This is a beginner's guide for all of the Star Wars movies, and the content that has branched off from them.
The Star Wars saga began in May of 1977, with the release of "Star Wars: A New Hope," directed by George Lucas. At the time of its release, this movie made a huge impact on popular culture. The fact is - Star Wars was a huge sensation from the moment of its initial release because it was the first science fiction movie that actually had audiences across the world in awe - from it's visual effects, to it's storyline.
After "A New Hope," there were two sequels released - "Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi," in 1980 and 1983 respectively. Together, these three films made up the "Original Trilogy" of Star Wars as directed by George Lucas. This trilogy is focused on the story of Luke Skywalker discovering that he has the power of "the force," and how he is the son of a former Jedi Knight. It also follows his team-up with Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca, as a part of the "rebellion" to defeat Darth Vader and the evil Galactic Empire.
For those who aren't familiar with some of the above terms I will define them here:
Jedi - "a member of the mystical knightly order in the Star Wars films, trained to guard peace and justice in the Universe" (Oxford Dictionary 2021).
The Force - "a mystical energy field that flows through, and binds all living things in the universe" (Starwars.com 2021).
Smuggler - "an individual who dealt with the secret exchanged shipment of goods to evade restrictions or tax fees" (Starwars.fandom.com 2021).
About 16 years after the release of "Return of the Jedi," George Lucas released the first of what would be the new "Prequel" trilogy. The prequels are the second trilogy of Star Wars movies directed by George Lucas and the events take place about 17 years earlier than the events of the Original Trilogy (I know, it can be kind of confusing).
This trilogy focuses on the origin story of Anakin Skywalker, and how he falls from being a Jedi Knight fighting for good, to an evil Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.
The prequel movies were released in the following order:
"The Phantom Menace" - 1999
"Attack of the Clones" - 2002
"Revenge of the Sith" - 2005
So to sum it up, the prequels were released years after the original trilogy, but the events of the prequels take place before the events of the original trilogy.
To round out the 9 core Star Wars movies, we have the Sequel Trilogy. The Sequel Trilogy is the final set of movies based on the "Skywalker" arc that the other six explored. These movies and their release dates are as follows:
"The Force Awakens" - 2015
"The Last Jedi" - 2017
"The Rise of Skywalker" - 2019
These final 3 movies take place about 20 years after the events of the original trilogy. This story is all about a mysterious girl named Rey who discovers she is strong with the Force, and teams up with "The Resistance" to take down the evil "First Order" led by another force-user "Kylo Ren." Does that plot sound familiar?
These 9 movies spanning about 42 years make up the core Star Wars story that everything else is based upon.
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