Star Wars
Star Wars is a space-opera media franchise created by George Lucas that is known for its iconic roster of intergalactic characters, the invention of the Jedi order, and the popular lightsaber weapon. First introduced in the 1977 film, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars instantly became a worldwide pop culture success that spread through the further creation of movies, toys, novels, theme parks, video games, cartoons, and television shows.
The Star Wars saga successfully balances the intimacy of a family drama with the complexities of galactic politics, war, and religion. Part of Lucasfilm Ltd., which was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2012, Star Wars has now been revived for a younger generation through the creation of new original characters and stories that are interconnected with the original George Lucas franchise.
Star Wars: A New Hope was released on May 25, 1977. George Lucas began writing the space opera story that would become Star Wars starting in 1971.
George Lucas often states that the original ideas for Star Wars came about by referencing the plot and characters from Akira Kurosawa’s film ‘The Hidden Fortress’ and through his own desire to remake Flash Gordon serial films which he didn’t have the license to.
The primary conflict of Star Wars is the struggle between the powers of light (the force; the Jedi) and those of evil (the dark side; the Sith) that occurs at a galactic scale. The Star Wars universe explores these relationships across many characters in range of situations involving politics, war, religion, technology, and the common man.