"Star Wars" is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas. The franchise began with the original film, "Star Wars" (1977), and quickly evolved into a global pop culture phenomenon. It encompasses films, television series, video games, novels, comic books, and theme park attractions. As of August 2022, the "Star Wars" franchise included twelve movies and nine TV series, with more in development.
The "Star Wars" film series centers on three trilogies, collectively known as the "Skywalker Saga". The original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) was released between 1977 and 1983, followed by the prequel trilogy (Episodes I-III) from 1999 to 2005, and the sequel trilogy (Episodes VII-IX) from 2015 to 2019. The franchise has achieved immense commercial success, with an estimated value of $68 billion in 2021. The combined box office revenue of the films amounts to over $10 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing film franchise. In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for four billion dollars, relinquishing ownership of the franchise.
