Star Wars

Star Wars is a multi-genre multimedia franchise created by George Lucas. After the publication of the novel Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker in 1976 and the release of the original theatrical live-action film Star Wars in 1977, the franchise has expanded into a vast fictional storytelling universe comprising of feature films, television series, video games, novels, short stories, comic books, merchandise and other multimedia projects, resulting in a developed expanded universe. It is heavily inspired by archetypes and motifs from classical mythology, religion, political history, and the "hero's journey."

Recognized as a defining example of the epic space opera subgenre of science fiction, Star Wars has become one of the most successful and influential multimedia franchises in history, becoming embedded in global pop culture and ranking among one of the highest-grossing properties. The franchise is owned by Lucasfilm, and by extension The Walt Disney Company, following their purchase of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise from Lucas in 2012.

The core foundation of the Star Wars story is the Skywalker Saga, a series of nine episodic films released with the original Star Wars film in 1977 and ending with the ninth film in 2019. The saga follows three generations of the Skywalker family in three trilogies across several galactic conflicts. Beyond this, Star Wars has expanded through other media, with the Star Wars Legends continuity comprising of media beyond the Skywalker saga prior to the April 2014 continuity reset, and new expanded universe stories falling under one unified canon. In recent years, the Star Wars franchise has significantly expanded with the development and release of spin-off theatrical films, new television series, and large-scale publishing initiatives.

Text and facts from the “Star Wars” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.