Star Wars Statues

Star Wars is a franchise created by George Lucas, which develops from a film saga that began in 1977 with the film Star Wars, retroactively subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope. This film was followed by 2 other films, released three years apart from each other: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). These 3 films make up the so-called “original trilogy“. 16 years after the release of the last film, Lucas decided to shoot a prequel trilogy, consisting of The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). In 2012 The Walt Disney Company bought the rights to the series and began production of a sequel trilogy with The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). It has been alternated with an Anthology series that includes Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Star Wars fits into the genre of space opera. The series is set in an imaginary galaxy, in an unspecified era. Its universe is populated by humans and several other living species from all corners of the galaxy.

Robots and droids perform a wide variety of tasks, while spaceships allow quick and comfortable movement between the many systems and planets of the galaxy. The plot follows the eternal struggle between good and evil, embodied by the 2 orders of the Jedi and the Sith, who draw their powers from the light and dark side of a mystical energy field called the Force. The first 2 trilogies follow the fall of the Galactic Republic, the establishment of the Galactic Empire and the subsequent defeat of the Empire by the Rebel Alliance, while the last examines the fall of the New Republic and the establishment of the First Order, opposed by the Resistance. The series draws inspiration from several works, including Flash Gordon’s serials, Akira Kurosawa‘s films, Frank Herbert‘s Dune Cycle and Joseph Campbell‘s mythology studies. The film series has over time expanded into a franchise called the Expanded Universe and consists of spin-off films, books, television series, video games, comic books and various merchandise.

As of April 2014, all products in the Star Wars franchise that are not part of Disney‘s new canon have been collected under the Star Wars Legends label. The saga turned out to be a real cultural phenomenon, attracting a large group of fans and carving out its own space in mass culture. It has inspired generations of directors and helped develop new techniques in the film industry, particularly in the fields of editing and sound and visual effects. The films enjoyed vast commercial and audience success, with a total gross of $ 10 billion, making Star Wars the second most profitable film franchise after the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the various awards obtained there are 10 Academy Awards. Star Wars holds the Guinness Book of Records as the most profitable science fiction series. In 2017, the total value of Star Wars was estimated at $ 43 billion, making it the second most profitable franchise after Pokémon.