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Star Wars is a science fantasy saga and fictional galaxy created by writer/producer/director George Lucas during the 1970s. This epic trilogy began with the film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), which was released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox. The film became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning five more feature films developed by George Lucas and an Expanded Universe of his films, which includes three spin-off films, five television series and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games, action figures, trading cards, card games, backpacks, Lego sets and other products, all of which are set within a fictional "galaxy far, far away."

Expanded Universe

The term "Expanded Universe" has come into existence as an umbrella term for all of the officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. This includes television productions, books, comics, games, and other forms of media. The material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.

George Lucas retains ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies.

Some purists reject the Expanded Universe as "Apocrypha", believing that only the events in the film series are part of the "real" Star Wars universe. However, elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films. These included the name of the Republic/Empire capital planet, Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace, while a character introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, a blue Jedi Knight named Aayla Secura, was liked enough by Lucas to be included as a character in Attack of the Clones (and is seen meeting her demise in Revenge of the Sith in an ambush on the jungle planet Felucia).

Radio dramas

A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.

Audio books

Numerous Audiobooks have been produced in the releam of Additional Fiction on the materials from the original films.

Books

Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to George Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the films, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series.

Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977-1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1991, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set between Episodes V and VI, and accompanying video game and comic book series.

LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. However, several significant events which occur during the course of this series (such as the death of a major film character) have sparked much fan criticism.

Comics

Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the very popular Dark Empire stories. They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe.

Games

Since 1982, over 120 video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, roleplaying games, RTS games, and others.

Two different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, and one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s.

In the video game Star Wars: Battlefront you can choose to be either the rebel allience, the empire, the seperatist droids, or the clones. You travel across many different exotic worlds in the battle of good and evil, whether being soldiers from the New or Old Republic. Within the many different modes of play, there is one named "Galactic Conquest" in which you struggle against the opposing side of the one you chose at the start of the game, for total control of the galaxy. It also has online play for those competitive players who want to go beyond the computerized characters you usually battle agianst.

In the Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy the films are played in a different way. In Star Wars: Empire at War, players can take control of either the Empire or the Rebellion and fight for control of the galaxy.

Also, SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) has developed a MMORPG called Star Wars Galaxies. In this game, which requires a monthly subsription fee, you choose a class, (Jedi, commando, smuggler, etc.) and fight for control of the galaxy by choosing the Empire or the Rebel Alliance.

LucasArts is also currently developing a next-gen Star Wars game for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game, entitled The Force Unleashed, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game is set for a November 2007 release date.

Trading cards

Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977. 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$1000 or more. While most 'base' or 'common card' sets are plentiful, many 'insert' or 'chase cards' are very rare. Star Wars card game cards are different from the trading cards. A thriving market for both types exists on eBay.

Fan works

See also: Star Wars fan films

The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans, called "Warsies", to create their own stories 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 Films Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest remains open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe are ineligible. Initially this limitation caused an outcry for those interested in creating serious fan-fiction for a competition.

While many of the serious fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are obviously not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.

Lucasfilm's open support and sanction of fan creations is a marked contrast to the attitudes of many other copyright holders. Some owners, such as Paramount Pictures with the Star Trek properties, have been known to actively discourage the creation of such works by fans.

Cultural impact

The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern global pop culture. Science fiction since Star Wars, particularly in film, has often been influenced by and compared to Star Wars. References to the main characters and themes of Star Wars are casually made in Western society with the well-qualified assumption that others will understand the reference. George Lucas is also famous for using the best possible cameras and technology (see also Industrial Light and Magic) in his films. Many say that the visual and virtual effects that take over today's films would have never been created if not for Lucas's revolutionizing of the film industry with Star Wars.

Parodies

Both the film and characters have been parodied or spoofed in popular films and television. Notable film parodies of Star Wars include: Hardware Wars, a 13 minute spoof which George Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody; Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks, and Troops, a COPS-style documentary.

There have been numerous parodic references to Star Wars in films such as Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and most of the films of Kevin Smith. In 1997, the first film's twentieth anniversary, Saturday Night Live featured a pair of skits that parodied the film's screen tests, which included Kevin Spacey playing Christopher Walken auditioning for Han Solo. Walken was originally considered for the role before Harrison Ford was chosen. Star Wars Kid swung a golf ball retriever pretending to be Darth Maul. Star Wars toys is a parody that uses Star Wars Toys and Stop Motion Animation.

Songs

There have been many songs based around the Star Wars universe, the most notable of which are "Weird Al" Yankovic's Yoda, (a parody of The Kinks' "Lola"), which describes Luke's training with the "wrinkled and green" Jedi master, and The Saga Begins, (a parody of Don McLean's "American Pie"), which chronicles the events of Episode I. The latter of these is particularly reveled, as it was released one week before the film. On Blink-182's album "Dude Ranch", the track "A New Hope" discusses the bassist Mark Hoppus' obsession with Princess Leia.

In late 1977, at the height of the original Star Wars craze, comedian Bill Murray portrayed Lounge Lizard Nick Winters on Saturday Night Live and sang a swanky version of the Star Wars theme, complete with inane improvised lyrics. Carrie Fisher reprised her role as Princess Leia on SNL in a parady of Star Wars and the old beach party movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello with Fisher as Annette singing about Obi Wan Kenobi

In 1977 an album called Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk was released by Meco which featured disco remixes of Star Wars music.

Other songs based on the Star Wars saga include The Star Wars Gangsta Rap and Star Wars Cantina.

Northern Ireland band Ash released an album called 1977, named in honor of the year Star Wars was released, on which "Lose Control" used sound bytes of a TIE Fighter, and a song entitled "Darkside Lightside" is an obvious reference to the mythology created by the films.

Other references

Film director Kevin Smith has frequently used the Star Wars movies as points of humor in a number of his films. His first was in a scene from Smith's 1993 independent film Clerks, main characters Dante and Randall have a lengthy discussion about the parallels between the endings of Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and independent contractors being victims of war related casualties. Other examples include lightsaber battles in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, and another discussion in his recent Clerks II where Randall tries to defend his Star Wars fandom against fans of the Lord of the Rings movies. Another, in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), references the famous Han shot first, saying, "This may be the worst idea since Greedo shooting first, but a Jay and Silent Bob movie?".

References

1. http://starwarscards.net
2. http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2005/08/11/changing_his_stripes/
3. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/bio/0,,516339,00.html

• On philosophy and religion influences: The Tao of Star Wars, Or, Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
• On Technology influences: This site explains the many influences in its analysis of the writing of Star Wars.
• Books about religion/philosophy and Star Wars:
  • "Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
  • The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0-89334-385-4
  • The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin ISBN 0-86171-497-0
  • Star Wars And Philosophy by Kevin S. Decker, Jason T. Eberl, William Irwin ISBN 0-8126-9583-6
• "Conception" section based on: The Star Wars Timeline Gold-Appendice L-Understanding the Lost Episodes (p. 141–142).
  • The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0-89334-385-4
• On the influence of Joseph Campbell on the Star Wars films:
  • "Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
  • Henderson, Mary. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Companion volume to the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. New York: Bantam, 1997.
  • Larsen, Stephen and Robin Larsen. Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2002.
  • Moyers, Bill and Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth. Anchor; Reissue edition (1991) ISBN 0-385-41886-8

See also

Here are some of the general articles featured in the Star Wars portal. For a detailed outline of the Star Wars Misplaced Pages articles, please see Category:Star Wars.

General information

Star Wars universe

External links

• The official Star Wars website
• TheForce.net — One of the oldest Star Wars fan sites
• Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki — A wiki devoted to Star Wars
• Directory to Star Wars sites on the internet.

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• Star Wars
• Media franchises
• Products and services with dedicated Wiki communities
• Sequel films