TIE Fighters. Cultural impact. "ESTES INDUSTRIES INC. Model Rockets and Engines, #2143". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-08-21. He appears to Leia, imploring her forgiveness. Darth Vader "Your Empire Needs You" Metal Sign Metal Sign of Darth Vader Pointing With the Words "Your Empire Needs You" Inside the O is the Logo of the Galactic Empire   It is similar to the World War I Poster with Lord Kitchener's "Your Country Needs You"   The Dimensions are 300 mm x 200 mm and it is made of Metal and it weights 150 grams   Please Note the Rust on the sides are just to make it appear old, retro and authentic  there is no rust on the sign In Excellent Condition Would make an Excellent Wall Decoration Maybe in a Man Cave ? or a great unique birthday or unusual Christmas gift A Beautiful coin and Magnificent Keepsake Souvenir of a Great Iconic Villain Click Here to Check out my Other Star Wars Memrobilia Bid with Confidence - Check My 100% Positive Feedback from over 1,200 Satisfied Customers I have over 10 years of Ebay Selling Experience - So Why Not Treat Yourself? I have got married recently and need to raise funds to meet the costs also we are planning to move into a house together  I always combined postage on multiple items Instant Feedback Automatically Left Immediately after Receiving Payment All Items Sent out within 24 hours of Receiving Payment.

Overseas Bidders Please Note Surface Mail Delivery Times >

Western Europe takes up to 2 weeks, 

Eastern Europe up to 5 weeks, 

North America up to 6 weeks, 

South America, Africa and Asia up to 8 weeks and 

Australasia up to 12 weeks

Thanks for Looking and Best of Luck with the Bidding!!

Also if bidding from overseas and you want your item tracked please select the International Signed for Postage Option For that Interesting Conversational Piece, A Birthday Present, Christmas Gift, A Comical Item to Cheer Someone Up or That Unique Perfect Gift for the Person Who has Everything....You Know Where to Look for a Bargain!

XXXX - DO NOT CLICK HERE - XXXX  

Click Here to Add me to Your List of Favourite Sellers

If You Have any Questions Please Message me through ebay and  I Will Reply ASAP

"A Thing of Beauty is a Joy for ever"

So go ahead and treat yourself! With my free returns there is no risk!

Thanks for Looking and Hope to deal soon :)

I've sold items to coutries such as Afghanistan * Albania * Algeria * American Samoa (US) * Andorra * Angola * Anguilla (GB) * Antigua and Barbuda * Argentina * Armenia * Aruba (NL) * Australia * Austria * Azerbaijan * Bahamas * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Barbados * Belarus * Belgium * Belize * Benin * Bermuda (GB) * Bhutan * Bolivia * Bonaire (NL)  * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Botswana * Bouvet Island (NO) * Brazil * British Indian Ocean Territory (GB) * British Virgin Islands (GB) * Brunei * Bulgaria * Burkina Faso * Burundi * Cambodia * Cameroon * Canada * Cape Verde * Cayman Islands (GB) * Central African Republic * Chad * Chile * China * Christmas Island (AU) * Cocos Islands (AU) * Colombia * Comoros * Congo * Democratic Republic of the Congo * Cook Islands (NZ) * Coral Sea Islands Territory (AU) * Costa Rica * Croatia * Cuba * Curaçao (NL)  * Cyprus * Czech Republic * Denmark * Djibouti * Dominica * Dominican Republic * East Timor * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Equatorial Guinea * Eritrea * Estonia * Ethiopia * Falkland Islands (GB) * Faroe Islands (DK) * Fiji Islands * Finland * France * French Guiana (FR) * French Polynesia (FR) * French Southern Lands (FR) * Gabon * Gambia * Georgia * Germany * Ghana * Gibraltar (GB) * Greece * Greenland (DK) * Grenada * Guadeloupe (FR) * Guam (US) * Guatemala * Guernsey (GB) * Guinea * Guinea-Bissau * Guyana * Haiti * Heard and McDonald Islands (AU) * Honduras * Hong Kong (CN) * Hungary * Iceland * India * Indonesia * Iran * Iraq * Ireland * Isle of Man (GB) * Israel * Italy * Ivory Coast * Jamaica * Jan Mayen (NO) * Japan * Jersey (GB) * Jordan * Kazakhstan * Kenya * Kiribati * Kosovo * Kuwait * Kyrgyzstan * Laos * Latvia * Lebanon * Lesotho * Liberia * Libya * Liechtenstein * Lithuania * Luxembourg * Macau (CN) * Macedonia * Madagascar * Malawi * Malaysia * Maldives * Mali * Malta * Marshall Islands * Martinique (FR) * Mauritania * Mauritius * Mayotte (FR) * Mexico * Micronesia * Moldova * Monaco * Mongolia * Montenegro * Montserrat (GB) * Morocco * Mozambique * Myanmar * Namibia * Nauru * Navassa (US) * Nepal * Netherlands * New Caledonia (FR) * New Zealand * Nicaragua * Niger * Nigeria * Niue (NZ) * Norfolk Island (AU) * North Korea * Northern Cyprus * Northern Mariana Islands (US) * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Palau * Palestinian Authority * Panama * Papua New Guinea * Paraguay * Peru * Philippines * Pitcairn Island (GB) * Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico (US) * Qatar * Reunion (FR) * Romania * Russia * Rwanda * Saba (NL)  * Saint Barthelemy (FR) * Saint Helena (GB) * Saint Kitts and Nevis * Saint Lucia * Saint Martin (FR) * Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FR) * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines * Samoa * San Marino * Sao Tome and Principe * Saudi Arabia * Senegal * Serbia * Seychelles * Sierra Leone * Singapore * Sint Eustatius (NL)  * Sint Maarten (NL)  * Slovakia * Slovenia * Solomon Islands * Somalia * South Africa * South Georgia (GB) * South Korea * South Sudan * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Suriname * Svalbard (NO) * Swaziland * Sweden * Switzerland * Syria * Taiwan * Tajikistan * Tanzania * Thailand * Togo * Tokelau (NZ) * Tonga * Trinidad and Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Turkmenistan * Turks and Caicos Islands (GB) * Tuvalu * U.S. Minor Pacific Islands (US) * U.S. Virgin Islands (US) * Uganda * Ukraine * United Arab Emirates * United Kingdom * United States * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vanuatu * Vatican City * Venezuela * Vietnam * Wallis and Futuna (FR) * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe and major cities such as Tokyo, Yokohama, New York City, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Mexico City, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Manila, Mumbai, Delhi, Jakarta, Lagos, Kolkata, Cairo, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Shanghai, Karachi, Paris, Istanbul, Nagoya, Beijing, Chicago, London, Shenzhen, Essen, Düsseldorf, Tehran, Bogota, Lima, Bangkok, Johannesburg, East Rand, Chennai, Taipei, Baghdad, Santiago, Bangalore, Hyderabad, St Petersburg, Philadelphia, Lahore, Kinshasa, Miami, Ho Chi Minh City, Madrid, Tianjin, Kuala Lumpur, Toronto, Milan, Shenyang, Dallas, Fort Worth, Boston, Belo Horizonte, Khartoum, Riyadh, Singapore, Washington, Detroit, Barcelona,, Houston, Athens, Berlin, Sydney, Atlanta, Guadalajara, San Francisco, Oakland, Montreal, Monterey, Melbourne, Ankara, Recife, Phoenix/Mesa, Durban, Porto Alegre, Dalian, Jeddah, Seattle, Cape Town, San Diego, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Rome, Naples, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Tel Aviv, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Manchester, San Juan, Katowice, Tashkent, Fukuoka, Baku, Sumqayit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Sapporo, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Taichung, Warsaw, Denver, Cologne, Bonn, Hamburg, Dubai, Pretoria, Vancouver, Beirut, Budapest, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Campinas, Harare, Brasilia, Kuwait, Munich, Portland, Brussels, Vienna, San Jose, Damman , Copenhagen, Brisbane, Riverside, San Bernardino, Cincinnati and Accra

Star Wars is a multi-genre mythology and multimedia franchise created by George Lucas in 1976. Comprising movies, novels, comics, video games, toys, and numerous television series, the Star Wars franchise employs archetypal motifs common to religions, classical mythology, and political climax, as well as musical motifs of those same aspects.

As one of the foremost examples of the space opera subgenre of science fiction, Star Wars has become part of mainstream popular culture, as well as being one of the highest-grossing series of all time.[2]

In 2012, The Walt Disney Company bought the rights to the franchise from George Lucas for 4.05 billion dollars. Since then, Disney has split off Star Wars into two main categories, those being Star Wars Legends and Star Wars Canon, with Canon being the "official" story of the franchise.

The catalyst of the multimedia franchise was the release of its mainline story, officially known as the Skywalker Saga; a collection of 9 films released from the years 1977 to 2019, with the first and last release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, respectively. Despite the saga's ending, the franchise still continues strong, mainly due to the success of Disney+ original television series, both live action, such as The Mandalorian; and animated, such as Star Wars: The Bad Batch; as well as publishing projects, such as Star Wars: The High Republic.

Death Star

A spherical space station suspended in space

Original Death Star

First appearance    Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (novel, 1976)

Last appearance    Rogue One (2016)

Information

Affiliation    Galactic Empire

Launched    n/a, Constructed in space.

Combat vehicles    TIE Fighters

General characteristics

Class    Space Battle Station

Armaments    Superlaser

Defenses    Turbolasers , Laser Cannons, Tractor beams and Ion Cannons

Maximum speed    Light Speed

Propulsion    Imperial Hyperdrive

Power    Able to destroy a ship, city or planet.

Width    160 km (varies depending on source and not mentioned in films)

Height    120 km in radius

The Death Star is a type of fictional mobile space platform and galactic superweapon featured in the Star Wars space-opera franchise. The first Death Star, introduced in the original Star Wars film, is stated to be more than 100 kilometers (62 mi) in diameter, and is crewed by an estimated 1.7 million military personnel and 400,000 droids.[1][2] The second Death Star, which appears in Return of the Jedi, is significantly larger at between 160 km to 900 km in diameter, and technologically more powerful than its predecessor. Both versions of these moon-sized fortresses are designed for massive power-projection capabilities, each capable of destroying an entire planet with a blast from its superlasers.[3]

Contents

Origin and design

Although details, such as the superlaser's location, shifted between different concept models during production of Star Wars, the notion of the Death Star being a large, spherical space station over 100 kilometers in diameter was consistent in all of them.[4] George Lucas gave the original task of designing a "Death Star" to concept artist and spaceship modeler Colin Cantwell,[5] who had collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[6] In a 2016 interview, Cantwell related that "I didn't originally plan for the Death Star to have a trench, but when I was working with the mold, I noticed the two halves had shrunk at the point where they met across the middle." As it "would have taken a week of work just to fill and sand and refill this depression," Cantwell suggested a trench to Lucas to save the labor. Lucas liked the idea,[5][6] and the Death Star model was created by John Stears.[7][8] The buzzing sound counting down to the Death Star firing its superlaser comes from the Flash Gordon serials.[9] Portraying an incomplete yet powerful space station posed a problem for Industrial Light & Magic's modelmakers for Return of the Jedi.[10] Only the front side of the 137-centimeter model was completed, and the image was flipped horizontally for the final film.[10] Both Death Stars were depicted by a combination of complete and sectional models and matte paintings.[4][10]

Special effects

The explosion special effect depicted in the 1997 Special Edition of A New Hope

The Death Star explosions featured in the Special Edition of A New Hope and in Return of the Jedi are rendered with a Praxis effect, wherein a flat ring of matter erupts from the explosion.

The grid plan animations shown during the Rebel briefing for the attack on the Death Star late in A New Hope were an actual computer-graphics simulation from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory made by Larry Cuba and Gary Imhoff as part of a CalArts project, and had been included during filming.[11]

After filming was complete, the original model, as well as one of the surface setpieces, were to be thrown out; however, they were salvaged.[12][13][14]

Depiction

The original Death Star was introduced in the original Star Wars film, which later had elements of its backstory explored in Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Rogue One. The second Death Star appears in Return of the Jedi, and a similar superweapon, the Starkiller Base, appears in The Force Awakens. Finally, the wreckage of the second Death Star plays some role in the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker.[15]

Original Death Star

Emperor Palpatine (left) and Darth Vader (right) oversee the original Death Star's construction in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

The original Death Star's completed form appears in Star Wars: A New Hope, known as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, or Project Stardust in Rogue One; before learning the true name of the weapon, the Rebel Alliance referred to it as the "Planet Killer".[16] Commanded by Governor Tarkin, it is the Galactic Empire's "ultimate weapon",[a] a huge spherical battle station 160 kilometers in diameter capable of destroying a planet with one shot of its superlaser. The film opens with Princess Leia transporting the station's schematics to the Rebel Alliance to aid them in destroying the Death Star. To mark the Death Star being fully operational, Tarkin orders the Death Star to destroy Leia's home world of Alderaan in an attempt to press her into giving him the location of the secret Rebel headquarters; she gives them the location of Dantooine which housed a now-deserted Rebel base, but Tarkin has Alderaan destroyed anyway as a demonstration of the Empire's resolve. Later, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are pulled aboard the station by a tractor beam, where they discover and manage to rescue Princess Leia. As they make their escape, Obi-Wan dies duelling Darth Vader, enabling the others to flee the station. Later, Luke returns as part of a fighter force to attack its only weak point: a ray-shielded particle exhaust vent leading straight from the surface directly into its reactor core. Luke is able to successfully launch his X-wing fighter's torpedoes into the vent, impacting the core and triggering a catastrophic explosion, which destroys the station before it can use its superlaser weapon to annihilate the Rebel base on Yavin 4.[17]

The first Death Star's schematics are visible in the scenes on Geonosis in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones showcasing the early development of the Death Star prototype, the Death Star plans were designed by Geonosians led by Archduke Poggle the Lesser, a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems,[18] and is shown early in construction at the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[19] The Death Star plans are a central plot-point in the 2016 film Rogue One and the original 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.[16][20] The Death Star began as a Geonosian design,[18] but became operational after nearly two decades of work by a team of brilliant scientists sequestered on the rainswept world of Eadu. Led by a reluctant Galen Erso, the Death Star scientists seek to fuse kyber-crystal shards into larger structures and use those crystals to amplify energy into a stable beam powerful enough to destroy an entire planet.[21][pages needed]

The Clone Wars Legacy story reel from the unfinished Crystal Crisis on Utapau episodes revealed that General Grievous went to Utapau prior to Revenge of the Sith in order to acquire an enormous kyber crystal, which was required to power the Death Star's superlaser.[22]

A hologram from the original Death Star is briefly visible in a scene at the Resistance base in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and used as a means of comparison with one from the First Order's own superweapon, Starkiller Base.[23]

In the animated series Star Wars Rebels, the two-part episode "Ghost of Geonosis" hinted that the Geonosians were nearly wiped out to extinction out of the Empire's need for secrecy. Saw Gerrera, having been sent to Geonosis to investigate, deduced the Empire possesses a superweapon and resolved to discover the Death Star as depicted in the final season two-parter "In the Name of the Rebellion." Though it was a dead end, finding only scientists being abducted by the Empire, Saw learned the weapon is powered by kyber crystals taken from the Jedha system.

The anthology film Rogue One focuses on a band of Rebels stealing the plans for the first Death Star prior to the events of A New Hope. The Death Star project was overseen by Orson Krennic, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military. Under Krennic's supervision, the project was beset by constant delays, and he forcibly recruited weapons designer Galen Erso (the father of Jyn Erso, the movie's main protagonist) to complete the design; nevertheless, it was another fifteen years before the Death Star was operational. The Death Star's primary laser was powered by kyber crystals mined from the desert moon of Jedha, and is first used to destroy Jedha City both as a response to a violent insurgency on the planet, and as a display of the Death Star's operational status to restore the Empire's confidence in the project. Grand Moff Tarkin assumes control over the Death Star while Krennic investigates security breaches in the design project. It is subsequently revealed that Galen discreetly sabotaged the design by building a vulnerability into the reactor. This is the same vulnerability that Luke Skywalker takes advantage of during the events of A New Hope. After the Death Star plans are stolen from the Scarif vault, Tarkin fires the Death Star's superlaser on the base killing Krennic, as well as Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor.[16] Rogue One also reveals that the Death Star's superlaser is powered by multiple reactors, allowing it to vary its destructive power depending on the target. Skeptical of the station's power, Tarkin ordered that it first be tested on Jedha City using a single reactor. Near the end of Rogue One, a second single-reactor test would destroy their installation on Scarif, along with the Rebel strike force who had successfully stolen the station's plans. This is consistent with the canon continuity in Star Wars: A New Hope, since the destruction of the planet Alderaan would be the first time the Death Star fired the superlaser with all reactors employed so Tarkin could declare the battlestation "fully operational".

The canonical population of the first Death Star was 1.7 million military personnel, 400,000 maintenance droids, and 250,000 civilians/ associated contractors.[1][2]

The 2014 book Star Wars: Tarkin detailed the life of Grand Moff Tarkin, and prominently featured the first Death Star. The theme of the construction of the Death Star is continued in the 2016 book, Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, which tells the story of the development of the Death Star's superweapon by the scientist, Galen Erso and Krennic's deception of him. It also reveals how Poggle worked with Krennic on the Project but then turned on him.[24]

Second Death Star

The second Death Star

The second Death Star

Return of the Jedi features a second Death Star still under construction as it orbits the forest moon of the planet Endor. Besides being even more massive it also fixed the flaws found in its forebearer, so the Rebel Alliance's only hope is to destroy it prior to its completion. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader send the Rebels false information that the station's weapons systems are not yet operational in order to lure the Alliance fleet into a trap, resulting in the decisive Battle of Endor. Compared to its predecessor, the second Death Star's superlaser is more advanced as it can be fired every few minutes instead of needing 24 hours to recharge, while improved targeting computers could track smaller targets such as capital ships. The unfinished battle station had been protected by a planetary shield projector deployed on the forest moon of Endor, but this was taken out by a ground assault team led by Han Solo with the help of the native Ewoks. Rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian flew into the reactor core, with Antilles in his X-wing first taking out the power regulator with proton torpedoes, and Calrissian in the Millennium Falcon (co-piloted by Nien Nunb) striking the main reactor with concussion missiles, setting off a chain reaction that destroyed the battle station.[25]

An early draft of the film featured two Death Stars at various stages of completion.[26]

The second Death Star is featured in the cover of the book Star Wars: Aftermath (2015), which also features many flashbacks to the destruction of the second Death Star, as well as the events directly after its destruction. One of the main characters in the story personally escaped the explosion of the Death Star. The destruction of the second Death Star was also shown in holograms in the book.[citation needed] The 2015 comic book Star Wars: Shattered Empire also explores the days following the destruction of the second Death Star from the perspective of Poe Dameron's parents, who were pilots during the event. The video game Star Wars: Uprising also takes place during the aftermath of the second Death Star's destruction, and features a hologram of its description on multiple occasions in and out of cutscenes.[citation needed]

The final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker features the wreckage of the Emperor's throne room, leading some to speculate that the Death Star wreckage depicted in trailers for the film is that of the second Death Star.[27] It was soon revealed that an ocean moon called Kef Bir would feature in the film, which IGN interprets as the location of the wreckage.[28]

Similar superweapons of mass destruction

See also: Sith § Sith temples

The 2019 comic Star Wars #68 reveals that the Rebels considered creating their own version of a Death Star by luring Star Destroyers to a tectonically unstable planet and setting it off with proton detonators.[29]

Starkiller Base

Star Wars: The Force Awakens features Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon built by the First Order. Significantly larger than either the first or second Death Star, and unlike either of those cost-prohibitive space stations, this superweapon cut-costs by terraforming an existing planet. The base draws its raw fire power directly from a star via extraction through dark energy called "Quintessence" and turning it into another type of dark energy called "Phantom Energy", but it requires time to draw enough energy—this stored energy is enough to obliterate multiple planets at once,[30] making it a far deadlier superweapon than the Death Star.

In the film, the weapon is used to simultaneously destroy five New Republic planets within the same star system. General Hux gives an incendiary speech while Starkiller Base demonstrates its lethality by obliterating the five planets of the Hosnian Prime system (at that time the location of the New Republic's government, which rotated every few years). After Rey was captured by Kylo Ren, he interrogated her within the base. Han, Chewbacca and Finn approached the base at light-speed because Starkiller's shield kept out anything going under the speed of light. They found Rey and successfully lowered the protective shields, enabling an X-wing assault led by Poe Dameron and Nien Nunb to destroy the superweapon, with Poe firing the crucial, destructive shots.[31] As the Resistance forces flee, the base implodes, forming a star.

The name Starkiller Base pays homage to the early drafts of the original Star Wars film, referring to Luke Skywalker's original surname.[32][33] During early concept development, artist Doug Chiang envisioned the superweapon's gun as set inside a volcano, which X-wings would have to enter in a maneuver similar to the trench run on the Death Star in the original film.[34]

Legends

Both Death Stars and similar superweapons appear throughout the non-canonical Star Wars Legends continuity.

The first Death Star was defended by thousands of turbolasers, ion cannons and laser cannons, plus a complement of seven to nine thousand TIE fighters, along with tens of thousands of support craft. It also had several massive docking bays, including dry docks capable of accommodating Star Destroyers.

The first Death Star's construction is the subject of Michael Reaves and Steve Perry's novel Death Star.[35] In LucasArts's Star Wars: Battlefront II, the player participates in a mission to secure crystals used in the Death Star's superlaser.[36] The first Death Star under construction acts as the final stage in the video game, The Force Unleashed.[37] Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy introduces the Maw Cluster of black holes that protect a laboratory where the Death Star prototype was built (consisting of the superstructure, power core, and superlaser).[citation needed]

National Public Radio's A New Hope adaptation portrays Leia (Ann Sachs) and Bail Organa's (Stephen Elliott) discovery of the Death Star's existence and Leia's mission to steal the space station's schematics. The first level of LucasArts' Dark Forces gives mercenary Kyle Katarn the role of stealing the plans which are subsequently given to Leia, while a mission in Battlefront II tasks the player with acting as a stormtrooper or Darth Vader in an attempt to recover the plans and capture Leia. Steve Perry's novel Shadows of the Empire describes a mission that leads to the Rebels learning of the second Death Star's existence, and that mission is playable in LucasArts' X-Wing Alliance combat flight simulator. Numerous LucasArts titles recreate the movies' attacks on the Death Stars, and the Death Star itself is a controllable weapon for the Empire in the Rebellion and Empire at War strategy game. A prototype version of the Death Star can be found in Kevin J. Anderson's novel Jedi Search (1994).[38]

The first Death Star is depicted in various sources of having a crew of 265,675, as well as 52,276 gunners, 607,360 troops, 30,984 stormtroopers, 42,782 ship support staff, and 180,216 pilots and support crew.[39] Its hangars contain assault shuttles, blastboats, Strike cruisers, land vehicles, support ships, and 7,293 TIE fighters.[40] It is also protected by 10,000 turbolaser batteries, 2,600 ion cannons, and at least 768 tractor beam projectors.[40] Various sources state the first Death Star has a diameter of between 140 and 160 kilometers.[39][41][42] There is a broader range of figures for the second Death Star's diameter, ranging from 160 to 900 kilometers.[43][44]

DS-X Prototype Battle Station

In the Legends novels Death Star, Dark Empire II, Jedi Search and Champions of the Force, an experimental Death Star prototype, DS-X (a durasteel frame surrounding a reactor core, superlaser, engines and a control room) was conceived by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin as a test bed for the first Death Star. It was constructed by Bevel Lemelisk and his engineers at the Empire's secret Maw Installation. The prototype measured 120 kilometers in diameter. Its superlaser was only powerful enough to destroy a planet's core, rendering it an uninhabitable "dead planet". The targeting system on the prototype was never calibrated and the superlaser was inefficient, leaving the weapon's batteries drained. The prototype had no interior except a slave-linked control room, hyperdrive engines and other components; the station operated with skeleton-crew of 75 personnel.[citation needed]

Although George Lucas himself confirmed that the plans featured in Attack of the Clones and the under-construction facility in Revenge of the Sith was indeed the original Death Star, Star Wars: The New Essential Chronology retconned the DS-X prototype into being built alongside the main Death Star.[citation needed]

Death Star III - (Star Tours - The Adventures Continue)

In the Disney attraction Star Tours - The Adventures Continue, guests can travel inside an incomplete Death Star during one of the randomized ride sequences. In the original Star Tours, a Death Star III is seen and destroyed during the ride sequence by the New Republic. Leland Chee originally created the third Death Star to explain why a Death Star is present on the Star Tours ride when both of the stations in the movies were destroyed.[45] The station being built near the Forest Moon of Endor like the second Death Star before .It is similar to an original concept for Return of the Jedi, where two Death Stars would have been built near Had Abbadon (then the Imperial capital world). The Habitation spheres, based on the Imperials' suspicious claims that they were designed strictly for peaceful purposes, were suggested by some fans to have been the origin for the Death Star III. This was later revealed to be the case in Part 2 of the StarWars.com Blog series The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire. In the Legends game Tiny Death Star, a random HoloNet entry states that one of the residents of the Death Star is simply staying there until he can afford to stay at the third Death Star.[citation needed]

Other superweapons

In the Dark Empire comic series (1991–95), the reborn Emperor Palpatine's flagships Eclipse and Eclipse II Super Star Destroyers or Star Dreadnoughts have a miniaturized version of the Death Star superlaser.[46]

The novel Children of the Jedi involves the return of Eye of Palpatine, a "colossal, asteroid-shaped" super dreadnaught constructed at the behest of Emperor Palpatine during the second year of the Galactic Civil War. The Imperials lost control of the Eye when a Jedi used the Force to hijack the main computer with their spirits.

In Kevin J. Anderson's novel Darksaber (1995), Death Star designer Bevel Lemelisk is recruited by the Hutts to build a superlaser weapon.

Cultural influence

The Death Star placed ninth in a 2008 20th Century Fox poll of the most popular movie weapons.[47]

It has been referred to outside of the Star Wars context in such examples as:

    AT&T Corporation's logo introduced in 1982 is informally referred to as the "Death Star".[48] Ars Technica referred to "the AT&T Death Star" in an article criticizing a company data policy.[49] Competitor T-Mobile mocked AT&T's "Death Star" logo and "Empire-like reputation" in a press release.[50]

    In Kevin Smith's first feature film, Clerks (1994), one of the main characters points out that many independent contractors would have been killed in the second Death Star's destruction.[51]

    KTCK (SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket) in Dallas were the first to use the term "Death Star" to describe the new mammoth Cowboys Stadium, now AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. The term has since spread to local media and is generally accepted as a proper nickname for the stadium.[52]

    The Death Star strategy was the name Enron gave to one of their fraudulent business practices for manipulating California's energy market.[53]

The large crater (Herschel) of the Saturnian moon Mimas gives it a resemblance to the Death Star.

Science

See also: Physics and Star Wars

In 1981, following the Voyager spacecraft's flight past Saturn, scientists noticed a resemblance between one of the planet's moons, Mimas, and the Death Star.[54] Additionally, a few astronomers[who?] sometimes use the term "Death Star" to describe Nemesis, a hypothetical star postulated in 1984 to be responsible for gravitationally forcing comets and asteroids from the Oort cloud toward Earth.[55]

Merchandise

Kenner and AMT created a playset and a model, respectively, of the first Death Star.[56][57] In 2005 and 2008, Lego released models of Death Star II and Death Star I, respectively.[58][59][60][61] In 1979, Palitoy created a heavy card version of the Death Star as a playset for the vintage range of action figures in the UK, Australia and Canada. Both Death Stars are part of different Micro Machines three-packs.[62][63] The Death Stars and locations in them are cards in Decipher, Inc.'s and Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Customizable Card Game and Star Wars Trading Card Game, respectively.[64] Hasbro released a Death Star model that transforms into a Darth Vader mech.[65] Estes Industries released a flying model rocket version.[66]

A Death Star trinket box was also released by Royal Selangor in 2015, in conjunction with the upcoming December screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[67] In 2016, Plox released the official levitating Death Star Speaker[68] in anticipation of the upcoming screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Petitions

White House petition

In 2012–13, a proposal on the White House's website urging the United States government to build a real Death Star as an economic stimulus and job creation measure gained more than 30,000 signatures, enough to qualify for an official response. The official (tongue-in-cheek) response was released in January 2013:[69] the cost of building a real Death Star has been estimated at $850 quadrillion by the Lehigh University, or about 13,000 times the amount of mineable resources on Earth, while the International Business Times cited a Centives economics blog calculation that, at current rates of steel production, the Death Star would not be ready for more than 833,000 years.[70] The White House response also stated "the Administration does not support blowing up planets," and questioned funding a weapon "with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship" as reasons for denying the petition.[69][71][72]

Petition in other countries

The Luxembourgish magician Christian Lavey (born as Christian Kies) submitted a petition for the construction of a Death Star to the Luxemburgish parliament.[73] However, on an interview with a local radio station Lavey admitted that this petition was just a joke and some kind of protest against the space plans of the government.

References

Footnotes

    The space station is also called "Ultimate Weapon" by the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), who commissioned the original designs.

Citations

Star Wars: Complete Locations

Beecroft, Simon (2010). Star Wars: Death Star Battles. London, UK: Dorling Kindersley.

Brandon, John (October 13, 2014). "Death Star Physics: How Much Energy Does It Take to Blow Up a Planet?". PopularMechanics.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

"Death Star (Behind the Scenes)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2007-09-08.

Fashingbauer Cooper, Gael (September 29, 2016), Star Wars Death Star's famed feature was a complete accident, CNET, retrieved January 14, 2017

Pereira, Alyssa (September 27, 2016), 'Star Wars' star ships designer reveals inspiration behind Death Star, X-wing, and TIE fighter, SFGate, retrieved January 14, 2017

"John Stears, 64, Dies; Film-Effects Wizard". New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2013

John Stears; Special Effects Genius Behind 007 and R2-D2"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2013

Rinzler, J. W. (2010-09-01). The Sounds of Star Wars. Chronicle Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8118-7546-2.

"Death Star II (Behind the Scenes)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2007-09-08.

"The Death Star Plans ARE in the Main Computer - StarWars.com". 11 December 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

Gus Lopez (December 10, 2015). "Saving the Death Star: How the Original Model Was Lost and Found". StarWars.com. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

Kevin Yeoman (December 19, 2016). "How the Original Death Star Model Nearly Ended Up in the Trash". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

Julie Muncy (May 18, 2018). "Ebay is Auctioning Off an Original Piece of the Death Star". io9. Retrieved January 19, 2019.

Sciretta, Peter (April 12, 2019). "How Did the Death Star Survive to Appear in 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'?". /Film. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

Edwards, Gareth (Director) (December 16, 2016). Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm.

Lucas, George (Director) (May 25, 1977). Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (DVD) (2004 ed.). 20th Century Fox.

Lucas, George (Director) (May 16, 2002). Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. 20th Century Fox.

Lucas, George (Director) (May 19, 2005). Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. 20th Century Fox.

Lucas, George (Director) (May 25, 1977). Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. 20th Century Fox. "General Tagge: If the Rebels have obtained a complete technical readout of this station, it is possible, however unlikely, that they might find a weakness and exploit it."

Luceno, James (November 15, 2016). Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. Del Rey Books. ISBN 978-0-345-51149-2.

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Story Reel: A Death on Utapau - Star Wars: The Clone Wars". Retrieved 22 October 2016.

Abrams, J.J. (Director) (December 18, 2015). Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Lucasfilm.

"Rogue One Prequel Book Reveals Secret Origins of the Death Star". MovieWeb.com. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.

Marquand, Richard (Director) (May 25, 1983). Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (DVD) (2004 ed.). 20th Century Fox.

Anders, Charlie Jane (September 25, 2013). "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Star Wars: Return of the Jedi". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

Crouse, Megan (October 22, 2019). "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Final Trailer Breakdown and Analysis". Den of Geek. Retrieved October 22, 2019.

Bankhurst, Adam (October 23, 2019). "Star Wars: Location Where Death Star II Crashed Identified". Retrieved October 23, 2019.

Dyce, Andrew (August 7, 2019). "Star Wars Reveals The REBELS' Version of The Death Star". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 6, 2019.

"Starkiller Base". StarWars.com. Retrieved 22 September 2019.

Veekhoven, Tim (May 2, 2016). "It's the Resistance!". StarWars.com. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

Hawkes, Rebecca (February 18, 2016). "The Adventures Of Luke Starkiller': Peter Mayhew releases pages from his 1976 Star Wars script". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 13, 2018.

Locker, Melissa (June 9, 2015). "Original Star Wars Script Found, Solves Long-Running Mystery". Time. Retrieved February 13, 2018.

Szostak, Phil (2015). The Art of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. Abrams Books. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4197-1780-2.

Stuever, Hank (November 11, 2007). "'I've always thought that Luke felt pretty bad for a few days after it was over.': Good Morning, Mr. Vader! Author Michael Reaves Ponders the Death Star as a Truly Hostile Workplace". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2019.

Pandemic Studios (November 1, 2005). Star Wars: Battlefront II. LucasArts. Level/area: Fall of the Old Republic - 501st Journal - Mygeeto: Amongst the Ruins. "What Ki-Adi-Mundi didn't know, however, was that our unit of the 501st was really after an experimental Mygeetan power source, that the Chancellor [Palpatine] wanted for his superlaser."

LucasArts (September 16, 2008). Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Anderson, Kevin J. (1994). Jedi Search. p. 271. ISBN 0-553-29798-8.

"Death Star (Expanded Universe)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-08-09.

Slavicsek, Bill (1991-06-01). Death Star Technical Companion. West End Games.

Mack, Eric (19 February 2012). "Finally, a cost estimate for building a real Death Star". CNET. Retrieved 5 August 2013.

Reynolds, David (1998-10-05). Incredible Cross-Sections of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V & VI: The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Vehicles and Spacecraft. DK Children. ISBN 0-7894-3480-6.

"Death Star II (Expanded Universe)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-08.

Inside the Worlds of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V, & VI: The Complete Guide to the Incredible Locations. DK Children. 2004-08-16. ISBN 0-7566-0307-2.

"Convenient Daily Departures: The History of Star Tours - StarWars.com". 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2016.

https://www.theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/saxton.asp

Sophie Borland (2008-01-21). "Lightsabre wins the battle of movie weapons". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2015-04-16.

"Bell System Memorial- Bell Logo History". beatriceco.com. Porticus.org. Retrieved January 13, 2018. "sterling silver American Bell logo (which we recognize as the post-divestiture AT&T "death star" logo)"

Anderson, Nate (2012-08-23). "AT&T, have you no shame?". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Publications. p. 2. Retrieved 2012-08-23.

Morran, Chris (January 29, 2014). "T-Mobile Claims "AT&T Dismantles Death Star" In Mocking Press Release". The Consumerist. Consumer Reports. Retrieved January 29, 2014.

White, Brett (August 2, 2018). "'Clerks' Changed the Way We Talk About Pop Culture with Its Iconic 'Star Wars' Convo". Decider. Retrieved September 13, 2019.

"The New Death Star Stadium – Texas Stadium". theunticket.com.

Kranhold, Kathryn; Bryan Lee; Mitchel Benson (2002-05-07). "New Documents Show Enron Traders Manipulated California Energy Costs". Free Preview. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-21.

Young, Kelly (2005-02-11). "Saturn's moon is Death Star's twin". New Scientist. Retrieved 2008-08-21. "Saturn's diminutive moon, Mimas, poses as the Death Star — the planet-destroying space station from the movie Star Wars — in an image recently captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft."

Britt, Robert Roy (2001-04-03). "Nemesis: Does the Sun Have a 'Companion'?". Space.com. Retrieved 2008-08-21. "Any one of them could be the Death Star, as Nemesis has come to be called by some."

"Death Star Space Station". SirStevesGuide.com Photo Gallery. Steve Sansweet. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

"Death Star". SirStevesGuide.com Photo Gallery. Steve Sansweet. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

"LEGO Death Star 10188 & 10143". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

"LEGO Star Wars Death Star Landing Bay Diorama Made from Over 30,000 Bricks". 2011-10-07. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-07.

"Lego Death Star – Review (Set 10188)". August 11, 2011. Retrieved 2019-02-15.

"Review: 10143 Death Star II - FBTB". August 25, 2005. Retrieved 2019-02-15.

"#X: T-16 Skyhopper, Lars Family Landspeeder, Death Star II (1996)". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

"#XIV: Landing Craft, Death Star, Speeder Swoop (1998)". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

"Star Wars Customizable Card Game Complete Card List" (PDF). Decipher, Inc. 2001-08-23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-23.

"Star Wars TRANSFORMERS Darth Vader Death Star". Hasbro. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2008-01-05.

"ESTES INDUSTRIES INC. Model Rockets and Engines, #2143". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-08-21.

"Royal Selangor - Pewter - Products - Trinket Box, Death Star". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.

Accessories, Ninjabox Australia | Latest Tech Gadgets &. "Official Star Wars Levitating Death Star Bluetooth Speaker by Plox". Ninjabox Australia | Latest Tech Gadgets & Accessories. Archived from the original on 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2016-11-12.

Shawcross, Paul (January 11, 2013). "This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For". Wired. Retrieved January 13, 2013.

Roxanne Palmer (15 January 2013). "White House Rejects Death Star Petition: Doomsday Devices US Could Build Instead". International Business Times.

"It's a trap! Petition to build Death Star will spark White House response".

"US shoots down Death Star superlaser petition". BBC News. 2013-01-12.

    "Luxembourg Times - Community - Petition for Luxembourg to join dark side, build Death Star". luxtimes.lu. Retrieved 2018-02-09.

External links

    iconSpeculative fiction portal Film portal

    Death Star in the StarWars.com Databank

    Death Star on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki

    NASA Engineer Says It Would Be Easier To Build A Death Star On Asteroid

    vte

Fictional universe of Star Wars

Concepts   

    The Force Architecture Languages Physics

Characters   

    Admiral Ackbar Padmé Amidala Cassian Andor Wedge Antilles Doctor Aphra Cad Bane Darth Bane BB-8 Jar Jar Binks C-3PO Lando Calrissian Chewbacca Poe Dameron Count Dooku Jyn Erso Boba Fett Jango Fett Finn (FN-2187) Bib Fortuna Saw Gerrera Greedo General Grievous HK-47 Jabba the Hutt General Hux Mara Jade Kanan Jarrus Qui-Gon Jinn K-2SO Maz Kanata Kyle Katarn Obi-Wan Kenobi Kreia Orson Krennic Darth Maul Nien Nunb Bail Organa Leia Organa Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious Captain Phasma Admiral Piett Darth Plagueis Qi'ra R2-D2 Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) Revan Rey Captain Rex Bodhi Rook Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader Luke Skywalker Supreme Leader Snoke Han Solo Jacen Solo Starkiller Tag and Bink Ahsoka Tano Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Admiral Thrawn Rose Tico Asajj Ventress Iden Versio Watto Wicket W. Warrick Mace Windu Yoda

Lists   

    The Clone Wars characters Rebels characters Legends characters

        KotOR

Groups   

    Militaries

        Clone trooper Stormtrooper Rogue Squadron Families

        Skywalker Solo Music bands

        Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes Max Rebo Band

Organizations   

    First Order Galactic Empire Galactic Republic Jedi New Republic Rebel Alliance Resistance Sith

Planets and moons   

    Alderaan Bespin Coruscant Dagobah Endor Hoth Jakku Kashyyyk Naboo Mandalore Tatooine Yavin

Species and

creatures   

    Humanoid Species

        A–E

            Droid Ewok F–J

            Hutt K–O

            Mandalorian P–T

            Tusken Raiders U–Z

            Wookiee Animal creatures

        Bantha Sarlacc

Technology   

Weapons   

    Blaster Death Star Lightsaber

Terrestrial vehicles   

    Landspeeder Speeder bike Sandcrawler Walkers

Starfighters   

    A-wing B-wing TIE fighter U-wing X-wing Y-wing

Spacecraft   

    Death Star Millennium Falcon Mon Calamari cruiser Star Destroyer Tantive IV

Other   

    Clone Wars Galactic Civil War Mos Eisley

Darth Vader

Anakin Skywalker

Star Wars character

David Prowse as Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

First appearance    Star Wars (1977)

Last appearance    Rogue One (2016)

Created by    George Lucas

Portrayed by   

    as Darth Vader:

    David Prowse (Episodes IV-VI)

    Bob Anderson (Episodes V-VI, stunts)

    Hayden Christensen (Episode III)

    Spencer Wilding/Daniel Naprous (Rogue One)

    as Anakin Skywalker:

    Sebastian Shaw (Episode VI)[a]

    Jake Lloyd (Episode I)

    Hayden Christensen (Episodes II-III, VI)[a]

Voiced by   

    as Darth Vader:

    James Earl Jones (Episodes III-VI, Rogue One, Rebels)

    Ben Burtt (vocal effects)

    Brock Peters (radio drama)

    Matt Sloan (Soulcalibur IV)

    as Anakin Skywalker:

    David Birney (radio drama)

    Mat Lucas (Clone Wars)

    Matt Lanter (The Clone Wars film and TV series, Rebels, Forces of Destiny and Disney Infinity 3.0)

Information

Full name    Anakin Skywalker

Alias    Darth Vader

Nickname    Ani

Gender    Male

Occupation   

    Slave

    Padawan

    Jedi Knight

    Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic

    Dark Lord of the Sith

Affiliation   

    Watto's shop

    Jedi Order

    Galactic Republic

    Sith Order

    Galactic Empire

Family   

    Shmi Skywalker (mother)

    Cliegg Lars (step-father)

    Owen Lars (step-brother)

    Beru Whitesun (sister-in-law)

Spouse    Padmé Amidala

Children   

    Luke Skywalker (son)

    Leia Organa (daughter)

Relatives    Canon:

    Han Solo (son-in-law)

    Ben Solo (grandson)

Legends:

    Mara Jade (daughter-in-law)

    Ben Skywalker (grandson)

    Jacen Solo (grandson)

    Jaina Solo (granddaughter)

    Anakin Solo (grandson)

Homeworld    Tatooine

Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a primary antagonist in the original trilogy, but, as Anakin Skywalker, is the main protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader".[1]

Originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, Anakin Skywalker is lured to the dark side of the Force by Palpatine and becomes a Sith Lord. After fighting a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi in which he is dismembered, Vader is transformed into a cyborg. He then serves the Galactic Empire as Darth Vader until he redeems himself by saving his son, Luke Skywalker, and seemingly killing Palpatine, sacrificing his own life in the process.[2] He is also the father of Princess Leia, the secret husband of Padmé Amidala, and grandfather of Kylo Ren, the main villain of the sequel trilogy.

The character has been portrayed by numerous actors. His cinematic appearances span the first six Star Wars films, as well as Rogue One, and he is referenced in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He also appears in television series (most substantially The Clone Wars) and numerous iterations of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, including video games, novels, and comic books.

Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever.[3][4] The American Film Institute listed him as the third greatest movie villain in cinema history on 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates.[5] His role as a tragic hero in the prequel trilogy was met with positive reviews.[6][7]

Creation and development

George Lucas, Vader's creator

Name

Series creator George Lucas initially wrote the series' main villain as separate from Luke Starkiller's father Annikin [sic]. Various combinations of names for the character were built upon the phrase "Dark Water". Then Lucas "added lots of last names, Vaders and Wilsons and Smiths, and [he] just came up with the combination of Darth and Vader." After the release of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lucas said the name Vader was based upon the German/Dutch-language homophone vater or vader, meaning 'father', making the name representative of a "Dark Father".[8] However, there is no evidence that Lucas conceived of Vader as Luke's father before 1978.[9] Other words which may have inspired the name are "death" and "invader",[10] as well as the name of a high school upperclassman of Lucas's, Gary Vader.[11][12]

As no other character with the title "Darth" was introduced until the release of The Phantom Menace (1999),[b] some viewers interpreted it as the character's first name, in part because Obi-Wan Kenobi addresses him as "Darth" in the original film.[13] The moniker is bestowed upon Anakin in Revenge of the Sith (2005) upon his turn to the dark side of the Force.

Director Ken Annakin's films Swiss Family Robinson and Battle of the Bulge influenced the original trilogy,[14] leading some to believe that Anakin was named after him. Lucas's publicist denied this following Annakin's death in 2009.[15] Anakin and Luke's original surname "Starkiller" remained in the script until a few months into filming Star Wars, when it was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson and replaced with "Skywalker".[16][c]

Concept and writing

In the first draft of The Star Wars, tall, grim general "Darth Vader" was already close in line with his final depiction, and the protagonist Annikin Starkiller had a role similar to that of his son Luke's as the 16-year-old son of a respected warrior.[18] Originally, Lucas conceived of the Sith as a group that served the Emperor in the same way that the Schutzstaffel served Adolf Hitler. In developing the backstory for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas condensed this into one character in the form of Darth Vader.[19]

After the success of the original Star Wars (1977), Lucas hired science-fiction author Leigh Brackett to write the sequel with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.[20] Lucas was disappointed with the script, but Brackett died of cancer before he could discuss it with her.[21] With no writer available, Lucas wrote the next draft himself. In this draft, dated April 1, 1978, he made use of a new plot twist: Vader claiming to be Luke's father.[22] According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the year-long struggles writing the first film.[23]

The new plot element of Luke's parentage had drastic effects on the series. Author Michael Kaminski claims and argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was a separate character from Luke's father.[24] After writing the second and third drafts in which the plot point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin had been Obi-Wan Kenobi's brilliant student and had a child named Luke, but was swayed to the dark side by Palpatine. Anakin battled Obi-Wan on the site of a volcano and was badly wounded, but was then reborn as Vader. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan hid Luke on Tatooine while the Galactic Republic became the tyrannical Galactic Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi.[25] This change in character would provide a springboard to the "tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequel trilogy.

After deciding to create the prequel trilogy, Lucas indicated that the story arc would be a tragic one depicting Anakin's fall to the dark side. He also saw that the prequels could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "saga".[26] For the first prequel, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucas made Anakin nine years old[27][d] to make the character's separation from his mother poignant.[29] Movie trailers focused on Anakin and a one-sheet poster showing him casting Vader's shadow informed otherwise unknowing audiences of the character's eventual fate.[30] The movie ultimately achieved a primary goal of introducing audiences to Anakin.[31]

Author Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence of the third prequel, Revenge of the Sith (2005), to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Count Dooku, killed by Anakin in cold blood as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.[32] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; Anakin's fall from grace would now be motivated by a desire to save his wife, Padmé Amidala, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.[33]

During production of the Clone Wars TV series, Ahsoka Tano was developed to illustrate how Anakin develops from the brash, undisciplined Padawan apprentice in Attack of the Clones (2002) to the more reserved Jedi Knight in Revenge of the Sith.[34] Clone Wars supervising director and Rebels co-creator Dave Filoni said that giving Anakin responsibility for a Padawan was meant to place the character in a role that forced him to become more cautious and responsible. It would also give him insight into his relationship with Obi-Wan and depict how their relationship matured. Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship was seen as an essential story arc spanning both the animated film and Clone Wars television series.[35] Filoni began thinking about the final confrontation between Ahsoka and Vader ever since he created the former;[36] different iterations had different endings,[37] including one in which Vader kills Ahsoka just as she slashes open his helmet to reveal Vader's scarred face.[38]

Ahsoka's presence in Rebels was necessary to allow Darth Vader to encounter the show's lead characters without the latter being "destroyed"; Ahsoka can "stand toe-to-toe" with Vader.[39]

Design

Ralph McQuarrie incorporated Samurai armor into his conceptual designs for Vader's costume in 1975.

The original design of Darth Vader's costume did not originally include a helmet. The idea that Vader should wear a breathing apparatus was first proposed by concept artist Ralph McQuarrie during preproduction discussions for Star Wars with George Lucas in 1975. McQuarrie stated that Lucas's artistic direction was to portray a malevolent figure in a cape with Samurai armor. "For Darth Vader, George just said he would like to have a very tall, dark fluttering figure that had a spooky feeling like it came in on the wind."[40] McQuarrie noted that the script indicated that Vader would travel between spaceships and needed to survive in the vacuum of space, and he proposed that Vader should wear some sort of space suit. Lucas agreed, and McQuarrie combined a full-face breathing mask with a Samurai helmet, thus creating one of the most iconic designs of space fantasy cinema.[41][40] McQuarrie's 1975 production painting of Darth Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel with Deak Starkiller (a character prototype for Luke Skywalker) depicts Vader wearing black armor, a flowing cape and an elongated, skull-like mask and helmet. Its similarity to the final design of Vader's costume demonstrates that McQuarrie's earliest conception of Vader was so successful that very little needed to be changed for production.[42]

Darth Vader designers

Ralph McQuarrie

Ralph McQuarrie

Brian Muir

Brian Muir

Working from McQuarrie's designs, the costume designer John Mollo devised a costume that could be worn by an actor on-screen using a combination of clerical robes, a motorcycle suit, a German military helmet and a gas mask.[43] The prop sculptor Brian Muir created the helmet and armour used in the film.[44]

The sound of the respirator function of Vader's mask was created by Ben Burtt using modified recordings of scuba breathing apparatus used by divers.[45] The sound effect is trademarked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under Trademark #77419252 and is officially described in the documentation as "The sound of rhythmic mechanical human breathing created by breathing through a scuba tank regulator."[46]

Commentators have often pointed to the influence of Akira Kurosawa's films such as The Hidden Fortress (1958) on George Lucas, and Vader's Samurai-inspired costume design is held up as a significant example of the Japanese influences on Star Wars.[47]

Portrayals

David Prowse physically portrayed Vader in the original film trilogy.

Darth Vader was portrayed by bodybuilder David Prowse in the original film trilogy, and by stunt performer Bob Anderson during the character's intense lightsaber fight scenes.[48][49] Lucas originally intended for Orson Welles to voice Vader (after dismissing using Prowse's own voice due to his English West Country accent, leading to the rest of the cast nicknaming him "Darth Farmer").[50] After deciding that Welles's voice would be too recognizable, he cast the lesser-known James Earl Jones instead.[51][52] Jones initially felt his contributions to the films were too small to warrant recognition and his role was uncredited at his request until the release of Return of the Jedi (1983).[48] When Jones was specifically asked if he had supplied Vader's voice for Revenge of the Sith—either newly or from a previous recording—Jones answered, "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know".[53] Hayden Christensen and Gene Bryant alternately portray Vader in Revenge of the Sith.[54][55][56] During the production of Revenge of the Sith, Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armor worn by Prowse.[57] Brock Peters provided the voice of Darth Vader in the NPR/USC radio series. Both Spencer Wilding[58] and Daniel Naprous portrayed Vader in Rogue One (2016), with Jones reprising his role as the character's voice.[59][60]

Vader's character has also been portrayed in several video games; in games such as Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire and Dark Forces, visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson appears in short sequences in the Vader costume, voiced by Scott Lawrence. Matt Sloan, who appeared in the YouTube parody Chad Vader, provided the voice of Darth Vader in The Force Unleashed.[61] As a result of his video game appearances, Nelson was cast to appear as Vader in brief sequences inserted into the Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back, in which Vader is seen boarding his shuttle.[56]

During production of Return of the Jedi, the casting crew sought an experienced actor for the role of Anakin Skywalker since his death was unquestionably the emotional climax of the film, and Sebastian Shaw was selected for the role.[62][e] When Shaw arrived at the set for filming, he ran into his friend Ian McDiarmid, the actor playing the Emperor. When McDiarmid asked him what he was doing there, Shaw responded, "I don't know, dear boy, I think it's something to do with science-fiction."[64] His presence during the filming was kept secret from all but the minimum cast and crew, and Shaw was contractually obliged not to discuss any film secrets with anyone, even his family. The unmasking scene, directed by Richard Marquand, was filmed in one day and required only a few takes, with no alteration from the original dialogue.[62] Lucas personally directed Shaw for his appearance in the final scene of the film, in which he is a Force Ghost of Anakin. Shaw's image in this scene was replaced with that of Christensen in the 2004 DVD release. This last attempt to tie the prequel and original trilogies together proved to be possibly the most controversial change in the Star Wars re-releases.[65][66] Shaw received more fan mail and autograph requests from Return of the Jedi than he had for any role in the rest of his career. He later reflected that he very much enjoyed his experience filming Return of the Jedi and expressed particular surprise that an action figure was made of him from the film.[62]

James Earl Jones voiced Darth Vader in the original trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, and Rogue One.

When The Phantom Menace was being produced, hundreds of actors were tested for the role of young Anakin[67] before the producers settled on Jake Lloyd, who Lucas considered met his requirements of "a good actor, enthusiastic and very energetic". Producer Rick McCallum said that Lloyd was "smart, mischievous and loves anything mechanical—just like Anakin."[68][69] During production of Attack of the Clones, casting director Robin Gurland reviewed about 1,500 other candidates for the role of the young Anakin before Lucas eventually selected Hayden Christensen for the role.[70] When Revenge of the Sith was being produced, Christensen and Ewan McGregor began rehearsing their climactic lightsaber duel long before Lucas would shoot it. They trained extensively with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard to memorize and perform their duel together. As in the previous prequel film, McGregor and Christensen performed their own lightsaber fighting scenes without the use of stunt doubles.[71]

Anakin has also been voiced by Mat Lucas for the 2003 micro-series Clone Wars, and by Matt Lanter in the CGI animated film The Clone Wars, the television series of the same name and for Anakin's small roles in the animated series Rebels and Forces of Destiny.[72] James Earl Jones reprised the voice role for Vader's appearances in Rebels.[73][74] Both Lanter and Jones contributed their voices for the second-season finale of Rebels, at times with identical dialogue spoken by both actors blended together in different ways.[75]

Characteristics

In Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker feels "smothered" by Obi-Wan Kenobi and is incapable of controlling his own life.[76] By Revenge of the Sith, however, his "father-son" friction with his master has matured into a more equal, brotherly relationship.[77] Once he becomes Darth Vader, each evil act he commits shatters any hope or connection towards his previous life, which makes it harder for him to return to the light,[78] but he ultimately escapes the dark side and redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save his son, Luke Skywalker, and kill the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.[79]

Eric Bui, a psychiatrist at University of Toulouse Hospital, argued at the 2007 American Psychiatric Association convention that Anakin Skywalker meets six of the nine diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), one more than necessary for a diagnosis. He and a colleague, Rachel Rodgers, published their findings in a 2010 letter to the editor of the journal Psychiatry Research. Bui says he found Anakin Skywalker a useful example to explain BPD to medical students.[80] In particular, Bui points to Anakin's abandonment issues and uncertainty over his identity. Anakin's mass murders of the Tusken Raiders in Attack of the Clones and the young Jedi in Revenge of the Sith count as two dissociative episodes, fulfilling another criterion. Bui hoped his paper would help raise awareness of the disorder, especially among teens.[80]

Appearances

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker appears in seven of the live-action Star Wars films, the animated series The Clone Wars (including the film), Rebels, and the micro-series Clone Wars and Forces of Destiny. He also has a main and recurring role in games, comics, books and the non-canon Star Wars Legends material.

Skywalker saga

Main article: Skywalker saga

Original trilogy

Darth Vader first appears in Star Wars (later retitled A New Hope) as a ruthless cyborg serving the Galactic Empire.[48] He is tasked, along with Grand Moff Tarkin, with recovering the secret plans for the Death Star superweapon, which were stolen by the Rebel Alliance. Vader captures and tortures Princess Leia, who has hidden the plans inside the droid R2-D2 and sent it to find Vader's former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on the planet Tatooine. During Leia's rescue by Obi-Wan's allies Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, Vader strikes down Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel. Having placed a tracking device aboard their ship, the Millennium Falcon, Vader is able to track down the Rebel base on the planet Yavin 4.[81] During the Rebel attack on the Death Star, Vader boards his TIE fighter and attempts to shoot down Rebel X-wing fighters, but Solo intervenes and sends Vader's ship spiraling off course, allowing Luke to destroy the Death Star.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader becomes obsessed with finding the Force-sensitive Luke[81] and leads both the 501st Legion and the Death Squadron (Vader's personal Imperial armed forces) to attack on the Rebel base on Hoth, which the Rebels escape. While conversing with Emperor Palpatine via hologram, Vader convinces him that Luke would be a valuable ally if he could be turned to the dark side. Vader hires a group of bounty hunters to follow Luke's friends, and negotiates with Bespin administrator Lando Calrissian to set a trap for them in order to bait Luke.[81] After Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO arrive, Vader tortures and freezes Han in carbonite and gives him to the bounty hunter Boba Fett.[81] When Luke arrives, Vader overpowers him in a lightsaber duel, severing his hand. Vader tells Luke that he is his father, and tries to persuade him to join the dark side and help him overthrow the Emperor. Horrified, Luke escapes through an air shaft. Vader telepathically tells Luke that it is his destiny to join the dark side.[81]

Sebastian Shaw as the redeemed Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi (1983)

In Return of the Jedi, Vader and the Emperor supervise the final stages of the second Death Star's construction.[81] Thinking that there is still good in his father, Luke surrenders to Vader and tries to convince him to turn from the dark side. Vader takes Luke to the Death Star to meet the Emperor. While there, Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger, which leads to Vader dueling with Luke once again.[81] Realizing that Leia is Luke's twin sister, Vader threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not. Furious, Luke overpowers Vader and severs his father's robotic hand. The Emperor entreats Luke to kill Vader and take his place. Luke refuses and the Emperor tortures him with Force lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader throws the Emperor down a reactor chute to his apparent death, but is mortally electrocuted in the process.[81][82] The redeemed Anakin Skywalker asks Luke to remove his mask, and admits that there was still good in him after all as he dies peacefully in his son's arms.[82] Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's body and cremates it in a pyre on Endor. As the Rebels celebrate the Death Star's destruction and the Empire's defeat, Luke sees the spirits of Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan watching over him.[82]

Prequel trilogy

In Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which takes place 32 years before the original Star Wars film, Anakin appears as a nine-year-old slave[29] living on Tatooine with his mother Shmi. In addition to being a gifted pilot and mechanic, Anakin has built his own protocol droid, C-3PO. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after making an emergency landing on Tatooine with Queen of Naboo Padmé Amidala. Qui-Gon learns from Shmi that Anakin was conceived without a father and can foresee the future. Qui-Gon senses Anakin's strong connection to the Force and becomes convinced that he is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who will bring balance to the Force. After winning his freedom in a podrace wager, Anakin leaves with Qui-Gon to be trained as a Jedi on Coruscant, but is forced to leave his mother behind. During the journey, Anakin forms a bond with Padmé. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they sense fear in the boy and refuse. Eventually, Anakin helps end the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo by destroying their control ship. After Qui-Gon is killed in a lightsaber duel with Sith Lord Darth Maul, Qui-Gon's apprentice Obi-Wan promises to train Anakin, with the Council's reluctant approval.[82] Palpatine, newly elected as the Galactic Republic's Chancellor, befriends Anakin and tells him that he will watch his career "with great interest".

In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which takes place 10 years after The Phantom Menace, Anakin is still Obi-Wan's Padawan apprentice. After rescuing Padmé from an assassination attempt, Anakin travels with her to Naboo as her bodyguard, and they fall in love. Sensing that Shmi is in pain, Anakin travels with Padmé to Tatooine to rescue his mother. While there, Anakin learns from Shmi's husband Cliegg Lars that she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. Anakin locates Shmi at a Tusken campsite, where she dies in his arms. Anakin, enraged, massacres the Tusken tribe and returns to the Lars homestead to bury Shmi.[82] Anakin then travels with Padmé to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan from Sith Lord Count Dooku. Dooku captures the trio and sentences them to death. However, a battalion of Jedi arrives with an army of clone troopers to halt the executions. Obi-Wan and Anakin confront Dooku, but the Sith Lord beats them both in a lightsaber duel and severs Anakin's arm. After being rescued by Yoda, Anakin is fitted with a robotic arm and secretly marries Padmé.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith (2005)

In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, set three years after Attack of the Clones, Anakin is now a Jedi Knight and a hero of the Clone Wars. He and Obi-Wan lead a mission to rescue Palpatine from Separatist commander General Grievous. The two Jedi battle Count Dooku, whom Anakin kills at Palpatine's urging. They rescue Palpatine and return to Coruscant. Anakin reunites with Padmé, who tells him that she is pregnant. Although initially excited, Anakin has prophetic visions of Padmé dying in childbirth.[82] Later, Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and says that only he has the power to save Padmé from dying. Anakin reports Palpatine's treachery to Jedi Master Mace Windu, who confronts and subdues Palpatine. Desperate to save Padmé, Anakin disarms Windu, which allows Palpatine to kill the Jedi Master. Anakin pledges himself to the Sith, and Palpatine dubs him Darth Vader.[82]

On Palpatine's orders, Vader leads the 501st Legion to kill everyone in the Jedi Temple and assassinates the remaining Separatist leaders on the volcanic planet Mustafar. A distraught Padmé goes to Mustafar and begs Vader to return to the light side. Vader refuses and asks her to help him overthrow Palpatine so they can rule the galaxy together. Seeing Obi-Wan on Padmé's ship, and thinking they have conspired to kill him, Vader uses the Force to choke Padmé into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan engages Vader in a lightsaber duel that ends with Obi-Wan dismembering Vader and leaving him for dead on the banks of a lava flow, severely burned. Palpatine finds Vader and brings him to Coruscant, where his apprentice is resuscitated and his mutilated body rebuilt with the black armor first depicted in the original trilogy. Palpatine tells Vader that he himself killed Padmé in his rage, and Vader screams in agony. At the end of the film, Vader supervises the construction of the first Death Star alongside Palpatine and Tarkin.

Sequel trilogy

Vader's melted helmet appears in The Force Awakens (2015), in which Vader's grandson Kylo Ren is seen addressing him, though Vader does not appear in the film. At one point, his helmet was considered as the film's MacGuffin.[83] Footage of the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) shown at a Disney shareholders event also includes the helmet.[84]

Film series

The Clone Wars (film)

In the 2008 3D animated film The Clone Wars, Yoda assigns Ahsoka Tano as Anakin's Padawan apprentice, a responsibility Anakin is at first reluctant to accept. Anakin calls her "Snips" for her "snippy" attitude, while Ahsoka calls him "Skyguy" as a pun on his surname.[82] After earning Anakin's respect during a dangerous mission, Ahsoka joins him on a quest to rescue Jabba the Hutt's infant son, Rotta. Her impetuousness both annoys and endears her to her master, and Anakin develops a friendly affection for his apprentice.

Anthology films

In the first anthology film Rogue One, Vader makes a cameo appearance in which he meets with Imperial weapons engineer Orson Krennic, who asks him for an audience with the Emperor regarding the Death Star, which Krennic lost command of to Tarkin. Vader refuses, however, using the Force to choke him, and ordering him to ensure that the Death Star project has not been compromised. At the end of the film, Vader boards the disabled Rebel flagship Profundity with a cadre of 501st Legion troopers and kills several Rebel soldiers as he attempts to recover the plans. However, the docked blockade runner Tantive IV escapes with the plans, setting up the events of A New Hope.

Television series

Clone Wars (2003–2005)

Anakin is a lead character in all three seasons of the Clone Wars micro-series, which takes place shortly after the conclusion of Attack of the Clones. Anakin becomes a Jedi Knight and is quickly promoted to a General of the Republic's Clone Army, due in part to Palpatine's influence. Among other missions, he fights a duel with Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress, helps Obi-Wan capture a Separatist-controlled fortress and rescues Jedi Master Saesee Tiin during a space battle. During the third season, Anakin frees a planet's indigenous species from Separatist control and sees a cryptic vision of his future as Darth Vader. In the season finale, Anakin and Obi-Wan go on a mission to rescue Palpatine from General Grievous, leading to the opening of Revenge of the Sith.

The Clone Wars (2008–2014)

Anakin is a lead character in all seasons of The Clone Wars. As a Jedi Knight, he leads the 501st Legion on missions with both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka throughout the war. Some of Anakin's actions taken out of concern for Ahsoka violate the Jedi code, such as torturing prisoners who may know her location when she goes missing.[85] During the third season, Anakin experiences a vision of his future as Darth Vader.[86]

Rebels (2014–2018)

Darth Vader appears in multiple episodes of the first season of Star Wars Rebels, which takes place 14 years after The Clone Wars concludes.[87] Vader leads a squadron of Force-sensitive Imperial Inquisitors who actively search for and kill any remaining Jedi and Force-sensitive children. In the second-season premiere, Vader discovers that Ahsoka has joined the Rebel Alliance, and the Emperor orders him to kill her. When they meet, Ahsoka is overwhelmed when she recognizes Anakin under "a layer of hate" in Darth Vader.[37] Later in the season, Ahsoka has a vision in which Anakin blames her for allowing him to fall to the dark side. In the season finale, Ahsoka duels with her former master inside a Sith Temple, allowing her friends to escape Vader and the temple's destruction. As the episode concludes, Vader escapes from the temple's ruins. Vader makes a final voiceless cameo in the late fourth-season episode "A World Between Worlds", in which it is revealed that Ahsoka escaped from her previous duel with Vader by entering a Force-realm. Shortly afterward, Vader’s voice is heard echoing in the void.

Forces of Destiny (2017–2018)

Anakin Skywalker appears in multiple episodes of the 2D animated online micro-series Star Wars Forces of Destiny.[72]

Canon literature

In the first chapter of the novelization of The Phantom Menace, Anakin participates in a podrace[88] through Beggar's Canyon on Tatooine. This parallels his future son Luke's flights through the same canyon as mentioned in A New Hope.[89]

Star Wars: Lords of the Sith was one of the first four canon novels to be released in 2014 and 2015.[90] In it, Vader and Palpatine find themselves hunted by revolutionaries on the Twi'lek planet Ryloth.[91][92]

Comics

In 2015, Marvel released a 25-issue series called Darth Vader (2015–16),[93] which focused on the title character in the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star, as well as his life after learning about the existence of his son.[94] The series happens parallel to the comic book series Star Wars, with which it has a crossover titled Vader Down.[95] A prequel-era series written by Charles Soule and published 2017–18, also called Darth Vader and featuring the same logo, begins moments after Vader wakes up in his black suit at the end of Revenge of the Sith. The series focuses on the titular character's emotional transformation upon learning of Padme's death, his adjustment to his mechanical suit, how he creates his red-bladed lightsaber, and his hunting of Jedi in the Inquisitor program introduced in Rebels.[96] Its final issue indicates that Palpatine may have used the Force to conceive Anakin in utero,[97] as some fans have theorized that Revenge of the Sith implies.[98][f]

The five-issue mini-series Obi-Wan & Anakin (2016), also written by Soule, depicts the lives of the titular Jedi between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. At New York Comic Con 2015, Soule described the story as "pretty unexplored territory".[99]

Virtual reality game

In the 2015 Star Wars Celebration, it was announced David S. Goyer is helping to develop a virtual reality game series based on Darth Vader. As a observer with limited influence, the player is able to walk, pick up, push and open things, and possibly effect the story.[100] There will be three episodes overall, set between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One; the first became available with the launch of Oculus Quest.[101]

Legends

In April 2014, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded by Lucasfilm as Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise.[90][102]

Literature

Vader is featured prominently in novels set in the Star Wars universe. In the 1978 novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster, Vader meets Luke Skywalker for the first time and engages him in a lightsaber duel that ends with Luke cutting off Vader's arm and Vader falling into a deep pit.[48] (In 1999's Vader's Quest, however, Vader encounters Luke for the first time after hiring a bounty hunter to find the pilot who destroyed the Death Star.) Shadows of the Empire (1996) reveals that Vader is conflicted about trying to turn his son to the dark side of the Force, and knows deep down that there is still some good in him.

Anakin Skywalker's redeemed spirit appears in The Truce at Bakura (1993), set a few days after the end of Return of the Jedi. He appears to Leia, imploring her forgiveness. Leia condemns him for his crimes and exiles him from her life. He promises that he will be there for her when she needs him, and disappears. In Tatooine Ghost (2003), Leia learns to forgive her father after learning about his childhood as a slave and his mother's traumatic death. In The Unifying Force (2003), Anakin tells his grandson Jacen Solo to "stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Upon the release of the prequel films, the Expanded Universe grew to include novels about Vader's former life as Anakin Skywalker. Greg Bear's 2000 novel Rogue Planet and Jude Watson's Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest series chronicle Anakin's early missions with Obi-Wan, while James Luceno's 2005 novel Labyrinth of Evil, set during the Clone Wars, depicts Anakin battling Separatist commander General Grievous. In Luceno's Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (2005), set a few months after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Vader disavows his identity as Anakin Skywalker as he systematically pursues and kills the surviving Jedi and cements his position in the Empire. The novel reveals that Vader plans to eventually overthrow Palpatine and that he betrayed the Jedi because he resented their supposed failure to recognize his power.

In the Dark Nest trilogy (2005), Luke and Leia uncover old recordings of their parents in R2-D2's memory drive; for the first time, they see their own birth and their mother's death, as well as their father's corruption to the dark side. In Bloodlines (2006), Han and Leia's son Jacen – who has himself turned to the dark side – uses the Force to "watch" Darth Vader slaughter the children at the Jedi Temple.

Vader also appears in a series of tongue-in-cheek children's books by Jeffrey Brown.[103] In Brown's series, a hapless Vader sets out to be a father to a young Luke and Leia, with some scenes portraying light-hearted versions of their darker film counterparts (for example, one scene shows Vader, Luke and Leia at the carbonite freezing chamber on Bespin, with Vader pronouncing the freezer adequate for making ice cream).

Comics

Vader appears in several comic books such as Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars Tales and Marvel Comics' Star Wars (1977–1986) series.

Anakin Skywalker is a major character in Dark Horse's Star Wars: Republic series (1998–2006).

Video games

Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker appear in a variety of video games such as the Lego Star Wars series and the Battlefront series. Vader plays a central role in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008). He is a playable character in the first level of the game, where he and his armies invade Kashyyyk to hunt down a Jedi who had survived the Order's destruction. Vader kills the Jedi and kidnaps the man's young Force-sensitive son, whom he raises as his secret apprentice, Starkiller. Vader sends Starkiller on various missions throughout the galaxy, with an ultimate goal to assassinate Palpatine so that Vader can rule the galaxy himself. Toward the end of the game, however, it is revealed that Vader isn't planning to overthrow Palpatine at all; he is merely using his apprentice to expose the Empire's enemies. At the game's climax, the player chooses between attacking Palpatine to help his Rebel friends escape the Death Star or killing Vader to become the Emperor's new apprentice. He also appears in the sequel Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II as the final boss. He, Starkiller and Yoda serve as guest characters for Soulcalibur IV (2008), with Vader available for the PlayStation 3 edition and downloadable content for the Xbox 360 edition.

Other

In the Star Wars Holiday Special, a television special broadcast by CBS in 1978, features a brief appearance by Darth Vader, who appears on-screen speaking with Imperial officer "Chief Bast" in footage cut from the original 1977 film. The sequence is dubbed with new dialogue, performed by James Earl Jones. In the story, Vader colludes with Boba Fett to entrap the Rebels.[104]

Darth Vader features in the 1981 radio drama adaptation of Star Wars, voiced by the actor Brock Peters. Vader makes his first appearance on the planet Ralltiir, where he treats Princess Leia with suspicion. In later extended scenes, he is heard interrogating and torturing Leia on board his Star Destroyer and aboard the Death Star.[105][106][107]

Vader appears in Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, where he is voiced by Jones. Vader is featured as a combatant in the popular series Death Battle, in which he is pitted against Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom.

An action figure of Vader comes to life alongside RoboCop and Jurassic Park toys in The Indian in the Cupboard (1995).[108] Vader also had a brief cameo in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), in which he and Oscar the Grouch try unsuccessfully to join the army formed by Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone.

Cultural impact

See also: Cultural impact of Star Wars

Darth Vader has gained much positive reception as a classic film villain. The character ranked number two on Empire magazine's 2008 list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters.[109] Premiere magazine also ranked Vader on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.[110] On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked Vader at number 6.[111] Darth Vader was also the No. 1 supervillain on the Bravo series Ultimate Super Heroes, Vixens and Villains,[112] and No. 1 in IGN's list of top 100 Star Wars characters.[113] Furthermore, Darth Vader's quote in The Empire Strikes Back—"No, I am your father" (often misquoted as "Luke, I am your father"),[114]—is one of the most well known quotes in cinema history. The line was selected as one of the 400 nominees for the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of the greatest American movie quotes.[115] Vader received the Ultimate Villain recognition at the 2011 Scream Awards.[116]

The Darth Vader Grotesque sculpted into the Washington National Cathedral

Darth Vader's iconic status has made the character a symbol for evil in popular culture. For example, a three part series of episodes of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History has Darth Vader facing off against Adolf Hitler.[117] Psychiatrists have considered Vader to be a useful example for explaining borderline personality disorder to medical students.[80] Anakin's origin story in The Phantom Menace has been compared to signifiers of African American racial identity,[118] and his dissatisfaction with his life has been compared to Siddartha's before he became Gautama Buddha.[119] A Mexican church advised Christians against seeing The Phantom Menace because it portrays Anakin as a Christ figure.[120] The slime-mold beetle Agathidium vaderi is named after Vader,[121] and several buildings across the globe are regularly compared to him.[122][123][124][125][126] A grotesque of Darth Vader looms over the east face of the Washington National Cathedral's northwest tower.[127] During the 2007–08 NHL season, Ottawa Senators goaltender Martin Gerber performed so well in an all-black mask that fans endearingly termed him "Darth Gerber".[128] In 2015, a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odessa, Ukraine, was converted into one of Darth Vader due to a law on decommunization.[129]

Many films and television series have paid homage to Darth Vader. The 1982 compilation movie Cosmic Princess, compiled from parts of Space: 1999 episodes, contains several Star Wars references including a character named "Vader".[130] Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985), dressed in a radiation suit, calls himself "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" to convince the past version of his father to ask his mother to a dance. Rick Moranis plays "Dark Helmet" in the Star Wars parody Spaceballs (1987). In Chasing Amy (1997), Hooper X speaks at a comic convention about Darth Vader being a metaphor for how poorly the science fiction genre treats black people; he is especially offended that Vader, the "blackest brother in the galaxy", reveals himself to be a "feeble, crusty old white man" at the end of Return of the Jedi. The character was also parodied in the Nickelodeon cartoon Rocko's Modern Life in the episode "Teed Off".[131] On another Nickelodeon cartoon, Jimmy Neutron, Darth Vader's infamous line, "I am your father", was interpolated in the mini-episode "New Dog, Old Tricks".[132] The line was also alluded to in Toy Story 2, which also introduces Emperor Zurg (a parody of Vader) to the Disney media franchise.[133] The character of Dark Mayhem in The Thundermans is also a parody of Vader, especially in his original depiction, while his later appearances changed the character to a comical supervillain usually working with incompetent henchmen.

The Final Fantasy IV the character Golbez, who spends most of the game as the main antagonist, was stated by Takashi Tokita to be based on Vader, with his following a similar character arc.[134] In 2010, IGN ranked Darth Vader 25th in the "Top 100 Videogame Villains".[135]

Many commentators and comedians have also evoked his visage to satirize politicians and other public figures, and several American political figures have been unflatteringly compared to the character. In response to Ronald Reagan's proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (dubbed "Star Wars" by his political opponents), German news magazine Der Spiegel portrayed the president wearing Vader's helmet on its cover in 1984.[136] In 2005, Al Gore referred to Tele-Communications Inc.'s John C. Malone as the "Darth Vader of cable",[137] and political strategist Lee Atwater was known by his political enemies as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party".[138] Native American artist Bunky Echohawk portrayed General Custer as Vader in his painting Darth Custer.[139]

In 2006, US Vice President Dick Cheney referenced Darth Vader in an interview with CNN's John King. While discussing the George W. Bush administration's dogma on gathering intelligence, Cheney said, "It means we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business. And I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, 'Well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.'"[140] Following this interview, many pop culture celebrities referred to Cheney in this manner during and after his vice presidency. On January 25, 2007, Jon Stewart put on a Darth Vader helmet to address Dick Cheney as a "kindred spirit" on The Daily Show.[141] Cheney's wife, Lynne, presented Stewart with a Darth Vader action figure on her appearance on the show on October 10, 2007. Both Stewart and Stephen Colbert have occasionally referred to Cheney as "Darth Cheney". In the satirical cartoon show Lil' Bush, Dick Cheney's father is portrayed as being Darth Vader. At her presidential campaign event on September 19, 2007, Hillary Clinton also referred to Cheney as Darth Vader. At the 2008 Washington Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, Cheney joked that his wife Lynne told him that the Vader comparison "humanizes" him. George Lucas told The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, however, that Cheney is more akin to Emperor Palpatine, and that a better stand-in for Vader would be George W. Bush.[142] An issue of Newsweek referenced this quote, and compared Bush and Cheney to Vader and Palpatine, respectively, in a satirical article comparing politicians to various Star Wars and Star Trek characters.[143]

In Ukraine, the Internet Party of Ukraine regularly lets people named Darth Vader take part in elections.[144][g]

In 2019, an original Vader helmet from The Empire Strikes Back was sold for $900,000 in an online auction.[152]

Appears in Pablo Hidalgo's Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded (2016)

Anakin was conceived without a biological father.

Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Adopted father of Leia Organa, as established in Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Adopted mother of Leia Organa, as established in Revenge of the Sith (2005)

In the non-canonical Star Wars Expanded Universe (Legends), Luke is married to Mara Jade and has a son, Ben Skywalker.

    In the Legends continuity, Han and Leia have three children: Jaina, Jacen and Anakin Solo.

References

Footnotes

Christensen replaced Sebastian Shaw's appearance as a Force ghost in the 2004 DVD Special Edition of Return of the Jedi

Characters in the prequel trilogy such as Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, and Darth Tyrannus reveal that Darth is a title for Sith Lords.

The name "Skywalker" first appeared as Luke's surname in Lucas's 1973 treatment of the film.[17]

Making the character 14 years younger by the time of the original film than A Guide to the Star Wars Universe previously stated[28]

Director Richard Marquand wanted a famous actor like Laurence Olivier to play the role.[63]

In the film, Palpatine tells Anakin about Darth Plagueis the Wise, "a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life." This was preceded by the rough draft of Revenge of the Sith, in which Palpatine says to Anakin, "I arranged for your conception. I used the power of the Force to will the midichlorians to start the cell divisions that created you."[97]

    Two men named Darth Vader were candidates at the 25 May 2014 Kiev mayoral election and the Odessa mayoral election of the same day.[145][146][147] A man named Darth Vader earlier had submitted documents to be registered as a presidential candidate in the 25 May 2014 Ukrainian presidential election, but his registration was refused because his real identity could not be verified.[148][149][150] In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Darth Vader and Star Wars characters such as Chewbacca, Padmé Amidala and Yoda ran for seats in the Ukrainian parliament.[144] Candidates named Darth Vader reappeared in the 2015 Ukrainian local elections.[151]

Citations

Wakeman, Gregory (December 4, 2014). "George Lucas Was Terrible At Predicting The Future Of Star Wars". CinemaBlend. Retrieved December 2, 2018.

Thornton, Mark (May 13, 2005). "What is the 'Dark Side' and Why Do Some People Choose It?". www.mises.org. Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved May 5, 2007.

"Darth Vader – #1 Top 100 Villain". IGN. San Francisco, California: J2 Global. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

"Why Darth Vader Is The Best Villain Ever". Comicbook.com. June 29, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

"AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains" (PDF). afi.com. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2010.

"Tragic hero: Anakin Skywalker from Return of the Jedi (1983)". Filmsmarts.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

Kinnaird, Brian A. (November 15, 2015). "Darth Vader: The Value of Redemptive Sacrifice". Psychology Today. New York City: Sussex Publishers. Retrieved May 31, 2018.

Murphy, William (November 28, 2017). "Did German Speakers Understand The Darth Vader Reveal Before Anyone Else?". Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

Kaminski 2008, p. 211.

Jordan, John-Erik (December 17, 2015). "The real-world origins of the names and languages in 'Star Wars'". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

Jones, Brian Jay (2016). George Lucas: A Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. p. 213. ISBN 978-0316257442.

Macek III, J. C. (May 27, 2015). "Obi-Wan Kenobi LIVES! (and other deleted intentions)". PopMatters. Retrieved October 11, 2019.

Hill, Amelia (April 16, 2018). "The Definition of the Word 'Darth' in the Star Wars Universe". ThoughtCo. Dotdash. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

Young, Bryan (January 21, 2014). "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: Battle of the Bulge". StarWars.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

McLellan, Dennis (April 24, 2009). "Ken Annakin dies at 94; British director of 'Swiss Family Robinson' and others". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California: Tronc. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

Eisenberg, Eric (October 26, 2015). "Why George Lucas Had To Change Luke Skywalker's Name In Star Wars". Cinema Blend. Portland, Oregon: Cinema Blend LLC. Retrieved January 27, 2019.

Jones, Brian Jay (2016). George Lucas: A Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. p. 171. ISBN 978-0316257442.

Serafino, Jay (November 17, 2016). "8 Major Changes From the Original Star Wars Trilogy Drafts". Mental Floss. London, England: Dennis Publishing. Retrieved May 26, 2019.

Kaminski 2008, p. 184.

Saavedra, John (May 21, 2018). "Star Wars: Leigh Brackett and The Empire Strikes Back You Never Saw". Den of Geek. London, England: Dennis Publishing. Retrieved May 31, 2018.

(Bouzereau 1997, p. 144)

@PhilSzostak (August 3, 2019). "2. "Darth Vader, a tall, grim-looking general" appears in the May 1974 The #StarWars rough draft 3. Darth Vader is not Luke Skywalker's father until the April 1, 1978 second draft of #EmpireStrikesBack 4. "Darth" doesn't mean anything in Dutch or German MYTH BUSTED" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

The Empire Strikes Back (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004.

Kaminski 2008, pp. 120–121

Kaminski 2008, pp. 164–165

Kaminski 2008, pp. 299–300

"Anakin Skywalker". Star Wars Databank. Los Angeles, California: Lucasfilm. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

Slavicsek, Bill (1994). A Guide to the Star Wars Universe (2nd ed.). Del Rey. p. xix. ISBN 0-345-38625-6.

Houghton, David (May 4, 2016). "George Lucas nearly wrote a perfect prequel trilogy. He just didn't notice". Gamesradar. Retrieved March 30, 2017.

Bowen 2005, p. 22

Kaminski 2007, pp. 299–300

Kaminski 2008, pp. 380–384

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith documentary "Within a Minute" (DVD documentary). 2005.

TV Guide Article August 11, 2008

Minkel, JR (August 11, 2008). "When Clones Attack: Q&A with Clone Wars Director David Filoni". Scientific American. New York City: Springer Nature. Retrieved May 26, 2016.

"From Apprentice to Adversary: Vader vs. Ahsoka featurette". Star Wars Rebels season 2. Archived from the original (Blu-ray) on September 21, 2016.

Brooks, Dan (August 30, 2016). "Fates Fulfilled: Dave Filoni Reflects on Star Wars Rebels Season Two, Part 1". StarWars.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

Whitbrook, James (September 14, 2016). "The Art That Inspired Ahsoka and Darth Vader's Epic Duel in Star Wars Rebels". io9.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

Gross, Ed (September 30, 2016). "Star Wars: Dave Filoni talks Rebels as well as Rogue One connections". Empire. London, England: Bauer Media Group. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

"The Old Master: Ralph McQuarrie on Designing Star Wars". Star Wars Insider (76). June 2004.

Casey, Dan (2015). "64. Ralph McQuarrie, the Conceptual Mastermind". 100 Things Star Wars Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781633193451. Retrieved June 22, 2017.

"Ralph McQuarrie's Most Memorable Masterpieces | StarWars.com". StarWars.com. August 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.

Gilbey, Ryan (November 1, 2017). "John Mollo obituary: Star Wars costume designer who dressed Darth Vader". The Guardian. Retrieved July 10, 2018.

"Insider Excerpt: Vader Sculptor Brian Muir". StarWars.com. March 24, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011.

Rinzler, J.W. (2010). The Sounds of Star Wars. Foreword by Ben Burtt. London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780857200761.

O'Reilly, Terry (January 5, 2017). "The Crazy World of Trademarks". Under the Influence. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved January 7, 2017.

Barder, Ollie (December 21, 2015). "Understanding The Japanese Influences Behind 'Star Wars'". Forbes. New York City: Forbes Media. Retrieved November 10, 2016.

"Darth Vader". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

"British Darth Vader fighter dies aged 89". BBC News. January 2, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2016.

Lucas, George (writer/director) (1977). DVD commentary for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (DVD) (2004 ed.). Los Angeles, California: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary. [2005]

Russo, Tom. "The Force Wasn't With Them". Premiere. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2006.

Lovece, Frank (March 12, 2008). "Fast Chat: James Earl Jones". Newsday. New York. Archived from the original on December 4, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2011.

The Star Wars Trilogy (Bonus Material) [Episode III Preview: The Return of Darth Vader] (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2004.

Johnson, Zac (June 24, 2016). "Darth Vader Confirmed to Appear in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: All the Details". E! News Australia.

Britt, Ryan (December 14, 2016). "The Most Menacing Figures Who Played Darth Vader". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.

"Star Wars – Lucas Made Vader Suit Extra Awkward". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

"Rogue One: Darth Vader storms Rhyl for Star Wars showing". BBC Wales. December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016. "While the actor has the body role, just like his predecessor in the original Star Wars films David Prowse, the voice of Lord Vader is actor James Earl Jones."

Butler, Tom (December 14, 2016). "Rogue One: Why it took multiple actors to play Darth Vader (exclusive)". Yahoo Movies. Retrieved December 16, 2016.

Owen, Luke (April 11, 2016). "Star Wars Exclusive: Rogue One's Darth Vader casting revealed". Flickering Myth.

DiGiacomo, Frank (January 1, 2010). "The Game Has Changed". The Hive. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.

Pirani, Adam (July 1987). "Sebastian Shaw: The Return of Anakin Skywalker". Starlog. Vol. 11 no. 120. pp. 56–57, 96.

Anders, Charlie Jane (September 25, 2013). "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Star Wars: Return of the Jedi". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 16, 2019.

Chernoff, Scott (April–May 1998). "Ian McDiarmid: An Interview with the Emperor". Star Wars Insider. No. 37. p. 33.

Johnson, Derek (September 22, 2005). "Star Wars fans, DVD, and cultural ownership: an interview with Will Brooker; Interview". Velvet Light Trap. pp. 36–44.

Ebert, Roger (May 1, 2005). "Anakin's fans strike back". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. p. 3.

"Star Wars Episode I Production Notes: The Actors and Characters – Part I". StarWars.com. May 1, 1999. Archived from the original on October 23, 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2016.

"Star Wars Episode I Production Notes: The Actors and Characters – Part II". StarWars.com. May 1, 1999. Archived from the original on October 23, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2009.

"The Man (Literally) Behind C-3PO". StarWars.com. November 2, 1999. Archived from the original on November 2, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

"Robin Gurland – Don't Call Her; She'll Call You". Star Wars.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD documentary It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III, [2005].

Breznican, Anthony (April 13, 2017). "Star Wars highlights female heroes in Forces of Destiny". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved April 13, 2017.

"James Earl Jones to Voice Darth Vader in Star Wars: Rebels' Premiere on ABC!". Star Wars Episode VII News. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015.

Caron, Nathalie (April 21, 2015). "James Earl Jones confirmed as Darth Vader". Blastr.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.

"Ahsoka's Untold Tales Panel | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016". July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016 – via YouTube.

Bortolin 2005, p. 17

Kapell, Matthew; Lawrence, John Shelton (2006). Finding the force of the Star wars franchise: fans, merchandise, & critics. New York City: Peter Lang. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-8204-8808-0.

Bortolin 2005, p. 115

Bortolin 2005, p. x

Hsu, Jeremy (June 8, 2010). "The Psychology of Darth Vader Revealed". LiveScience. TopTenReviews. Retrieved June 8, 2010.

"Darth Vader". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.

"Anakin Skywalker". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.

Szostak, Phil (2015). The Art of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. New York City: Abrams Books. p. 79. ISBN 9781419717802.

Kleinman, Jake (March 8, 2019). "Star Wars Episode 9 Trailer: Footage Solves the Mystery of Rey's Lightsaber". Inverse. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

Davis, Lauren (December 16, 2015). "Why Ahsoka Tano Is the Best Thing to Happen to Star Wars in 20 Years". io9. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

"This Week in The Clone Wars: Anakin Meets Darth Vader". Wired. February 11, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

Fowler, Matt (October 2, 2014). "Everything You Need To Know About Star Wars Rebels". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved September 23, 2016.

Asher-Perrin, Emily (November 5, 2015). "The Star Wars: Episode I Novelization Explains All the Things the Movie Does Not". TOR. Macmillan. Retrieved September 13, 2019.

"T-16 Skyhopper". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 13, 2019.

"Disney and Random House announce relaunch of Star Wars Adult Fiction line". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.

Keane, Sean (April 28, 2015). "REVIEW: Star Wars: Lords of the Sith throws Darth Vader and the Emperor onto the battlefield". Daily News. New York. Retrieved May 27, 2016.

Goldman, Eric (May 9, 2015). "Star Wars: Lords of the Sith Review". IGN. Retrieved May 27, 2016.

"Darth Vader (2015 – present) | Comics". Marvel. Retrieved December 20, 2016.

Schedeen, Jesse (June 3, 2015). "Star Wars Delivers Huge Change for Han Solo". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 20, 2016.

Schedeen, Jesse (November 17, 2015). "Star Wars: Vader Down #1 Review". IGN. San Francisco, California: j2 Global. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

Brooks, Dan (March 10, 2017). "In Marvel's New Darth Vader Series, We Will See the Sith Lord's Rise, the Construction of His Lightsaber, and More". StarWars.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

Young, Bryan (December 28, 2018). "Does a New 'Star Wars' Comic Book Reveal Darth Vader's Father?". /Film. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

Gunn, Callum (2019). "Star Wars comic finally reveals Anakin's father". Dork Side of the Force. Retrieved March 17, 2019.

Brooks, Dan (October 12, 2015). "Obi-Wan & Anakin Interview with Charles Soule". StarWars.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.

"A Star Wars film based on Darth Vader is on the way". The Independent. July 17, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

Kris, Holt (April 12, 2019). "'Star Wars' VR game 'Vader Immortal' teases story details in trailer". Engadget. Retrieved April 25, 2019.

"The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.

"Goodnight Darth Vader By Jeffrey Brown – Exclusive Reveal". StarWars.com. February 10, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2016.

Hayes, David C. (2015). "The Star Wars Holiday Special". In Rausch, Andrew J.; Riley, R.D. (eds.). Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. Retrieved June 20, 2018.

McKinney, Brandon; Kolins, Scott; Wallace, Daniel (1998). Star Wars: the Essential Guide to Planets and Moons. New York City: Ballantine Publishing Group. p. 157. ISBN 9780345420688.

"Listening to Star Wars: Part III – Future of the Force". Future of the Force. February 15, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.[permanent dead link]

John, Derek (December 18, 2015). "That Time NPR Turned 'Star Wars' Into A Radio Drama — And It Actually Worked". NPR. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.

Squires, John (March 30, 2017). "Remember When 'Indian in the Cupboard' Brought Together Darth Vader, RoboCop and 'Jurassic Park'?!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

"Empire's The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". Empire Magazine. Retrieved May 21, 2010.

"Premiere Magazine's The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". Filmsite.org. Retrieved May 21, 2010.

"The 100 Greatest Fictional Characters". Fandomania.com. Retrieved May 21, 2010.

"Ultimate Super Heroes, Vixens and Villains Episode Guide 2005 – Ultimate Super Villains". TV Guide. Retrieved November 7, 2010.

"Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker is No. 1". IGN. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2010.

French, Michael (2003). "The Common Concept of In". TheRaider.net. Retrieved February 26, 2007.

"AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes: Official Ballot" (PDF). AFI.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2010.

Ford, Rebecca (October 15, 2011). "George Lucas Makes Surprise Appearance at Spike TV Scream Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved October 16, 2011.

Han, Christopher. "Epic Rap Battles of History: Darth Vader vs Hitler". Gawker.

Nama, Adilifu (2008). Black space: imagining race in science fiction film. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-292-71745-9.

Bortolin 2005, p. xiii

Bowen 2005, p. 97

"Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are now species of slime-mold beetles – but strictly in homage". Cornell News. Cornell University. Retrieved April 27, 2008.

"An architectural Star Wars clash at Sierra Point". San Francisco Chronicle. April 17, 1986. p. 4.

Egan, Timothy (June 29, 1986). "Focus: Seattle; Creating An Office Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2008.

"the bell awards – Tom Graff (interview)". Belltown Messenger. June 2007. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008.

"Search – panels – Dayout New Zealand". Dayout.co.nz. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

Brendan (July 11, 2008). "Wayward Wellingtonians: Grand Canyon Scale for Wellingtonians". Wayward-wellingtonians.blogspot.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.

"About Darth Vader". Washington National Cathedral. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2008.

"Sens' Gerber has new mask, new outlook on season". The Sports Network. September 24, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2010.

Worland, Justin (October 25, 2015). "Ukrainian Lenin Statue Turned into Darth Vader". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

"Cosmic Princess". catacombs.space1999.net. Retrieved July 2, 2018.

"Western Animation: Rocko's Modern Life". TV Tropes. TV Tropes. Retrieved December 20, 2015.[better source needed]

"The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius > Season 1 > Episode 1 > New Dog, Old Tricks". TV.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.

"Toy Story references to the Star Wars films". In a far away Galaxy. December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2015.

"A Conversation With the Creator of Final Fantasy IV". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2016.

"Darth Vader is number 25". IGN.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.

Woods, Bob, ed. (1997). "It Took the World by Force". Star Wars: Official 20th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine. New York: Topps. p. 57.

Gunther, Marc (August 22, 2005). "Al Gore Battles Old Cable Demons". CNN. Retrieved April 27, 2008.

"Harvey Leroy "Lee" Atwater, was a Republican political consultant". Retrieved April 27, 2008.

Steele, Robin (October 5, 2007). "Bunky Echo-Hawk takes the stage with live painting". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

Dick Cheney (June 22, 2006). "Interview With Dick Cheney". The Situation Room (Interview). Interviewed by John King. CNN. Retrieved April 27, 2008.

"The Daily Show: Cheney Camera 3". Comedy Central. January 25, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2008.

Dowd, Maureen (April 19, 2009). "The Aura of Arugulance". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2009.

"'Star Wars' vs. 'Star Trek'". Newsweek. Vol. 153 no. 18. May 4, 2009. pp. 54–55. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2017.

"Darth Vader Is Running for Prime Minister of Ukraine, Vowing to Take on Putin". Newsweek. October 24, 2014.

"Kyiv Election Commission Registers Darth Vader As Candidate For Kyiv Mayor". Ukrainian News Agency. May 1, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.

"Darth Vader candidate for mayor of Odesa]". Espreso TV (in Ukrainian). May 1, 2014.

"Tsushko to compete for post of Odesa mayor". Interfax-Ukraine. March 29, 2014. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014.

"Ukraine's Darth Vader presidency bid rejected". Euronews. March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

Momtaz, Rym; Jovanovic, Dragana (October 26, 2014). "Pro-Western Parties, Not Darth Vader, Set to Win Ukrainian Elections". ABC News. Retrieved September 24, 2015.

Cooper, Geraldine (October 26, 2014). "Ukraine's Darth Vader candidate denied vote after refusing to remove mask". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 24, 2015. "Darth Alekseyevich Vader, an official candidate in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, is turned away from a Kiev polling station after refusing to remove his mask"

"Putin headed for victory in Odesa as Darth Vader clouds farcical election". Ukraine Today. October 23, 2015.

    "Darth Vader's Actual 'The Empire Strikes Back' Helmet Sold for $900K at Auction". Man of Many. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.

Sources

    Bortolin, Matthew (2005). The Dharma of Star Wars. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-497-1.

    Bowen, Jonathan L. (2005). Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-34732-2.

    Kaminski, Michael (2008). The Secret History of Star Wars. Legacy Works Press. ISBN 978-0-9784652-3-0.

Further reading

    Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Novelization, 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks, George Lucas

    Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Novelization, 2003. R. A. Salvatore, ISBN 0-345-42882-X

    Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1

    The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2

    Vader: The Ultimate Guide, 2005.

    Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1998. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-3481-4

    Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1999. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-4701-0

    Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2002. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-8588-5

    Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2005. James Luceno, ISBN 0-7566-1128-8

    "Darth Vader in Games: A Visual History". IGN. October 28, 2010.

External links

    Wikiquote has quotations related to: Darth Vader

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Darth Vader.

    Darth Vader in the StarWars.com Databank

    Anakin Skywalker in the StarWars.com Databank

    Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki

    Darth Vader on IMDb

    "Darth Vader". Encyclopædia Britannica.

 Fictional universe of Star Wars

Concepts   

    The Force Architecture Languages Physics

Characters   

    Admiral Ackbar Padmé Amidala Cassian Andor Wedge Antilles Doctor Aphra Cad Bane Darth Bane BB-8 Jar Jar Binks C-3PO Lando Calrissian Chewbacca Poe Dameron Count Dooku Jyn Erso Boba Fett Jango Fett Finn (FN-2187) Bib Fortuna Saw Gerrera Greedo General Grievous HK-47 Jabba the Hutt General Hux Mara Jade Kanan Jarrus Qui-Gon Jinn K-2SO Maz Kanata Kyle Katarn Obi-Wan Kenobi Kreia Orson Krennic Darth Maul Nien Nunb Bail Organa Leia Organa Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious Captain Phasma Admiral Piett Darth Plagueis Qi'ra R2-D2 Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) Revan Rey Captain Rex Bodhi Rook Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader Luke Skywalker Supreme Leader Snoke Han Solo Jacen Solo Starkiller Tag and Bink Ahsoka Tano Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Admiral Thrawn Rose Tico Asajj Ventress Iden Versio Watto Wicket W. Warrick Mace Windu Yoda

Lists   

    The Clone Wars characters Rebels characters Legends characters

        KotOR

Groups   

    Militaries

        Clone trooper Stormtrooper Rogue Squadron Families

        Skywalker Solo Music bands

        Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes Max Rebo Band

Organizations   

    First Order Galactic Empire Galactic Republic Jedi New Republic Rebel Alliance Resistance Sith

Planets and moons   

    Alderaan Bespin Coruscant Dagobah Endor Hoth Jakku Kashyyyk Naboo Mandalore Tatooine Yavin

Species and

creatures   

    Humanoid Species

        A–E

            Droid Ewok F–J

            Hutt K–O

            Mandalorian P–T

            Tusken Raiders U–Z

            Wookiee Animal creatures

        Bantha Sarlacc

Technology   

Weapons   

    Blaster Death Star Lightsaber

Terrestrial vehicles   

    Landspeeder Speeder bike Sandcrawler Walkers

Starfighters   

    A-wing B-wing TIE fighter U-wing X-wing Y-wing

Spacecraft   

    Death Star Millennium Falcon Mon Calamari cruiser Star Destroyer Tantive IV

Other   

    Clone Wars Galactic Civil War Mos Eisley

    Wikipedia book Book Category Category Dragon-149393.svg Speculative fiction portal

    vte

The Clone Wars

Media   

    Film Episodes

        "Hostage Crisis" "R2 Come Home/Lethal Trackdown" "The Gathering" Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir (2014, comic) Dark Disciple (2016, novel)

Original characters   

    Cad Bane Saw Gerrera Captain Rex Ahsoka Tano

Other characters   

    Padmé Amidala Jar Jar Binks C-3PO Commander Cody Count Dooku Battle Droids General Grievous Obi-Wan Kenobi Bail Organa Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious R2-D2 Anakin Skywalker Clone Troopers Asajj Ventress Mace Windu Yoda

    vte

Star Wars Rebels

Media   

    Episodes A New Dawn (2014, novel) Servants of the Empire (2014–2015, novel series) Thrawn (2017, novel)

Characters   

    Kanan Jarrus Captain Rex Ahsoka Tano Saw Gerrera Grand Admiral Thrawn Wedge Antilles Bail Organa Princess Leia Lando Calrissian C-3PO R2-D2 Darth Maul Yoda Grand Moff Tarkin Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader

    vte

Soulcalibur

Games   

Main series   

    Soul Edge Soulcalibur II III IV V VI

Other games   

    Legends Broken Destiny Lost Swords

Characters   

Original   

    Astaroth Cassandra Cervantes Hilde Ivy Li Long Mitsurugi Necrid Siegfried and Nightmare Sophitia Taki Talim Tira Voldo Xianghua Yoshimitsu

Guest   

    Link Heihachi Spawn KOS-MOS The Apprentice Darth Vader Yoda Kratos Ezio Geralt of Rivia 2B Haohmaru

Related articles   

    Music Tekken Dance, Voldo, Dance Namco × Capcom Project X Zone 2 Warriors Orochi 3 Sgt. Frog

Star Wars

Created by    George Lucas

Original work    Star Wars (1977)[a]

Owned by    Lucasfilm

(The Walt Disney Company)

Print publications

Book(s)    List of reference books

Novel(s)    List of novels

Short stories    See list of novels

Comics    List of comics

Comic strip(s)   

    Various

Magazine(s)   

    Star Wars Insider (1987–)

Films and television

Film(s)   

    Skywalker saga

    (9 films; 1977–2019)

    The Clone Wars

    (1 theatrical pilot; 2008)

    Anthology

    (2 films; 2016–2018)

Full list

Short film(s)    Reflections (2018)

Television series   

    The Mandalorian

    (2019)

    Untitled Cassian Andor series

    (TBA)

    Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series

    (TBA)

Animated series    List of animated series

Television special(s)    Holiday Special

(1978)

Television film(s)    List of TV films

Games

Traditional    Various

Role-playing    List of RPGs

Video game(s)    List of video games

Audio

Radio program(s)    List of radio dramas

Original music    Music

Miscellaneous

Toy(s)    Merchandise

Theme park attraction(s)    List of attractions

Star Wars is an American epic space-opera media franchise created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The original film, later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope, was followed by the sequels Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), forming what is collectively referred to as the original trilogy. A prequel trilogy was later released, consisting of Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Ten years later, a sequel trilogy began with Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), continued with Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and will conclude with Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[1] The first eight films were nominated for Academy Awards (with wins going to the first two released) and were commercially successful. Together with the theatrical anthology films Rogue One (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the combined box office revenue of the films equates to over US$9 billion,[2] and is currently the second-highest-grossing film franchise.[3]

The film series was expanded into other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions and themed areas, resulting in an all-encompassing fictional universe. In 2012, Lucas sold his company to Disney, and in 2014, most existing spin-off media was made non-canon and rebranded as "Star Wars Legends". The episodic 'Skywalker saga' and the TV series The Clone Wars (2008–2014) define the canon, along with most other works released after April 2014, though a few Legends-universe media are still released, and some Legends characters are sometimes re-introduced into the canon, for example the titular character from Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy of novels. The franchise holds a Guinness World Records title for the "Most successful film merchandising franchise."[4] In 2018, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at US$65 billion, and it is currently the fifth-highest-grossing media franchise of all-time.

Premise

The lightsaber and the blaster are an iconic part of the franchise.

The Star Wars franchise depicts the adventures of characters "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away",[5] in which humans and many species of aliens (often humanoid) co-exist with robots, or 'droids', who may assist them in their daily routines; space travel between planets is common due to hyperspace technology.[6][7][8]

A mystical power known as 'the Force' is described in the original film as "an energy field created by all living things ... [that] binds the galaxy together."[9] Through training and meditation, those whom "the Force is strong with" are able to perform various superpowers (such as telekinesis, precognition, telepathy, and manipulation of physical energy).[10] The Force is wielded by two major knighthood orders at conflict with each other: the Jedi, peacekeepers of the Old Republic ruthlessly hunted by Imperial authorities, who act on the light side of the Force through non-attachment and arbitration, and the Sith, ancient enemies of the galactic democracy, who use the dark side by manipulating fear and aggression. While Jedi Knights can be numerous, the Dark Lords of the Sith (or 'Darths') are intended to be limited to two: a master and their apprentice.[11]

Force-wielders are very limited in numbers in comparison to the rest of the average population. The Jedi and Sith prefer the use of a weapon called lightsaber, which is the cylinder-like hilt of a sword (when turned off), but when turned on ignites a laser blade that can cut through virtually any surface. Fights between the two factions result in duels, which are a mix between sword skills and the use of the Force. The rest of the average population, as well as renegades and soldiers, use laser-powered blaster firearms, which Force-users can deflect using lightsabers.

Fictional timeline

The rises and falls of different regimes are chronicled throughout the saga, which is split into three fictional eras:[12]

    The Age of Republic: The era of the prequel trilogy, in which the democratic Galactic Republic is corrupted by its Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine—secretly the dark lord Darth Sidious. After orchestrating the Clone Wars between the government and a Separatist confederation, Palpatine overthrows the Republic, and establishes the Galactic Empire, declaring himself Emperor.[13][14][15] The prequels feature a relatively sleek and new design aesthetic in comparison to the original trilogy.[16]

    The Age of Rebellion: The era of the original trilogy, in which the Empire is fought by the Rebel Alliance in a Galactic Civil War that spans several years, climaxing with the apparent death of the Emperor. The surviving Rebellion gives rise to the New Republic.[17][14][15] The original trilogy depicts the galaxy as dirty and grimy in George Lucas's depiction of a "used universe".[18]

    The Age of Resistance: The era of the sequel trilogy, in which the remnants of the Empire reform as the First Order.[19] Heroes of the former rebellion lead the Resistance against the oppressive dictatorship. Rather than depend on an overabundant use of computer-generated imagery, The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams determined not to lose "the wonderful preposterousness" of puppetry and practical effects that were used to create the classic trilogy.[20]

Film

Main article: List of Star Wars films

Film     U.S. release date     Director(s)     Screenwriter(s)     Story by     Producer(s)

Original trilogy

Episode IV – A New Hope     May 25, 1977     George Lucas     Gary Kurtz

Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back     May 21, 1980     Irvin Kershner     Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan     George Lucas

Episode VI – Return of the Jedi     May 25, 1983     Richard Marquand     Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas     Howard Kazanjian

Prequel trilogy

Episode I – The Phantom Menace     May 19, 1999     George Lucas     Rick McCallum

Episode II – Attack of the Clones     May 16, 2002     George Lucas     George Lucas & Jonathan Hales     George Lucas

Episode III – Revenge of the Sith     May 19, 2005     George Lucas

Sequel trilogy

Episode VII – The Force Awakens     December 18, 2015     J. J. Abrams     Lawrence Kasdan & J. J. Abrams and Michael Arndt     Kathleen Kennedy, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk

Episode VIII – The Last Jedi     December 15, 2017     Rian Johnson     Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman

Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker     December 20, 2019     J. J. Abrams     J. J. Abrams & Chris Terrio     Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow and Chris Terrio & J. J. Abrams[21]     Kathleen Kennedy, J. J. Abrams and Michelle Rejwan

Anthology films

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story     December 16, 2016     Gareth Edwards     Chris Weitz & Tony Gilroy     John Knoll & Gary Whitta     Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel

Solo: A Star Wars Story     May 25, 2018     Ron Howard     Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan

The Star Wars film series centers around three sets of trilogies, which is collectively referred to as the "Skywalker saga".[1] They were produced non-chronologically, with Episodes IV–VI (the original trilogy) being released between 1977 and 1983, Episodes I–III (the prequel trilogy) being released between 1999 and 2005, and Episodes VII–IX (the sequel trilogy), being released between 2015 and 2019. Each trilogy focuses on a generation of the Force-sensitive Skywalker family. The original trilogy depict the heroic development of Luke Skywalker, the prequels tell of the downfall of his father Anakin, while the sequels feature Luke's nephew, Kylo Ren.

An anthology series set between the main episodes entered development in parallel to the production of the sequel trilogy,[22] described by Disney CFO Jay Rasulo as origin stories.[23] The first entry, Rogue One (2016), tells the story of the rebels who steal the Death Star plans directly before Episode IV.[24][25] Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) focuses on Han Solo's backstory, also featuring Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.

Lucasfilm has a number of Star Wars movies in development, including a trilogy of films produced and written by Game of Thrones creators/showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.[26] The installments were scheduled to be released in December 2022, 2024, and 2026.[27][28] This changed in October 2019, when it was announced that the duo stepped away from their Star Wars films, stating that their contract with Netflix making it so that they could not effectively work on the films. Kathleen Kennedy acknowledged that the studio would be open to the pair returning to work on their trilogy when their schedule allows.[29]

Another trilogy will be written by The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson.[30] It will be independent from the Skywalker saga.[31] In September 2019, it was announced that Kennedy and Kevin Feige will collaborate to develop an additional Star Wars film.[32]

Skywalker saga

Original trilogy

Main article: Star Wars Trilogy

The main cast of the trilogy includes Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), respectively.

In 1971, George Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial, but could not obtain the rights, so he began developing his own space opera.[33][b] After directing American Graffiti (1973), he wrote a two-page synopsis, which 20th Century Fox decided to invest in.[34][35][36] By 1974, he had expanded the story into the first draft of a screenplay.[37] The subsequent movie's success led Lucas to make it the basis of an elaborate film serial.[38] With the backstory he created for the sequel, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy of trilogies.[39] Most of the main cast would return for the two additional installments of the original trilogy, which were self-financed by Lucasfilm.

Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977 and first subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope in the 1979 book The Art of Star Wars.[40] Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980, also achieving wide financial and critical success. The final film in the trilogy, Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was released on May 25, 1983. The story of the original trilogy focuses on Luke Skywalker's quest to become a Jedi, his struggle with the evil Imperial agent Darth Vader, and the struggle of the Rebel Alliance to free the galaxy from the clutches of the Empire.

Prequel trilogy

Main article: Star Wars prequel trilogy

The main cast of the trilogy includes Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala), and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker),[c] respectively.

According to producer Gary Kurtz, loose plans for a prequel trilogy were developed during the outlining of the original two films.[41] In 1980, Lucas confirmed that he had the nine-film series plotted,[42] but due to the stress of producing the original trilogy, he had decided to cancel further sequels by 1981.[43] In 1983, Lucas explained that "There was never a script completed that had the entire story as it exists now ... As the stories unfolded, I would take certain ideas and save them ... I kept taking out all the good parts, and I just kept telling myself I would make other movies someday."[44]

Technical advances in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the ability to create computer-generated imagery (CGI), inspired Lucas to consider that it might be possible to revisit his saga. In 1989, Lucas stated that the prequels would be "unbelievably expensive."[45] In 1992, he acknowledged that he had plans to create the prequel trilogy.[46] A theatrical rerelease of the original trilogy in 1997 "updated" the 20-year-old films with the style of CGI envisioned for the new trilogy.

Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released on May 19, 1999, and Episode II – Attack of the Clones on May 16, 2002. Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the first PG-13 film in the franchise, was released on May 19, 2005.[47] The first two movies were met with mixed reviews, with the third being received somewhat more positively. The trilogy begins 32 years before Episode IV and follows the Jedi training of Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father, and creation of the Sith lord Darth Vader, as well as the corruption of the Galactic Republic and rise of the Empire of Darth Sidious. Together with the original trilogy, Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader".[48]

In 2004, for their DVD release, the original trilogy films were furtherly altered in order to bring continuity with the prequels, for example replacing Palpatine's depiction in The Empire Strikes Back and Anakin's in Return of the Jedi to match their prequel selves, using their prequel portrayers.

Sequel trilogy

Main article: Star Wars sequel trilogy

The main cast of the trilogy includes Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), respectively.

Prior to releasing the original film, and made possible by its success, Lucas planned "three trilogies of nine films."[39][49] He announced this to Time in 1978,[50] and confirmed that he had outlined them in 1981.[51] At various stages of development, the sequel trilogy was to focus on the rebuilding of the Republic,[52] the return of Luke in a role similar to that of Obi-Wan in the original trilogy,[49] Luke's sister (not yet determined to be Leia),[41] Han, Leia,[53] R2-D2 and C-3PO.[39][54] However, after beginning work on the prequel trilogy, Lucas insisted that Star Wars was meant to be a six-part series and that there would be no sequel trilogy.[55][56]

Lucas decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would make no more Star Wars films.[57] In October of that year, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that Episode VII would be released in 2015.[58] The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, became president of the company and served as executive producer of new Star Wars feature films.[59] Lucas provided Kennedy his story treatments for the sequels during the 2012 sale,[60] but in 2015 it was revealed Lucas's sequel outline had been discarded.[61][62] The sequel trilogy also meant the end of the existing Star Wars expanded universe, which was discarded to give "maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience."[63]

Episode VII – The Force Awakens was released on December 18, 2015, Episode VIII – The Last Jedi on December 15, 2017, and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is due to be released on December 20, 2019. Episode VII was met with both critical and box office success, and Episode VIII, while also meeting critical and financial success, had a mixed reception from audiences. The sequel trilogy starts 30 years after Episode VI and focuses on the journey of the Force-sensitive orphan Rey, guided by Luke Skywalker. Along with ex-stormtrooper Finn and ace X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron, Rey helps the Resistance led by Leia fight the First Order commanded by Han and Leia's son (Luke's nephew), Kylo Ren.

Anthology films

Further information: List of Star Wars films § Anthology films

Before selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and parallel to his development of a sequel trilogy, George Lucas and original trilogy co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan started development on a standalone film about a young Han Solo.[22] On February 5, 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger made public the development of the Kasdan film.[64] Disney CFO Jay Rasulo has described the standalone films as origin stories.[23]

Lucasfilm and Kennedy have stated that the standalone films would be referred to as the Star Wars anthology series[24] (albeit the word anthology has not been used in any of the titles, instead carrying the promotional "A Star Wars Story" subtitle). Focused on how the Rebels obtained the Death Star plans introduced in the 1977 film, the first anthology film, Rogue One, was released on December 16, 2016 to favorable reviews and box office success. The second, Solo: A Star Wars Story, 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,[65] following a hiatus after 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.[66]

Television

Main article: List of Star Wars television series

The Star Wars franchise has been spun off to various television productions, including three TV movies released between 1978 and 1985, and two animated series released in the mid-1980s. Further animated series began to be released in the 2000s, the first two of which focused on the Clone Wars. After Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, only the later one remained canon. Three live-action Star Wars series will be released on Disney+. The first, The Mandalorian, premiered on November 12.

In other media

Main article: Star Wars expanded to other media

From 1976 to 2014, the term Expanded Universe (EU) was an umbrella term for all officially licensed Star Wars storytelling material set outside the events depicted within the theatrical films, including novels, comics, and video games.[67] Lucasfilm maintained internal continuity between the films and television content and the EU material until April 25, 2014, when the company announced all of the EU works would cease production. Existing works would no longer be considered canon to the franchise and subsequent reprints would be rebranded under the Star Wars Legends label,[67] with downloadable content for the massively multiplayer online game The Old Republic the only Legends material to still be produced. The Star Wars canon was subsequently restructured to only include the existing six feature films, the animated film The Clone Wars (2008), and its companion animated series. All future projects and creative developments across all types of media would be overseen and coordinated by the story group, announced as a division of Lucasfilm created to maintain continuity and a cohesive vision on the storytelling of the franchise.[63] Multiple comics series from Marvel and novels published by Del Rey were produced after the announcement.

Print media

Star Wars in print predates the release of the first film, with the December 1976 novelization of Star Wars, initially subtitled "From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker". Credited to Lucas, it was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster.[68] The first "Expanded Universe" story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues being an adaptation of the film), followed by Foster's sequel novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.

Novels

Further information: List of Star Wars books

Timothy Zahn authored the Thrawn trilogy, which was widely credited with revitalizing the dormant Star Wars franchise.

After penning the novelization of the original film, Foster followed it with the sequel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978). The novelizations of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) by Donald F. Glut and Return of the Jedi (1983) by James Kahn followed, as well as The Han Solo Adventures trilogy (1979–1980) by Brian Daley,[69] and The Adventures of Lando Calrissian trilogy (1983) by L. Neil Smith.[70][71]

Timothy Zahn's bestselling Thrawn trilogy (1991–1993) reignited interest in the franchise and introduced the popular characters Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, and Gilad Pellaeon.[72][73][74][75] The first novel, Heir to the Empire, reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list,[76] and the series finds Luke, Leia, and Han facing off against tactical genius Thrawn, who is plotting to retake the galaxy for the Empire.[77] In The Courtship of Princess Leia (1994) by Dave Wolverton, set immediately before the Thrawn trilogy, Leia considers an advantageous political marriage to Prince Isolder of the planet Hapes, but she and Han ultimately marry.[78][79] Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire (1996), set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, was part of a multimedia campaign that included a comic book series and video game.[80][81] The novel introduced the crime lord Prince Xizor, another popular character who would appear in multiple other works.[80][82] Other notable series from Bantam include the Jedi Academy trilogy (1994) by Kevin J. Anderson,[83][84] the 14-book Young Jedi Knights series (1995–1998) by Anderson and Rebecca Moesta,[84][85] and the X-wing series (1996–2012) by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston.[86][87][88]

Del Rey took over Star Wars book publishing in 1999, releasing what would become a 19-installment novel series called The New Jedi Order (1999–2003). Written by multiple authors, the series was set 25 to 30 years after the original films and introduced the Yuuzhan Vong, a powerful alien race attempting to invade and conquer the entire galaxy.[89][90] The bestselling multi-author series Legacy of the Force (2006–2008) chronicles the crossover of Han and Leia's son Jacen Solo to the dark side of the Force; among his evil deeds, he kills Luke's wife Mara Jade as a sacrifice to join the Sith. Although no longer canon, the story is paralleled in The Force Awakens with Han and Leia's son Ben Solo, who has become the dark Kylo Ren.[91][92][93][94]

Three series set in the prequel era were introduced for younger audiences: the 18-book Jedi Apprentice (1999–2002) chronicles the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn in the years before The Phantom Menace; the 11-book Jedi Quest (2001–2004) follows Obi-Wan and his own apprentice, Anakin Skywalker in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones; and the 10-book The Last of the Jedi (2005–2008), set almost immediately after Revenge of the Sith, features Obi-Wan and the last few surviving Jedi.

Although Thrawn had been designated a Legends character in 2014, he was reintroduced into the canon in the 2016 third season of Rebels, with Zahn returning to write more novels based in the character, and set in the new canon.[95][96]

Comics

Main articles: Star Wars comics and List of Star Wars comic books

Marvel Comics published a Star Wars comic book series from 1977 to 1986.[97][98][99][100] Original Star Wars comics were serialized in the Marvel magazine Pizzazz between 1977 and 1979. The 1977 installments were the first original Star Wars stories not directly adapted from the films to appear in print form, as they preceded those of the Star Wars comic series.[101] From 1985–1987, the animated children's series Ewoks and Droids inspired comic series from Marvel's Star Comics line.[102][103][104]

In the late 1980s, Marvel dropped a new Star Wars comic it had in development, which was picked up by Dark Horse Comics and published as the popular Dark Empire series (1991–1995).[105] Dark Horse subsequently launched dozens of series set after the original film trilogy, including Tales of the Jedi (1993–1998), X-wing Rogue Squadron (1995–1998), Star Wars: Republic (1998–2006), Star Wars Tales (1999–2005), Star Wars: Empire (2002–2006), and Knights of the Old Republic (2006–2010).[106][107]

After Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, it was announced in January 2014 that in 2015 the Star Wars comics license would return to Marvel Comics,[108] whose parent company, Marvel Entertainment, Disney had purchased in 2009.[109] Launched in 2015, the first three publications were titled Star Wars, Darth Vader, and the limited series Princess Leia.[110][111][112]

Audio

Soundtracks and singles

Further information: Music of Star Wars

John Williams composed the soundtracks for the nine episodic films; he has stated that he will retire from the franchise following The Rise of Skywalker.[113] He also composed the theme "The Adventures of Han" for Solo: A Star Wars Story, which John Powell composed the rest of the score of.[114] Michael Giacchino composed the score of Rogue One.[114]

Audio novels

Further information: List of Star Wars books

Radio

Further information: Star Wars (radio)

Radio adaptations of the films were also produced. Lucas, a fan of the NPR-affiliated campus radio station of his alma mater the University of Southern California, licensed the Star Wars radio rights to KUSC-FM for US$1. The production used John Williams' original film score, along with Ben Burtt's sound effects.[115][116]

The first was written by science-fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981, adapting the original 1977 film into 13-episodes.[117][115][116] Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels reprised their film roles.[117][115]

The overwhelming success, led to a 10-episode adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back debuted in 1983.[118] Billy Dee Williams joined the other two stars, reprising his role as Lando Calrissian.[119]

In 1983, Buena Vista Records released an original, 30-minute Star Wars audio drama titled Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell, written by Daley.[116][120] In the 1990s, Time Warner Audio Publishing adapted several Star Wars series from Dark Horse Comics into audio dramas: the three-part Dark Empire saga, Tales of the Jedi, Dark Lords of the Sith, the Dark Forces trilogy, and Crimson Empire (1998).[120] Return of the Jedi was adapted into 6-episodes in 1996, featuring Daniels.[115][120]

Video games

Further information: Star Wars video games and List of Star Wars video games

The Star Wars franchise has spawned over one hundred[121] computer, video, and board games, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on the movie material, while others rely heavily on the non-canonical Expanded Universe (rebranded as Star Wars Legends and removed from the canon in 2014). Star Wars games have gone through three significant development eras, marked by a change in leadership among the developers: the early licensed games, those developed after the creation of LucasArts, and those created after the closure of the Lucasfilm division by Disney and the transfer of the license to Electronic Arts.

Early licensed games (1979–1993)

The first era began with the first officially licensed electronic Star Wars game: Kenner's 1979 table-top Star Wars Electronic Battle Command.[122][123] In 1982, Parker Brothers published the first Star Wars video game for the Atari 2600, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.[124] It was followed in 1983 by Atari's rail shooter arcade game Star Wars, which used vector graphics to replicate the Death Star trench run scene from the 1977 film.[125] The next game, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1984), used more traditional raster graphics,[126] while the following Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1985) returned to vector graphics.[127] Star Wars was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, followed by a sequel the following year. Super Star Wars was also released in 1992, followed by two sequels over the next two years.

LucasArts and modern self-published games (1993–2014)

Main article: LucasArts

The beginning of the second era is marked by the prominence of LucasArts and modern self-published games. LucasArts was founded after Star Wars creator George Lucas took interest in the increasing success of the video game market. Wanting to have more creative control over the games and their narratives, Lucas founded his own video-game development company, LucasArts. During this era, improved video game graphics allowed games to tell complex narratives, which allowed for the retelling of the films, and eventually original narratives set in the same continuity as the films, with voice overs and CGI cutscenes. Lucasfilm had founded its own video game company in 1982, becoming best known for adventure games and World War II flight combat games. In 1993, LucasArts released Star Wars: X-Wing, the first self-published Star Wars video game and the first space flight simulator based on the franchise.[128] It was one of the best-selling video games of 1993 and established its own series of games.[128] The Rogue Squadron series was released between 1998 and 2003, also focusing on space battles set during the films.

Dark Forces (1995), a hybrid adventure game incorporating puzzles and strategy,[129] was the first Star Wars first-person shooter.[130] It featured gameplay and graphical features not then common in other games, made possible by LucasArts' custom-designed game engine, the Jedi.[130][129][131][132] The game was well received,[133][134][135] and it was followed by four sequels.[136][137] The series introduced Kyle Katarn, who would appear in multiple games, novels, and comics.[138] Katarn is a former stormtrooper who joins the rebellion and becomes a Jedi,[130][139][140] a plot arc similar to that of Finn in The Force Awakens.[91] A massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Star Wars Galaxies, was in operation from 2003 until 2011. After Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, the games developed during the first two eras were discarded from the canon in 2014 and reassigned to the non-canonical Star Wars Legends label. LucasArts ceased its role as a developer in 2013, although it still operates as a licensor.[141]

EA Star Wars (2014–present)

After its acquisition by Disney, LucasArts ceased being a developer and video game rights were reassigned to Electronic Arts, marking the start of the third era. Games made during this era are considered canonical, and feature more influence from the Star Wars filmmakers. Disney partnered with Lenovo to create the augmented reality video game Jedi Challenges, released in November 2017.[142][143] In August 2018, it was announced that Zynga would publish free-to-play Star Wars mobile games.[144] The Battlefront games received a canonical reboot in 2017. Jedi: Fallen Order will be release in late 2019.

Theme park attractions

Main article: List of Star Wars theme parks attractions

In addition to the Disneyland ride Star Tours (1987) and its renovation as Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (2011), many live attractions have been held at Disney parks, including the travelling exhibition Where Science Meets Imagination, the Space Mountain spin-off Hyperspace Mountain, a walkthrough Launch Bay, and the night-time A Galactic Spectacular. An immersive themed area called Galaxy's Edge (2019) opened at Disneyland and is due to open at Walt Disney World in mid 2019,.[145] A themed hotel, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, is currently under construction at Walt Disney World.[146]

Title     Park(s)     Opening date     Closing date     Status

Star Tours     Disneyland     January 9, 1987     July 27, 2010     Closed

Tokyo Disneyland     July 12, 1989     April 2, 2012

Disney's Hollywood Studios     December 15, 1989     September 7, 2010

Disneyland Paris     April 12, 1992     March 16, 2016

Star Wars Weekends     Disney's Hollywood Studios     1997     2015

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination     Multiple locations     October 19, 2005     March 23, 2014

Jedi Training Academy     Disneyland     July 1, 2006     November 15, 2015

Disney's Hollywood Studios     October 9, 2007     October 5, 2015

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue     Disney's Hollywood Studios     May 20, 2011     N/A     Operating

Disneyland     June 3, 2011

Tokyo Disneyland     May 7, 2013

Disneyland Paris     March 26, 2017

Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain     Disneyland     November 14, 2015     May 31, 2017     Closed

Hong Kong Disneyland     June 11, 2016     N/A     Operating

Disneyland Paris     May 7, 2017

Star Wars Launch Bay     Disneyland     November 16, 2015

Disney's Hollywood Studios     December 4, 2015

Shanghai Disneyland Park     June 16, 2016

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple     Disney's Hollywood Studios     December 1, 2015

Disneyland     December 8, 2015

Disneyland Paris     July 11, 2015

Hong Kong Disneyland     June 25, 2016

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular     Disney's Hollywood Studios     June 17, 2016

Star Wars: Millennium Falcon - Smugglers Run     Disneyland     May 31, 2019

Multimedia projects

A multimedia project involves works released across multiple types of media. Shadows of the Empire (1996) was a multimedia project set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that included a novel by Steve Perry, a comic book series, a video game, and action figures.[80][81] The Force Unleashed (2008–2010) was a similar project set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope that included a novel, a 2008 video game and its 2010 sequel, a graphic novel, a role-playing game supplement, and toys.[147][148]

George Lucas made much of his fortune by retaining his rights to the franchise's merchandising.

Merchandising

Main articles: Kenner Star Wars action figures, List of Kenner Star Wars action figures, Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, Lego Star Wars, List of Lego Star Wars sets, Star Wars trading card, and Star Wars role-playing games

The success of the Star Wars films led the franchise to become one of the most merchandised franchises in the world. While filming the original 1977 film, George Lucas decided to take a $500,000 pay cut to his salary as director in exchange for full ownership of the franchise's merchandising rights. The first six films produced approximately US$20 billion in merchandising revenue.[149]

Kenner made the first Star Wars action figures to coincide with the release of the film, and today the original figures are highly valuable. Since the 1990s, Hasbro holds the rights to create action figures based on the saga. Pez dispensers began to be produced in 1997.[150] Star Wars was the first intellectual property to be licensed in Lego history.[151] Lego has produced animated parody short films and mini-series to promote their Star Wars sets.[152] The Lego Star Wars video games are critically acclaimed bestsellers.[153][154]

In 1977, the board game Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star was released,[155] not to be confused with the board game with the same name published in 1990.[156] A Star Wars Monopoly and themed versions of Trivial Pursuit and Battleship were released in 1997, with updated versions released in subsequent years. The board game Risk has been adapted in two editions by Hasbro: The Clone Wars Edition (2005)[157] and the Original Trilogy Edition (2006).[158] Three Star Wars tabletop role-playing games have been developed: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s, and one by Fantasy Flight Games in the 2010s.

Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first "blue" series, by Topps, in 1977.[159] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare "promos", such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II "floating Yoda" P3 card often commanding US$1,000 or more. While most "base" or "common card" sets are plentiful, many "insert" or "chase cards" are very rare.[160] From 1995 until 2001, Decipher, Inc. had the license for, created and produced a collectible card game based on the franchise.

Themes

See also: Star Wars sources and analogues

Star Wars features elements such as knighthood, chivalry, and Jungian archetypes such as 'the shadow'.[161] There are also many references to Christianity, such as in the appearance of Darth Maul, whose design draws heavily from traditional depictions of the devil.[162] Anakin was conceived of a virgin birth, and is assumed to be the "Chosen One", a messianic individual. However, unlike Jesus, Anakin falls from grace, remaining evil as Darth Vader until Return of the Jedi. According to Adam Driver, sequel trilogy villain Kylo Ren, who idolizes Vader, believes he is "doing what he thinks is right".[163] George Lucas has said that the theme of the saga is redemption.[164]

The saga draws heavily from the hero's journey, an archetypical template developed by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell.[162] Each character—primarily Anakin, Luke, and Rey—follows the steps of the cycle or undergoes its reversal, becoming the villain.[165] A defining step of the journey is "Atonement with the Father".[166] Obi-Wan's loss of a father figure could have impacted his relationship with Anakin,[167] whom both Obi-Wan and Palpatine are fatherlike mentors to.[168] Luke's discovery that Vader is his father has strong repurcussions on the saga and is regarded as one of the most influential plot twists in cinema.[169] Supreme Leader Snoke encourages Kylo Ren to kill his father, Han Solo.[163] Kylo uses the fact that Rey is an orphan to tempt her into joining the dark side.[170] According to Inverse, the final scene in The Last Jedi, which depicts servant children playing with a toy of Luke and one boy using the Force, symbolizes that "the Force can be found in people with humble beginnings."[171]

Historical influences

Political science has been an important element of Star Wars since the franchise launched in 1977, focusing on a struggle between democracy and dictatorship. Darth Vader's design, initially inspired by Samurai armor, also incorporated a German military helmet.[172][173] Originally, Lucas conceived of the Sith as a group that served the Emperor in the same way that the Schutzstaffel served Adolf Hitler; this was condensed into one character in the form of Darth Vader.[174] Stormtroopers borrow the name of Nazi "shock" troopers. Imperial officers wear uniforms resembling those of German forces during World War II,[175] and political and security officers resemble the black-clad SS down to the stylized silver death's head on their caps. World War II terms were used for names in the films; e.g. the planets Kessel (a term that refers to a group of encircled forces) and Hoth (after a German general who served on the snow-laden Eastern Front).[176] Shots of the commanders looking through AT-AT walker viewscreens in The Empire Strikes Back resemble tank interiors,[177] and space battles in the original film were based on World War I and World War II dogfights.[178]

Palpatine being a chancellor before becoming the Emperor in the prequel trilogy alludes to Hitler's role before appointing himself Führer.[175] Lucas has also drawn parallels to historical dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and politicians like Richard Nixon.[179][180][d] The Great Jedi Purge mirrors the events of the Night of the Long Knives.[182] The corruption of the Galactic Republic is modeled after the fall of the democratic Roman Republic and the formation of an empire.[183][184]

On the inspiration for the First Order formed "from the ashes of the Empire", The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams spoke of conversations the writers had about how the Nazis could have escaped to Argentina after WWII and "started working together again."[19]

Cultural impact

Main articles: Cultural impact of Star Wars and Star Wars fandom

   

It has been suggested that Star Wars fandom be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2019.

The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on popular culture,[185] with references to its fictional universe deeply embedded in everyday life.[186] Phrases like "evil empire" and "May the Force be with you" have become part of the popular lexicon.[187] The first Star Wars film in 1977 was a cultural unifier,[188] enjoyed by a wide spectrum of people.[189] The film can be said to have helped launch the science-fiction boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, making science-fiction films a mainstream genre.[190] The widespread impact made it a prime target for parody works and homages, with popular examples including Hardware Wars, Spaceballs, The Family Guy Trilogy and Robot Chicken: Star Wars.

In 1989, the Library of Congress selected the original Star Wars film for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry, as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[191] The Empire Strikes Back, was selected in 2010.[192][193] 35mm reels of the 1997 Special Editions were the versions initially presented for preservation because of the difficulty of transferring from the original prints,[194][195] but it was later revealed that the Library possesses a copyright deposit print of the original theatrical releases.[196]

Industry

The original Star Wars film was a huge success for 20th Century Fox, and was credited for reinvigorating the company. Within three weeks of the film's release, the studio's stock price doubled to a record high. Prior to 1977, 20th Century Fox's greatest annual profits were $37 million, while in 1977, the company broke that record by posting a profit of $79 million.[178] The franchise helped Fox to change from an almost bankrupt production company to a thriving media conglomerate.[197]

Star Wars fundamentally changed the aesthetics and narratives of Hollywood films, switching the focus of Hollywood-made films from deep, meaningful stories based on dramatic conflict, themes and irony to sprawling special-effects-laden blockbusters, as well as changing the Hollywood film industry in fundamental ways. Before Star Wars, special effects in films had not appreciably advanced since the 1950s.[198] The commercial success of Star Wars created a boom in state-of-the-art special effects in the late 1970s.[197] Along with Jaws, Star Wars started the tradition of the summer blockbuster film in the entertainment industry, where films open on many screens at the same time and profitable franchises are important.[199][189] It created the model for the major film trilogy and showed that merchandising rights on a film could generate more money than the film itself did.[188]

The original Star Wars trilogy is widely considered one of the best film trilogies in history.[200] Numerous filmmakers have been influenced by Star Wars, including Damon Lindelof, Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich, John Lasseter,[201] David Fincher, Joss Whedon, John Singleton, Kevin Smith,[202] and later Star Wars directors J. J. Abrams and Gareth Edwards.[203] Christopher Nolan cited Star Wars as an influence when making the 2010 blockbuster film Inception.[204] Lucas's concept of a "used universe" particularly influenced Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and Alien (1979), James Cameron's Aliens (1986) as well as The Terminator (1984), George Miller's Mad Max 2, and Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[202]

Regarding the return and expansion of the franchise, Lawrence Kasdan noted that the spin-offs were expanding the franchise into more of a shared universe beyond the previously linear saga, adding that one of the strengths of the franchise was how it all fell under the same continuity in comparison to other franchises. Kasdan also contrasted Star Wars to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, noting that Star Wars features less comedy than the latter, and adding that he felt a more comedic approach would "not be Star Wars" to him.[205][206]

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his book The Great Movies, "Like The Birth of a Nation and Citizen Kane, Star Wars was a technical watershed that influenced many of the movies that came after." It began a new generation of special effects and high-energy motion pictures. The film was one of the first films to link genres together to invent a new, high-concept genre for filmmakers to build upon.[202] Finally, along with Steven Spielberg's Jaws, it shifted the film industry's focus away from personal filmmaking of the 1970s and towards fast-paced, big-budget blockbusters for younger audiences.[178][207][208]

Some critics have blamed Star Wars and Jaws for "ruining" Hollywood by shifting its focus from "sophisticated" films such as The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Annie Hall to films about spectacle and juvenile fantasy, and for the industry shift from stand-alone, one and done films, towards blockbuster franchises with multiple sequels and prequels.[209] One such critic, Peter Biskind, complained, "When all was said and done, Lucas and Spielberg returned the 1970s audience, grown sophisticated on a diet of European and New Hollywood films, to the simplicities of the pre-1960s Golden Age of movies... They marched backward through the looking-glass."[209][210] In an opposing view, Tom Shone wrote that through Star Wars and Jaws, Lucas and Spielberg "didn't betray cinema at all: they plugged it back into the grid, returning the medium to its roots as a carnival sideshow, a magic act, one big special effect", which was "a kind of rebirth".[208]

Fan works

Main article: Star Wars fan films

The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own non-canon material set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007, Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.[211] Lucasfilm has allowed but not endorsed the creation of fan fiction, as long as it does not attempt to make a profit.[212]

Academia

As the characters and the storyline of the original trilogy are so well known, educators have used the films in the classroom as a learning resource. For example, a project in Western Australia honed elementary school students storytelling skills by role-playing action scenes from the movies and later creating props and audio/visual scenery to enhance their performance.[213] Others have used the films to encourage second-level students to integrate technology in the science classroom by making prototype lightsabers.[214] Similarly, psychiatrists in New Zealand and the US have advocated their use in the university classroom to explain different types of psychopathology.[215][216]

See also

    iconSpeculative fiction portal Film portal iconScience fiction portal

    Architecture of Star Wars

    Jedi census phenomenon

    Jediism

    List of Star Wars creatures

    Physics and Star Wars

    Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki

    501st Legion

    Star Wars Celebration

    Star Wars Day

    Music of Star Wars

    Star Wars documentaries

    The Story of Star Wars

    Technology in Star Wars

    List of space science fiction franchises

References

Informational notes

The film's release was preceded by its novelization in November 1976.

Lucas started by researching the inspiration behind Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon comic, leading him to the works of author Edgar Rice Burroughs—the John Carter of Mars series in particular.

Played by Jake Lloyd as a kid in Episode I

    In his early drafts, Lucas used the plot point of a dictator staying in power with the support of the military. In his comment (made in the prequel trilogy era) Lucas attributed this to Nixon's supposed intention to defy the 22nd Amendment,[181] but the president was actually impeached and never ran for a third term.

Citations

"Star Wars: Episode IX Cast Announced". StarWars.com. July 27, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.

"Star Wars – Box Office History". The Numbers. Retrieved June 17, 2010.

"Movie Franchises". The Numbers. Retrieved January 3, 2013.

"1977: Highest-grossing Sci-fi Series at the Box Office". Guinness World Records. August 19, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2006.

Lewis, Ann Margaret (April 3, 2001). Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Alien Species. LucasBooks. ISBN 978-0345442208.

Wallace, Daniel (February 16, 1999). Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Droids. LucasBooks. ISBN 978-0345420671.

Smith, Bill (March 19, 1996). Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels. LucasBooks. ISBN 978-0345392992.

"6 Great Quotes About the Force". StarWars.com. July 25, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2018.

The Empire Strikes Back (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2004.

Nicholas, Christopher (2016). Star Wars: I Am a Jedi. Little Golden Books. Illustrated by Ron Cohee. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0736434874.

@kylebuchanan (August 23, 2019). "A timeline of STAR WARS endeavors thus far..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 2005.

Whitbrook, James. "The Clone Wars Returns February 2020, and All the Other Star Wars News Just Revealed at D23". io9.

"Star Wars Timeline Gives Official Titles For Prequel, Original & New Trilogies". ScreenRant. August 23, 2019.

Lawler, Kelly (December 11, 2017). "Why I love the 'Star Wars' prequels (and you should too)". King. Retrieved August 9, 2019.

McDonagh, Tim (2016). Star Wars: Galactic Maps. Disney–Lucasfilm Press. pp. 13, 44. ISBN 978-1368003063.

Woods, Bob, ed. (1997). "Launching the Rebellion". Star Wars: Official 20th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine. New York: Topps. p. 9.

James Dyer (2015). "JJ Abrams Spills Details On Kylo Ren". Empireonline.com. Retrieved February 2, 2016.

Woerner, Meredith (May 4, 2015). "New Star Wars Photos Reveal The Villain, A Space Pirate And Lots More". io9. Gizmodo. Retrieved September 24, 2019.

https://collider.com/who-wrote-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker/

McCreesh, Louise (February 13, 2018). "Lucas had been developing a Han Solo movie for ages". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 14, 2018.

Graser, Marc (September 12, 2013). "Star Wars: The 'Sky's the Limit' for Disney's Spinoff Opportunities". Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2013.

Breznican, Anthony (April 19, 2015). "Star Wars: Rogue One and mystery standalone movie take center stage". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

Breznican, Anthony (November 22, 2016). "As Rogue One looms, Lucasfilm develops secret plans for new Star Wars movies". Entertainment Weekly.

Magazine, Attractions (May 14, 2019). "The next #StarWars film to be released after the end of the Skywalker Saga will be by #GameOfThrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. $DIS".

Grossman, Lev (May 22, 2019). "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Ultimate Preview". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 22, 2019.

Trenholm, Richard (May 7, 2019). "Disney: Star Wars and Avatar movies coming every Christmas until 2027". CNET. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

Geoff Boucher (October 28, 2019). "Star Wars Setback: Game Of Thrones Duo David Benioff & D.B. Weiss Exit Trilogy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 29, 2019.

"Rian Johnson, Writer-Director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, to Create All-New Star Wars Trilogy". StarWars.com. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.

Breznican, Anthony (April 13, 2019). "Lucasfilm putting the 'Star Wars' movies 'on hiatus' after this year". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 15, 2019.

Masters, Kim (September 25, 2019). "Star Wars Shocker: Marvel's Kevin Feige Developing New Movie for Disney (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 29, 2019.

Young, Bryan (December 21, 2015). "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: John Carter". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.

Vallely, Jean (June 12, 1980). "The Empire Strikes Back and So Does Filmmaker George Lucas With His Sequel to Star Wars". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC.

Rinzler 2007, p. 8.

Smith, Kyle (September 21, 2014). "How 'Star Wars' was secretly George Lucas' Vietnam protest". The New York Post. Retrieved September 22, 2014.

"Starkiller". Jedi Bendu. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2008.

Kaminski 2008, p. 142.

Steranko, "George Lucas", Prevue #42, September–October 1980.

Hidalgo, Pablo [@pablohidalgo] (February 15, 2019). "(And just to preemptively 'well, actually' myself, 'Episode IV: A New Hope' was made public by publishing it in the screenplay in 1979's Art of Star Wars book. But it wasn't added to the crawl until 1981)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

"Gary Kurtz Reveals Original Plans for Episodes 1-9". TheForce.net. May 26, 1999. Retrieved September 22, 2018.

Lucas, George (1980). "Interview: George Lucas" (PDF). Bantha Tracks. No. 8.

Kaminski 2008, p. 494.

Worrell, Denise. Icons: Intimate Portraits. p. 185.

Kaminski 2008, p. 303.

Kaminski 2008, p. 312.

"Episode III Release Dates Announced". StarWars.com. April 5, 2004. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.

Wakeman, Gregory (December 4, 2014). "George Lucas Was Terrible At Predicting The Future Of Star Wars". CinemaBlend. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

"Mark Hamill talks Star Wars 7, 8 and 9!". MovieWeb. September 10, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2008.

"George Lucas' Galactic Empire". TIME. March 6, 1978. Retrieved September 15, 2012.

Kerry O'Quinn. "The George Lucas Saga Chapter 3: 'The Revenge of the Box Office'". Starlog #50, September 1981.

Gerald Clarke. "The Empire Strikes Back!". Time, May 19, 1980. Retrieved September 26, 2012.

Warren, Bill. "Maker of Myths". Starlog. No. #237, April 1997.

Kerry O'Quinn. "The George Lucas Saga Chapter 1: 'A New View'", Starlog #48, July 1981.

Lucas, George (1997). Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Del Rey. p. i.

"George Lucas talks on Star Wars sequels 7, 8 & 9". Killer Movies. September 13, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2008.

"George Lucas Done With 'Star Wars' Fanboys, Talks 'Red Tails'". The Huffington Post. January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.

Nakashima, Ryan (October 30, 2012). "Disney to make new 'Star Wars' films, buy Lucas co". Yahoo!. Retrieved October 10, 2018.

Block, Alex (October 30, 2012). "Disney to Buy Lucasfilm for Billion; New 'Star Wars' Movie Set for 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 31, 2012.

"George Lucas & Kathleen Kennedy Discuss Disney and the Future of Star Wars". YouTube.com. Lucasfilm. October 30, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2019. "I have story treatments of VII, VIII, and IX ... and I have complete confidence that [Kathy]'s going to take them and make great movies."

Breznican, Anthony (November 20, 2015). "George Lucas on 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': 'They weren't keen to have me involved'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 28, 2019. "[T]hey looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans' ... So I said, 'All I want to do is tell a story of what happened'."

Sciretta, Peter. "Interview: J.J. Abrams Talks About Abandoning George Lucas' Treatments and Lessons of the Star Wars Prequels". Slashfilm. Retrieved March 28, 2019. "I came on board, and Disney had already decided they didn't want to go that direction. So the mandate was to start from scratch."

"The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.

"Disney Earnings Beat; 'Star Wars' Spinoffs Planned". CNBC. February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

"'Multiple films' still in 'Star Wars' pipeline, sources say". Good Morning America. ABC. June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.

Patches, Matt (April 12, 2019). "Star Wars movies to go on 'hiatus' after Episode IX". Polygon. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

Benjamin W.L. Derhy Kurtz; Mélanie Bourdaa (2016). The Rise of Transtexts: Challenges and Opportunities. Taylor & Francis. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-317-37105-2.

Britt, Ryan (January 24, 2013). "Weird Differences Between the First Star Wars Movie and Its Preceding Novelization". Tor.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.

Allison, Keith (December 25, 2014). "A Long Time Ago …". The Cultural Gutter. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

Allison, Keith (January 22, 2015). "... In a Galaxy Far, Far Away". The Cultural Gutter. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

Cite error: The named reference Dark Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

"Critical Opinion: Heir to the Empire Reviews". StarWars.com. April 4, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2017.

Breznican, Anthony (November 2, 2012). "Star Wars sequel author Timothy Zahn weighs in on new movie plans". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2016.

"Timothy Zahn: Outbound Flight Arrival". StarWars.com. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2016.

Kaminski 2008, pp. 289–91.

"The New York Times Best Seller List" (PDF). Hawes.com. June 30, 1991. Retrieved March 1, 2017.

Britt, Ryan (February 28, 2013). "How Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire Turned Star Wars into Science Fiction". Tor.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.

"Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia (Review)". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2015.

Wolverton, Dave (1994). The Courtship of Princess Leia. Bantam Spectra. ISBN 978-0-553-08928-8.

Webster, Andrew (December 2, 2012). "The Classics: Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire". The Verge. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

"Shadows of the Empire Checklist". Rebelscum.com. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

"Databank: Xizor, Prince". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

Creamer, Matt Timmy (January 20, 2016). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens borrowed heavily from Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.

"ConDFW XIII 2014: Kevin J. Anderson Profile". ConDFW.org. March 7, 2013. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013.

Goldstein, Rich (March 26, 2014). "Is the New 'Star Wars' Trilogy the Story of the Solo Twins and Darth Caedus?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 21, 2015.

Britt, Ryan (March 27, 2014). "Even More Kids on the Playground: X-Wing #1 Rogue Squadron". Tor.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2017.

"Paperback Best Sellers: February 22, 1998 (X-Wing #5: Wraith Squadron)". The New York Times. February 22, 1998. Retrieved March 4, 2017.

"Paperback Best Sellers: August 29, 1999 (X-Wing #9: Starfighters of Adumar)". The New York Times. August 29, 1999. Retrieved March 4, 2017.

Britt, Ryan (July 6, 2016). "Star Wars Was Nearly Ruined By A Hacky Alien Invasion Storyline". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2017.

Eng, Dinah (June 23, 2004). "Star Wars books are soldiering on". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

McMillan, Graeme (December 23, 2015). "How the Abandoned Star Wars Expanded Universe Inspired Force Awakens". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 1, 2016.

Bouie, Jamelle (December 16, 2015). "How The Force Awakens Remixes the Star Wars Expanded Universe". Slate. Retrieved December 20, 2015.

Kendrick, Ben (December 18, 2015). "Star Wars 7: Kylo Ren Backstory Explained". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 20, 2015.

Saavedra, John (December 17, 2015). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Easter Eggs and Reference Guide (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and the Knights of Ren)". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 18, 2015.

Truitt, Brian (July 16, 2016). "Thrawn to make grand appearance in Star Wars Rebels". USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2016.

"The Rebels Face Grand Admiral Thrawn When Star Wars Rebels Season Three Premieres Saturday, September 24". StarWars.com. August 8, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

"Star Wars #1 (April 1977)". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

"Star Wars #1 (April 1977)". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

"Star Wars". The Comic Reader. No. 142. April 1977.

"Star Wars #107 (May 1986)". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

Cronin, Brian (June 17, 2011). "Comic Book Legends Revealed #318". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

McMillan, Graeme (January 10, 2013). "Leaving an Imprint: 10 Defunct MARVEL Publishing Lines: Star Comics". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

Ceimcioch, Marck (December 2014). "Marvel for Kids: Star Comics". Back Issue!. No. 77. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

Handley, Rich (April 20, 2013). "Droids and Ewoks Return: Spain's Lost Star Wars Comic Strips". StarWars.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

Cronin, Brian (November 29, 2007). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #131". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2017.

Whitbrook, James (December 12, 2014). "The Greatest Dark Horse Star Wars Comics To Buy Before They're Gone". Gizmodo. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

Saavedra, John (January 4, 2015). "Star Wars: The 13 Greatest Dark Horse Comics Stories". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

McMillan, Graeme (January 3, 2014). "Disney Moves Star Wars Comics License to Marvel". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2014.

Wilkerson, David B. (August 31, 2009). "Disney to Acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4B". MarketWatch.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.

Brooks, Dan (July 26, 2014). "SDCC 2014: Inside Marvel's New Star Wars Comics". StarWars.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.

Wheeler, Andrew (July 26, 2014). "Force Works: Marvel Announces Three New Star Wars Titles From All-Star Creative Teams". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.

Yehl, Joshua (July 26, 2014). "SDCC 2014: Marvel Announces 3 Star Wars Comics for 2015". IGN. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2016.

Hughes, William (March 3, 2018). "John Williams says he's only got one more of these damn Star Wars movies in him". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 3, 2018.

Burlingame, Jon (December 30, 2017). "'Solo' Locks in Key 'Star Wars' Veteran (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.

Sterling, Christopher H. (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio (Vol. 3). Routledge. p. 2206. ISBN 9781135456498. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

"5 Awesome Star Wars Media Collectibles". StarWars.com. April 9, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

John, Derek. "That Time NPR Turned Star Wars Into A Radio Drama—And It Actually Worked". All Things Considered. NPR. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

Robb, Brian J. (2012). A Brief Guide to Star Wars. London: Hachette. ISBN 9781780335834. Retrieved July 21, 2016.

"Mark Hamill (2), Anthony Daniels (2), Billy Dee Williams, John Lithgow - The Empire Strikes Back - The Original Radio Drama". Discogs. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

Brown, Alan (December 16, 2015). "Sounds of Star Wars: The Audio Dramas". Tor.com. Retrieved March 2, 2017.

"Star Wars Infographic: 40 Years in Gaming". www.igdb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.

"Kenner Star Wars Battle Command". Handheldmuseum.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

Coopee, Todd. "Star Wars Electronic Battle Command Game". ToyTales.ca. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

Bogost, Ian; Montfort, Nick (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-01257-7.

"A Brief History of Star War Games, Part 1 (Slide 1–6)". Tom's Hardware. May 20, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

"Star Wars: Return of the Jedi". MobyGames. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

"The making of The Empire Strikes Back". Retro Gamer. No. 70. November 2009. pp. 82–83.

"LucasArts Entertainment Company: 20th Anniversary (Part Two: The Classics, 1990–1994)". LucasArts. June 23, 2006. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

Mizell, Leslie (October 1994). "Star Wars: Dark Forces preview". PC Gamer. pp. 34–37.

"A Brief History of Star War Games, Part 1 (Slide 29–32)". Tom's Hardware. May 20, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

Turner, Benjamin; Bowen, Kevin (December 11, 2003). "Bringin' in the DOOM Clones". GameSpy. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2013.

Baldazo, Rex (December 1995). "Today's hot first-person 3-D shoot-'em-ups". Byte. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2013.

Kent, Steven L. (March 19, 1995). "Tech Reviews CD-Rom – Dark Forces". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 15, 2008.

"Star Wars Dark Forces – PC". GameRankings. Retrieved December 30, 2008.

Dulin, Ron (May 1, 1996). "Star Wars Dark Forces Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2013.

Boulding, Aaron (November 19, 2002). "Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Xbox review". IGN. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

"Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Designer Diary #1". GameSpot. August 25, 2003. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

Schedeen, Jesse (August 12, 2008). "Top 25 Star Wars Heroes: Day 2". IGN. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

"Star Wars: Dark Forces". MobyGames. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

"Katarn, Kyle". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

Terdiman, Daniel. "Disney shuttering LucasArts, moving to licensed games model". CNET. Retrieved August 30, 2019.

Kharpal, Arjun (August 31, 2017). "Lenovo, Disney launch 'Star Wars' Jedi augmented reality game that lets you use a Lightsaber". CNBC. Retrieved September 27, 2018.

"How Jedi Challenges Brings Star Wars to Life at Home". StarWars.com. November 3, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2018.

"Zynga Partners With Disney For New 'Star Wars' Games". Variety. August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.

"Pandora – The World of Avatar to Open May 27, Star Wars Lands Coming in 2019 - The Walt Disney Company". The Walt Disney Company. February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

Fashingbauer Cooper, Gael (July 16, 2017). "Disney's Star Wars land named Galaxy's Edge, includes resort". CNET. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.

"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.

"The Force Unleashed Sells 1.5 Million Units Worldwide in Under One Week". StarWars.com. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2017.

"The Real Force Behind 'Star Wars': How George Lucas Built an Empire". The Hollywood Reporter. February 9, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2018.

Nina Chertoff and Susan Kahn, "Star Wars", Celebrating Pez (Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2006), 87.

"Lego gets Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit licence". Metro.

Link Voxx. "Star Wars Episode 7 News - New LEGO Star Wars Mini-Series Retelling the Whole Saga Coming to DisneyXD". Star Wars Episode 7 News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2017.

LucasArts (March 2, 2006). "LEGO Star Wars II: Developer Diary". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

Kohler, Chris (May 15, 2009). "April 2009's Top 10 Game Sales, By Platform". Wired. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star (description), Board game geek, 1977

Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star (description), Board game geek, 1990

"Star Wars Clone Wars Edition". Hasbro. Retrieved March 23, 2009.

"Risk Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Edition". Board game geek. Retrieved March 23, 2009.

"Star Wars Trading Cards". Starwarscards.net. Retrieved March 27, 2008.

"Star Wars Promotional Trading Card List". The Star Wars Collectors Archive. Retrieved March 28, 2008.

Hamilton, Jason (February 25, 2015). "Star Wars in Mythology: The Shadow". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.

Moyers, Bill (April 26, 1999). "Of Myth And Men". Time. Retrieved April 20, 2009.

Idato, Michael (December 11, 2015). "Adam Driver's Kylo Ren unmasked as real star of Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Stuff. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

Seabrook, John (December 19, 2015). "The Force Returns: George Lucas Before the "Star Wars" Prequels". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 23, 2019.

Young, Bryan (March 13, 2018). "In The Last Jedi, Rey's Journey in the Mirror Cave Echoes a Star Wars Cycle". StarWars.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.

"Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey #9: Atonement with the Father". Think Spiritual. March 27, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

Crouse, Megan (August 3, 2018). "Always Two: How Matters of Trust Built and Broke Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi". StarWars.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

"Becoming Sidious - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith". StarWars.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

McGranaghan, Mike. "The 13 Most Influential Plot Twists In Cinema History". Ranker. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

Cipriani, Casey (December 14, 2017). "Every 'The Last Jedi' Clue About Rey's Parents, Explained". Bustle. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

Grebey, James (December 27, 2017). "Who the Heck Was the Broom Kid at the End of 'The Last Jedi'?". Inverse. Retrieved March 7, 2019.

Rees Shapiro, T. (March 5, 2012). "Ralph McQuarrie, artist who drew Darth Vader, C-3PO, dies at 82". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2018.

Gilbey, Ryan (November 1, 2017). "John Mollo obituary: Star Wars costume designer who dressed Darth Vader". The Guardian. Retrieved October 2, 2018.

Kaminski 2008, p. 184.

Reagin, Nancy R.; Liedl, Janice (October 15, 2012). Star Wars and History. p. 144. ISBN 9781118285251. Retrieved August 30, 2013.

Christopher Klein. "The Real History That Inspired "Star Wars"". HISTORY.com.

Young, Bryan (January 21, 2014). "The Cinema Behind Star Wars: Battle of the Bulge". StarWars.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (DVD). Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary. 2004.

"Star Wars: Attack of the Clones". Time. April 21, 2002. Archived from the original on June 5, 2002. Retrieved December 13, 2009. "The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea ... That's the issue I've been exploring: how did the Republic turn into the Empire?"

Reagin, Nancy R.; Liedl, Janice (October 15, 2012). Star Wars and History. p. 32. ISBN 9781118285251. Retrieved August 30, 2013.

Kaminski 2008, p. 95.

Reagin, Nancy R.; Liedl, Janice (October 15, 2012). Star Wars and History. p. 341. ISBN 9781118285251. Retrieved August 30, 2013.

Reagin, Nancy R.; Liedl, Janice (October 15, 2012). Star Wars and History. pp. 130–33. ISBN 9781118285251. Retrieved August 30, 2013.

""Star Wars" offers perspective into ancient history". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. November 5, 2012. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2018.

Danesi, Marcel (2012). Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-1-4422-1783-6.

Brooker, Will (2002). Using the Force: Creativity, Community, and Star Wars Fans. New York [u.a.]: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-5287-0.

"The power of the dark side". Chicago Tribune. May 8, 2005. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

Emerson, Jim (2007). "How Star Wars Shook The World". MSN Movies. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2015.

"Online NewsHour: The Impact of the Star Wars Trilogy Films – May 19, 2005". Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

Booker, M. Keith; Thomas, Anne-Marie (March 30, 2009). The Science Fiction Handbook. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 9–11. ISBN 978-1-4443-1035-1.

"U.S. National Film Registry Titles". U.S. National Film Registry. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2006.

"'Empire Strikes Back' among 25 film registry picks". Retrieved December 28, 2010.

Barnes, Mike (December 28, 2010). "'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Airplane!' Among 25 Movies Named to National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2010.

Andrews, Mallory (July 21, 2014). "A 'New' New Hope: Film Preservation and the Problem with 'Star Wars'". soundonsight.org. Sound on Sight. Retrieved July 27, 2014. "the NFR does not possess workable copies of the original versions…Government-mandated agencies such as the National Film Registry are unable to preserve (or even possess) working copies of the films on their list without the consent of the author and/or copyright holder."

"Request Denied: Lucas Refuses to Co-Operate with Government Film Preservation Organizations". savestarwars.com. Saving Star Wars. 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2014. "When the request was made for STAR WARS, Lucasfilm offered us the Special Edition version. The offer was declined as this was obviously not the version that had been selected for the Registry."

Ulanoff, Lance (December 17, 2015). "The search for the 'Star Wars' George Lucas doesn't want you to see". Mashable. Retrieved October 12, 2016.

Cook, David A. (2000). Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970–1979 (1st paperback print. ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23265-5.

Bigsby, Christopher (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84132-0.

"The power of the dark side". Chicago Tribune. May 8, 2005. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

For a sampling of the reviews, read the following:

    "The 33 Greatest Movie Trilogies | 2. The Original Star Wars Trilogy". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

    Gibron, Bill (September 21, 2011). "The 10 Greatest Motion Picture Trilogies of All Time". PopMatters. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

    Griffin, Michael (September 11, 2013). "Good Things Come In Threes: Great Movie Trilogies". Hollywood.com. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

    Ellwood, Gregory; Eggersten, Chris; Fienberg, Dan; McWeeny, Drew; Lewis, Dave (April 25, 2013). "10 of the best movie trilogies of all-time | 1. Star Wars Episodes IV – VI". HitFix. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

Pond, Steve (February 21, 2014). "Why Disney Fired John Lasseter – And How He Came Back to Heal the Studio". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2014.

The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars. Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD Box Set: Bonus Materials. 2004.

Hopkins, Jessica (February 27, 2011). "The film that changed my life: Gareth Edwards". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved May 10, 2014.

"Christopher Nolan's Star Wars Inspiration". ContactMusic.com. July 16, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.

Erbland, Kate; Erbland, Kate (May 17, 2018). "'Star Wars': Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan on Why the Franchise Isn't Ready for a 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Tone".

"Can Anyone Besides Marvel Make a Cinematic Universe Work?". The Hollywood Reporter.

Ebert, Roger (June 28, 1999). "Great Movies: Star Wars". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved October 1, 2006.

Shone, Tom (2004). Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 64. ISBN 0-7432-6838-5.

Greydanus, Steven D. "An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters". Decent Films Guide. Retrieved October 1, 2006.

Biskind, Peter (1998). "Star Bucks". Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 336–337, 343. ISBN 0-684-80996-6.

"Filmmaker Kevin Smith Hosts 'The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards' on SCI FI Channel; George Lucas to Present Special Honor". Business Wire. April 23, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2008.

Knapton, Sarah (April 7, 2008). "Court to rule in Star Wars costume battle". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved April 15, 2008.

Hesterman, Sandra (December 1, 2011). "Multiliterate Star Warians : the force of popular culture and ICT in early learning". Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. 36 (4): 86–95. doi:10.1177/183693911103600412. ISSN 1836-9391.

Thompson, Stephanie (November 1, 2006). "The science of Star Wars: Integrating technology and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy". Science Scope. Washington, D.C.: 55. ISSN 0887-2376.

Friedman, Susan Hatters; Hall, Ryan C. W. (December 1, 2015). "Teaching Psychopathology in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: The Light Side of the Force". Academic Psychiatry. 39 (6): 719–725. doi:10.1007/s40596-015-0340-y. ISSN 1042-9670. PMID 25933645.

    Hall, Ryan C. W.; Friedman, Susan Hatters (December 1, 2015). "Psychopathology in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: the Use of Star Wars' Dark Side in Teaching". Academic Psychiatry. 39 (6): 726–732. doi:10.1007/s40596-015-0337-6. ISSN 1042-9670. PMID 25943902.

Sources

    Arnold, Alan (1980). Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-29075-5.

    Bouzereau, Laurent (1997). The Annotated Screenplays. Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-345-40981-2.

    Kaminski, Michael (2008) [2007]. The Secret History of Star Wars. Legacy Books Press. ISBN 978-0-9784652-3-0.

    Rinzler, Jonathan W. (2005). The Making of Star Wars, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-345-43139-4.

    ——— (2007). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (Star Wars). Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-345-49476-4.

Further reading

    Decker, Kevin S. (2005). Star Wars and Philosophy. Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9583-0.

    Campbell, Joseph (1991). The Power of Myth. Anchor. ISBN 978-0-385-41886-7.

    Henderson, Mary (1997). Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Bantam. ISBN 978-0-553-10206-2.

    Cavlelos, Jeanne (1999). The Science of Star Wars. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-20958-2.

    Nancy R. Reagin, Janice Liedl, ed. (2012). Star Wars and History. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-60200-3.

    Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. National Geographic & Boston Museum of Science. October 2005. ISBN 978-0-7922-6200-8.

External links

    Wikiquote has quotations related to: Star Wars

    Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Star Wars

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Star Wars.

    Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Star Wars tourism.

    Official website

    "Star Wars". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

    vte

George Lucas works

Films directed   

Feature   

    THX 1138 (1971) American Graffiti (1973) Star Wars (1977) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Short   

    Look at Life (1965) Herbie (1965) Freiheit (1966) 1:42.08 (1966) Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967) The Emperor (1967) Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town (1967) 6-18-67 (1967) Filmmaker (1968) Bald: The Making of THX 1138 (1971, uncredited)

Films written   

    The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Return of the Jedi (1983) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) The Ewok Adventure (1984, TV film) Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985, TV film) Captain EO (1986, short film) Willow (1988) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Radioland Murders (1994) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Strange Magic (2015)

TV series created   

    The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996 / 1999-2000) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film) (2008-2014, 2020) Star Wars Detours (2013, unaired)

Books written   

    Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976, credit only) Shadow Moon (1995) Shadow Dawn (1996) Shadow Star (2000)

Franchises created   

    Star Wars Indiana Jones Willow

Related   

    American Zoetrope Lucasfilm

        ILM LucasArts Lucasfilm Animation Skywalker Sound Pixar Skywalker Ranch The Star Wars Corporation THX Edutopia

    vte

Star Wars

Feature films   

Original trilogy   

    Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi

Prequel trilogy   

    The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith

Sequel trilogy   

    The Force Awakens The Last Jedi The Rise of Skywalker

Standalone   

    The Clone Wars Rogue One Solo

Television series   

Animated   

    Droids Ewoks Clone Wars The Clone Wars

        cast episodes Rebels

        characters episodes Forces of Destiny Resistance Detours (unaired)

Live-action   

    The Mandalorian

Television films   

    Star Wars Holiday Special The Ewok Adventure Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Production   

    George Lucas Lucasfilm Cast Characters Changes in film re-releases

        Han shot first Filming locations Opening crawl Art Sources and analogues

        Comparison to Star Trek

Audio and music   

Audio dramas   

    Audio novels Radio dramatizations of the films

Soundtracks   

    Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Ewoks The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith The Clone Wars The Force Awakens Rogue One The Last Jedi Solo

Themes   

    "Star Wars (Main Title)" "The Imperial March" "Ewok Celebration" "Duel of the Fates" "Battle of the Heroes"

Expanded to

other media   

Attractions   

    A Galactic Spectacular Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple Star Tours

        The Adventures Continue Star Wars: Path of the Jedi Galaxy's Edge

        Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hyperspace Mountain Launch Bay Star Wars Weekends Where Science Meets Imagination Star Wars Celebration In Concert

Other works   

    Video games

        list Books

        Reference books Star Wars Insider Comics

        list manga Legends

        characters Thrawn trilogy Shadows of the Empire Galaxies Knights of the Old Republic The Force Unleashed The Old Republic

Documentaries   

    The Making of Star Wars SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga

Merchandise   

    Action figures

        Kenner

            list Hasbro: Vintage Collection Transformers Pez Force Trainer Shepperton Design Studios Trading cards Vinylmation Rollinz toys

Lego   

    List of sets The Yoda Chronicles Droid Tales The Resistance Rises The Freemaker Adventures

Cultural

impact   

    Star Wars fandom

        501st Legion Rebel Legion Religion

        Jedi census Jediism Star Wars Day Fan Websites

        Wookieepedia TheForce.Net Force for Change Chewbacca defense Yoda conditions Death Star (business)

    Wikipedia book Book Category Category Dragon-149393.svg Speculative fiction portal

    vte

Fictional universe of Star Wars

Concepts   

    The Force Architecture Languages Physics

Characters   

    Admiral Ackbar Padmé Amidala Cassian Andor Wedge Antilles Doctor Aphra Cad Bane Darth Bane BB-8 Jar Jar Binks C-3PO Lando Calrissian Chewbacca Poe Dameron Count Dooku Jyn Erso Boba Fett Jango Fett Finn (FN-2187) Bib Fortuna Saw Gerrera Greedo General Grievous HK-47 Jabba the Hutt General Hux Mara Jade Kanan Jarrus Qui-Gon Jinn K-2SO Maz Kanata Kyle Katarn Obi-Wan Kenobi Kreia Orson Krennic Darth Maul Nien Nunb Bail Organa Leia Organa Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious Captain Phasma Admiral Piett Darth Plagueis Qi'ra R2-D2 Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) Revan Rey Captain Rex Bodhi Rook Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader Luke Skywalker Supreme Leader Snoke Han Solo Jacen Solo Starkiller Tag and Bink Ahsoka Tano Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Admiral Thrawn Rose Tico Asajj Ventress Iden Versio Watto Wicket W. Warrick Mace Windu Yoda

Lists   

    The Clone Wars characters Rebels characters Legends characters

        KotOR

Groups   

    Militaries

        Clone trooper Stormtrooper Rogue Squadron Families

        Skywalker Solo Music bands

        Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes Max Rebo Band

Organizations   

    First Order Galactic Empire Galactic Republic Jedi New Republic Rebel Alliance Resistance Sith

Planets and moons   

    Alderaan Bespin Coruscant Dagobah Endor Hoth Jakku Kashyyyk Naboo Mandalore Tatooine Yavin

Species and

creatures   

    Humanoid Species

        A–E

            Droid Ewok F–J

            Hutt K–O

            Mandalorian P–T

            Tusken Raiders U–Z

            Wookiee Animal creatures

        Bantha Sarlacc

Technology   

Weapons   

    Blaster Death Star Lightsaber

Terrestrial vehicles   

    Landspeeder Speeder bike Sandcrawler Walkers

Starfighters   

    A-wing B-wing TIE fighter U-wing X-wing Y-wing

Spacecraft   

    Death Star Millennium Falcon Mon Calamari cruiser Star Destroyer Tantive IV

Other   

    Clone Wars Galactic Civil War Mos Eisley

    Wikipedia book Book Category Category Dragon-149393.svg Speculative fiction portal

    vte

Star Wars novels (2014–present)

Film novelizations   

    The Force Awakens (2015) Rogue One (2016) The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition (2018) Solo: Expanded Edition (2018)

Standalone   

    A New Dawn (2014) Tarkin (2014) Servants of the Empire series (2014–15) Heir to the Jedi (2015) Lords of the Sith (2015) Dark Disciple (2015) Ahsoka (2016) Catalyst (2016) Thrawn (2017) Thrawn: Alliances (2018) Thrawn: Treason (2019)

Journey to Star Wars   

The Force Awakens   

    Lost Stars (2015) Bloodline (2016)

Aftermath trilogy   

    Aftermath (2015) Aftermath: Life Debt (2016) Aftermath: Empire's End (2017)

The Last Jedi   

    Phasma (2017) Leia, Princess of Alderaan (2017)

The Rise of Skywalker   

    Resistance Reborn (2019)

Full list of Star Wars books

    vte

Star Wars comics

Marvel Comics

(1977–87)   

    Star Wars (1977–86) Return of the Jedi (1983–84) Ewoks (1985–87) Droids (1986–87)

Dark Horse Comics

(1991–2014)   

Tales of the Jedi

(1993–98)   

    Knights of the Old Republic (1993–94) The Freedon Nadd Uprising (1994) Dark Lords of the Sith (1994–95) The Sith War (1995–96) Golden Age of the Sith (1996–97) The Fall of the Sith Empire (1997) Redemption (1998)

X-wing

(1995–2005)   

    Rogue Squadron

        The Rebel Opposition (1995) The Phantom Affair (1996) Battleground: Tatooine (1996) The Warrior Princess (1996–97) Requiem for a Rogue (1997) In the Empire's Service (1997) Family Ties (1998) Masquerade (1998) Mandatory Retirement (1998) X-Wing: Rogue Leader (2005)

Qui-Gon and Obi-wan

(2000–2002)   

    Last Stand on Ord Mantell (2000–01) The Aurorient Express (2002)

Other series

(1991–2014)   

    Dark Empire (1991–95) Shadows of the Empire (1996) Republic (1998–2006) Vader's Quest (1999) Union (1999–2000) Tales (1999–2005) The Bounty Hunters (2000) Jedi Council: Acts of War (2001) Jedi vs. Sith (2001) Jedi Quest (2001) Empire (2002–06) Jango Fett: Open Seasons (2003) Jedi (2003–04) Clone Wars (2003–06) Purge (2005) Visionaries (2005) Routine Valor (2006) Knights of the Old Republic (2006–10) Dark Times (2006–13) Invasion (2009–11) Legacy (2009–11) The Old Republic (2010–11) Knight Errant (2010–12) Agent of the Empire (2011–13) Dawn of the Jedi (2012–14) Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir (2014) Other

        Infinities (2002–04) The Star Wars (2013)

Tokyopop

(1998–99)   

    Star Wars (manga)

Marvel Comics

(2015–present)   

Ongoing series

(2015–present)   

    Star Wars (2015–present) Poe Dameron (2016–2018) Doctor Aphra (2016–present)

Limited series

(2015–present)   

    Princess Leia (2015) Shattered Empire (2015) C-3PO: The Phantom Limb (2016) Captain Phasma (2017)

Full list of Star Wars comic books by in-universe timeline

    vte

Star Wars video games

    List

Series   

    Star Wars (1987) Droids (1988) Shadows of the Empire (1996) Masters of Teräs Käsi (1997) Yoda Stories (1997) Droid Works (1998) Pit Droids (1999) Demolition (2000) The Clone Wars (2002) Bounty Hunter (2002) Republic Commando (2005) Lethal Alliance (2006) Kinect (2012) Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)

Atari 2600   

    The Empire Strikes Back (1982) Jedi Arena (1983) Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle (1983)

NES   

    Star Wars (1991) The Empire Strikes Back (1992)

Super Star Wars   

    Super Star Wars (1992) Super The Empire Strikes Back (1993) Super Return of the Jedi (1994)

X-Wing   

    X-Wing (1993) TIE Fighter (1994) X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1997) X-Wing Alliance (1999)

Rebel Assault   

    I (1993) II: The Hidden Empire (1995)

Jedi Knight   

    Dark Forces (1995) Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (1997)

        Mysteries of the Sith Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002) Jedi Academy (2003)

Rogue Squadron   

    I (1998) Battle for Naboo (2000) II: Rogue Leader (2001) III: Rebel Strike (2003)

Starfighter   

    Starfighter (2001) Jedi Starfighter (2002)

Game Boy Advance   

    The New Droid Army (2002) Flight of the Falcon (2003) Apprentice of the Force (2004)

Battlefront   

    Pandemic

        I (2004) II (2005) Renegade Squadron (2007) Elite Squadron (2008) Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons (2009) EA/DICE

        I (2015) II (2017)

The Force Unleashed   

    I (2008) II (2010)

Episode-related   

    Episode I

        The Phantom Menace (1999) Jedi Power Battles (2000) Obi-Wan's Adventures (2000) Obi-Wan (2001) Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)

The Clone Wars   

    Jedi Alliance (2008) Lightsaber Duels (2008) Republic Heroes (2009)

Arcade   

    Star Wars (1983) Return of the Jedi (1983) The Empire Strikes Back (1985) Arcade (1993) Trilogy Arcade (1998) Racer Arcade (2000) Battle Pod (2014)

Pinball   

    The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Star Wars (1992) Trilogy (1997) Episode I (1999)

Racing   

    Episode I: Racer (1999) Racer Arcade (2000) Super Bombad Racing (2001) Racer Revenge (2002)

RPG   

    Galaxies (2003)

        Jump to Lightspeed Uprising (2015) Galaxy of Heroes (2015)

Knights of the Old Republic   

    I (2003) II: The Sith Lords (2004) The Old Republic (2012)

Strategy   

    Rebellion (1998) Force Commander (2000) Galactic Battlegrounds (2001) Empire at War (2006)

        Forces of Corruption Commander (2014) Force Arena (2017) Rise to Power (TBA)

Crossovers   

    Disney Infinity 3.0 (2015)

Lego   

    The Video Game (2005) II: The Original Trilogy (2006) The Complete Saga (2007) III: The Clone Wars (2011) The Force Awakens (2016) The Skywalker Saga (2020)

Angry Birds   

    I (2012) II (2013)

Cancelled games   

    Return of the Jedi: Ewok Adventure (1983) 1313 (2013) Attack Squadrons (2014) Project Ragtag (2017)

Compilations   

    The Best of PC (2006)

Other Star Wars related articles

    vte

Lucasfilm

Productions   

Films   

    American Graffiti (1973) Star Wars (1977) More American Graffiti (1979) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Return of the Jedi (1983) Twice Upon a Time (1983) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Latino (1985) Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) Labyrinth (1986) Howard the Duck (1986) Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) Willow (1988) The Land Before Time (1988) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Radioland Murders (1994) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) Red Tails (2012) Strange Magic (2015) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Rogue One (2016) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Solo (2018) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

TV series   

    Star Wars: Droids (1985–86) Ewoks (1985–86) Maniac Mansion (1990–93) The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–93) Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–05) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–present) Star Wars Rebels (2014–18) Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures (2016–17) Star Wars Resistance (2018–present) Star Wars Detours (unaired)

TV films   

    Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)

Theme park

films   

    Captain EO (1986) Star Tours (1987) ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (1995) Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (2011)

Franchises   

    Star Wars Indiana Jones

Related

productions   

    THX 1138 (1971)

Divisions   

    Industrial Light & Magic Skywalker Sound Lucasfilm Animation LucasArts

Former divisions   

    The Droid Works

        EditDroid SoundDroid Kerner Optical Pixar THX

People   

    George Lucas (Founder) Kathleen Kennedy (President) Howard Roffman (EVP, Franchise Management)

Parent: Walt Disney Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

    vte

Unofficial Star Wars media

Awards   

    The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards Star Wars Mini Movie Awards

Fan films   

    Broken Allegiance Chad Vader Crazy Watto The Dark Redemption Dark Resurrection Darth Maul: Apprentice Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline Duality The Formula George Lucas in Love Han Solo: A Smuggler's Trade Hardware Wars How the Sith Stole Christmas The Jedi Hunter Knightquest Padmé Pink Five Pink Five Strikes Back Rebel Scum Return of Pink Five Ryan vs. Dorkman Saving Star Wars Sith Apprentice Star Dudes Star Wars Gangsta Rap Star Wars: Revelations Star Wars: The Emperor's New Clones Star Wars: Threads of Destiny Star Wars Uncut Thumb Wars TIE Fighter Trooper Clerks Troops Vader Episode I: Shards of the Past

Fan edits/restorations   

    Harmy's Despecialized Edition The Phantom Edit

Fan documentaries   

    Elstree 1976 I Am Your Father The People vs. George Lucas Plastic Galaxy The Prequels Strike Back: A Fan's Journey

    vte

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media

    Licensing Disney Retail

        Disney Store

Disney Publishing Worldwide   

    Disney Comics Disney English Disney Press Disney Hyperion Marvel Press (joint w/Marvel)

Games and Interactive

Experiences   

    DCPI Labs

        The Muppets Studio Disney Interactive Studios (defunct) Disney Mobile Playdom

Franchises   

    Disney Channels Worldwide

        Disney Junior Elena of Avalor Gravity Falls Kim Possible Phineas and Ferb Star vs. the Forces of Evil Disney comics

        Donald Duck universe Disney Fairies Disney Princess Disney Tsum Tsum Disney Villains Disney Interactive

        Club Penguin Disney Infinity Kingdom Hearts Where's My Water? Frozen The Kingdom Keepers Marvel Lilo & Stitch The Lion King 20th Century Fox

        Alien Predator Alien vs. Predator The Simpsons Family Guy Die Hard Ice Age Lucasfilm

        Indiana Jones Star Wars Mickey & Friends The Muppets Pirates of the Caribbean Pixar

        Cars Finding Nemo The Incredibles Monsters Inc. Toy Story Tron Winnie the Pooh

Other   

    D23 Disney Vault

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

    vte

Disney media franchises and series

Walt Disney

Studios   

Walt Disney

Animation Studios   

    101 Dalmatians Alice in Wonderland Aladdin Atlantis Beauty and the Beast Cinderella The Emperor's New Groove Fantasia Frozen Hercules The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Jungle Book Lilo & Stitch The Lion King The Little Mermaid Mickey & Friends Mulan Peter Pan Pocahontas Sleeping Beauty Snow White Tangled Tarzan Winnie the Pooh Wreck-It Ralph

Pixar   

    Cars Finding Nemo The Incredibles Monsters, Inc. Toy Story

Live-action-based   

    High School Musical Honey, I Shrunk the Kids The Mighty Ducks National Treasure Pirates of the Caribbean

        film series The Santa Clause Tron

Lucasfilm   

    Indiana Jones Star Wars

Marvel Studios   

    Marvel Cinematic Universe

20th Century Fox   

    Alien Nation Alien and Predator

        Alien Alien vs. Predator Predator Behind Enemy Lines The Chronicles of Narnia Diary of a Wimpy Kid Die Hard The Hills Have Eyes Ice Age M*A*S*H Planet of the Apes

20th Century Fox

Television   

    Buffyverse Family Guy Firefly The Simpsons The X-Files

Disney Parks,

Experiences

and Products   

Disney

Consumer

Products   

    Disney Fairies Disney Princess Disney Tsum Tsum Disney Villains Illusion (developed and published by Sega) The Kingdom Keepers The Muppets

Disney

Interactive   

    Club Penguin Disney's Activity Center Disney's Animated Storybook Disney's Print Studio Disney Infinity The Incredible Machine Kingdom Hearts (developed and published by Square Enix) Spectrobes

    Category Main category

        20th Century Fox franchises 20th Century Fox Television franchises Disney Consumer Products franchises Disney Interactive franchises Lucasfilm franchises Marvel Entertainment franchises Pixar franchises Walt Disney Studios franchises

    vte

Hasbro

Intellectual

properties

currently

managed

by Hasbro   

Toys   

    Action Man Baby Alive Blythe Easy-Bake Oven Furby G.I. Joe Glo Worm Gobots Hanazuki Jem Koosh Kre-O Lite-Brite Littlest Pet Shop Lost Kitties M.A.S.K. Micronauts Mighty Muggs Mr. Potato Head My Little Pony Nerf Play-Doh Pound Puppies Rom the Spaceknight Rubik's Cube Sit 'n Spin Spirograph Stickle Bricks Stretch Armstrong Super Soaker Tinkertoy Tonka Transformers Visionaries Weeble Yellies

   

From

Saban Brands   

    Beetleborgs Julius Jr. Luna Petunia My Pet Monster Popples Power Rangers Treehouse Detectives V.R. Troopers Glitter Force/Glitter Force Doki Doki Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog

Games   

    Acquire Aggravation Axis & Allies Barrel of Monkeys Battleship Boggle Bop It Buckaroo! Candy Land Catch Phrase Chutes & Ladders Clue Connect 4 Cootie Cranium Crocodile Dentist Designer's World Duel Masters Dungeons & Dragons Elefun Gator Golf Girl Talk Guess Who? Hi Ho! Cherry-O Hungry Hungry Hippos Jenga Lazer Tag Life Magic: The Gathering Mall Madness Milton Monopoly Mouse Trap Mystery Date Nerf Blaster Operation Ouija Parcheesi Perfection Pictionary Pit Risk Rook Scattergories Scrabble (U.S. and Canada) Simon Sorry! Stratego Taboo Trivial Pursuit Trouble Twister Upwords Yahtzee

Distributed worldwide

by Hasbro   

    Beyblade (except Japan and parts of Asia) CirKis (except U.S., UK, France and Germany) FurReal Friends (except Japan) iDog (except Japan) Yo-kai Watch (except Asia) Zoids (except Japan)

Licensed products   

    Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Disney

        Disney Princess Elena of Avalor Frozen Lucasfilm

            Indiana Jones Star Wars Marvel

            Marvel Legends Marvel Super Hero Squad Marvel Universe Spider-Man Classics Wolverine and the X-Men X-Men Origins: Wolverine 20th Century Fox

            The Simpsons Titan A.E. Idaten Jump Nickelodeon Activision Blizzard

        Overwatch Sesame Street Strawberry Shortcake Sid the Science Kid STX

        Uglydolls NBCUniversal

        Jurassic Park Shrek Trolls Sony Pictures

        Ghostbusters

  • Condition: Neu
  • Features: Star Wars
  • Region of Origin: California, USA
  • Item Width: 2 cm
  • Production Technique: Screen Printing
  • Item Length: 20 cm
  • Item Height: 30 cm
  • Subject: Actors
  • Size: Medium
  • Material: Metal
  • Culture: Dalla
  • Time Period Produced: 1970-1979
  • Image Orientation: Portrait
  • Framing: Unframed
  • Artist: Darth Vader
  • Year of Production: 1976
  • Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
  • Style: Pop Art
  • Signed: No
  • Unit of Sale: Single Piece
  • Theme: Technology
  • Type: Print

PicClick Insights - Darth Vader große Plakette Star Wars Retro 70er Jahre Science Fiction PicClick Exklusiv

  •  Popularität - 15 Beobachter, 0.1 neue Beobachter pro Tag, 126 days for sale on eBay. Super hohe beobachtend. 8 verkauft, 1 verfügbar.
  •  Bestpreis -
  •  Verkäufer - 3.187+ artikel verkauft. 0.3% negativ bewertungen. Großer Verkäufer mit sehr gutem positivem Rückgespräch und über 50 Bewertungen.

Die Leute Mochten Auch PicClick Exklusiv