Angel Wings Costume

Wars Clone

The History Of The Star Wars Films

Star Wars was one of those magnificent films that was an instant phenomenon when it hit the box office and continues to be a hit today. Why not take a moment to follow the intriguing history of Star Wars.

After a successful run in the early 1970s with the box office hit American Graffiti; in 1975 George Lucas writes a basic story about Anakin Skywalker's rise, fall, and redemption. The story is so long that it needs to be divided into 2 trilogies.

The first trilogy focuses on Anakin Skywalker's young life while the second focuses on the life of Anakin's son Luke Skywalker. Since the second trilogy is the most interesting, Lucas decides to film it first.

He offers the film to Universal Studios who had financed his American Graffiti film, but they chose to pass thinking it was a ridiculous movie. They would live to regret this decision which would cost millions of dollars in lost profits. But they wouldn't be alone in those regrets as every Hollywood studio passed on the movie. That is except for 20th Century Fox who came up with $10 million for Lucas to make his first Star Wars Movie a reality.

In May of 1977 Fox released Episode 4 of Star Wars, A New Hope. The tone was quickly set. The film was instantly seen as the biggest adventure ever on film. The special effects were considered magnificent and outstanding. In fact, nothing remotely close had ever made it to the big screen before.

On opening day, the Star Wars movie ran in only 32 theaters, but it still produced an amazing $254,309 in ticket sales. By the end of its first run it had become the most successful film ever in North American history grossing more than $290 million.

Lucas reportedly received $50 million of those profits. When Lucas cut his deal with Fox he was more interested in control of the film then he was in his percentage. He wanted all rights to the final cut and all rights to future sequels, Star Wars merchandise rights, and 40% of the gross. This deal ultimately made Lucas a billionaire.

By 1978 Lucas had purchased the more than 1800 acre Bulltail Ranch in San Rafael and soon production of the sequel to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, was underway. Lucas was financing it out of his own pocket and it had a budget of $18 million; however due to budget overruns the actual filming cost more than $30 million. In May of 1980, The Empire Strike Back, hit the theaters grossing $222 million, making it the highest grossing film of the year.

In May of 1983, Return of the Jedi, hit the theaters grossing $265 million in North America and Lucas decides to retire from Star Wars projects to pursue some of his other interests. He made a vague promise to make the Prequel Trilogy someday if special effects ever become advanced enough.

That day arrived in 1994 when Lucas announces he will begin working on the Prequel Trilogy with a tentative release scheduled for 1998. In 1996 Lucas signs the biggest deal ever seen in the industry with PepsiCo for movie tie ins, and later in the year he announces that the pre-production has started, and in May of 1999 Episode 1 titled, The Phantom Menace, was released, followed by Episode 2 titled, The Attack of the Clones.

Many believe that 100 years from now Star Wars will still have a following. In fact by then it may have grown to epidemic proportions.

About the Author

Gray Rollins is a featured writer for StarWarsEmpire.com. To learn more about Star Wars Collectibles and to find Star Wars DVDs, visit us.

Wars Clone
Do you think THE Clone Wars SERIES can show us a different side of the events of - Revenge of the Sith?

See... There are many things that were poorly explored on Revenge of the Sith... such as the Battle of Coruscant, the Death and Real intentions of Count Dooku, where the hell was Assaj Ventress? and a lot of other points...

Now that Assoka is included in the context of the Clone Wars, is it possible to Show her vision of the events of Revenge of the Sith??? Would it be Cool? I think it would...

What do you think about it?

To be honest my college roommate is a huge nerd of star wars and told me that the Clone Wars Series is pissing off George Lucas because they keep messing with it in a negative way. And honestly me and the people that have watched it think that Assoka is probably the worst character in Star Wars...Even zero the hutt has her beat!

Lego Star Wars Clone Army

Star Wars - The Clone Wars $6.99 Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Poster

Star Wars: The Clone Wars $214.99 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Framed Art Print

Star Wars - Clone Wars $49.99 Star Wars - Clone Wars - Lamina Framed Poster

Yoda - Clone Wars $34.99 Yoda - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Cody - Clone Wars $34.99 Cody - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Yoda - Clone Wars $29.99 Yoda - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Cad Bane - Clone Wars $34.99 Cad Bane - Clone Wars - Stand Up

C3PO and R2D2 - Clone Wars $34.99 C3PO and R2D2 - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Captain Rex - Clone Wars $34.99 Captain Rex - Clone Wars - Stand Up

C3PO/R2D2 Combo- Clone Wars $99.99 C3PO/R2D2 Combo- Clone Wars - Wall Decal

Anakin Skywalker - Clone Wars $34.99 Anakin Skywalker - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Ahsoka Tano - Clone Wars $34.99 Ahsoka Tano - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Asajj Ventress - Clone Wars $34.99 Asajj Ventress - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Pre Viszla - Clone Wars $34.99 Pre Viszla - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt $15.99 Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt

Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt (10) $11.99 Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt

Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt (8) $11.99 Star Wars: The Clone Wars T-Shirt

Commander Fox- Clone Trooper - Clone Wars $34.99 Commander Fox- Clone Trooper - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Obi Wan Kenobi - Clone Wars $34.99 Obi Wan Kenobi - Clone Wars - Stand Up

Star Wars The Clone Wars - Trick-or-Treat Pail $5.99 Includes pail. This is an officially licensed Star Wars The Clone Wars product.

Clone Wars (Star Wars) $146.58 The Clone Wars are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucass science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in the film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), but no details are given (except for the obvious mention of clones being involved), and the wars themselves are not featured until the series fifth and sixth films, Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005), the second and third episodes of the sixpart Star Wars film series. The 2D animated microseries Star Wars: Clone Wars (20032005) and 3D CGI animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008present), chronicle some of the wars major campaigns. Additional events and stories are detailed in a multimedia campaign consisting of Star Wars literature and video games. Many of the events featured have parallels in history, politics, and mythology from which Lucas and other writers drew inspiration. The Clone Wars began during the Separatist Crisis when thousands of star systems seceded from the Galactic Republic to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS). Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 264 Publication Date: 2010/04/28 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.59 inches

Clone Wars Lightsaber $44.99 DREAMGEAR DGWII-1242 NINTENDO WII™ STAR WARS® THE CLONE WARS: LIGHTSABER DUELS™ GAME WITH 2 LIGHTSABERS

Star Wars The Clone Wars - Pre Vizsla Gun $12.99 Includes one (1) Star Wars The Clone Wars - Pre Vizsla Gun. Does not include holsters.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Opposing Forces Basic Party Pack for 8 $23.99 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Opposing Forces Basic Party Pack for 8