The World of Star Wars

Star Wars stands out among all movie franchises for several reasons, but the most distinguishing quality of the series may be the fact that George Lucas began developing the original movie in the 1970s, about 30 years ago. As the sixth and (supposedly) final film nears its release, we know that Star Wars surpasses all previous film-making projects in scope, depth, and investment of time and money.

George Lucas is not the only original production team member still involved with the project. Even though the actors and crew members, even Lucas himself, have worked on other projects through the years, no other film franchise in history has been carried forward toward its logical completion across such a large number of years by the same production crew. There are certainly larger film franchises, such as the Godzilla and James Bond movies, but those franchises are episodic. They don't tell a full story across all the movies.

Star Wars has a beginning and an ending point, although neither was clear to audiences when the first movie was released in 1977. At that time, older viewers immediately recognized the serial format the movie was emulating. They had grown up with weekly segments of ongoing adventures in theatrical productions in the 1940s and 1950s, and Lucas was paying homage to those early serials with Star Wars. From the opening crawler, which provided the audience with a few background details, thus setting the stage for the opening scene, to the constant changes in direction of the plot, and even the stereotyped good-guys-wear-white/bad-guys-wear-black motif, experienced audiences understood that a continuing story was unfolding before their eyes.

Of course, Lucas could not present the first movie as a continuing story. He had to provide audiences with a complete adventure story, and his explanations through the years of how he condensed the original tale into a smaller adventure have been examined and critiqued in detail. In retrospect, we can say two things should have made it obvious that Lucas had left room for sequels, should the movie prove successful. First, we never met the emperor. He was only referred to in dialogue. Secondly, although the rebel alliance destroyed the Death Star, they did not destroy the empire.

The promise of sequels was made obvious in 1978 when the movie was re-released with a slightly edited opening crawler. Now it told us that the "Star Wars" movie was actually the fourth chapter of a continuing story. People wondered what the first three chapters were about. But we first had to see chapters five and six, and then wait 16 years, before we could enjoy the opening chapter.

There were a few sidesteps along the way. The 1978 "Star Wars Holiday Special" seemed a major letdown for hardcore space opera fans who wanted to see more spaceships and rayguns. Instead, we were treated to the Wookie equivalent of Saturday Morning Cartoons. But one interesting character rose out of the mire to tantalize fans: the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Fett bears the distinction of being the character portrayed by more actors in the Star Wars productions than any other character. Two actors have portrayed the emperor. Two actors have portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi. Four actors have portrayed Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. We're still counting Boba Fett actors.

The franchise's ability to replace actors without losing audience interest is impressive. Usually, when someone steps into a role established by a successful actor, the successor is found wanting. Val Kilmer and George Clooney, for example, both failed to develop the rapport with "Batman" audiences that Michael Keaton achieved with the first two movies of the 1990s "Batman" franchise.

Treating the entire franchise as a mutable exercise has been one of George Lucas' hallmarks. He is not afraid to release new editions of the original films which bear significant changes. For example, the first movie, now known as "Episode IV: A New Hope", did not show Jabba the Hut in the theatrical versions. Lucas actually filmed a scene in the Mos Eisley landing bay where Jabba spoke with Han Solo, but Lucas waited until he could superimpose a computer-generated image on the footage, transforming Jabba from a fat human to a huge monstrous creature (which was portrayed by a massive puppet in "Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi").

Nothing is really sacred in the Star Wars universe. Many fans reeled in shock when the mysterious, mystical Force was revealed to be an energy field controlled by Midichlorians, tiny organisms which live inside the cells of living creatures. So, the Force is a collective virus.

On the other hand, Lucas is so careful about what he puts into the movies that he has distinguished between the canonical Star Wars universe established on film and the "Expanded Universe" which has been introduced through books, games, and other projects.

Star Wars, unfortunately, suffers from an uneven quality. Too many hands have stirred the pot and added their own spices and flavors. But while this is a drawback in some respects, it also proves that the franchise is extremely versatile. Far more versatile than Star Trek, which survived the death of creator Gene Roddenberry but went in directions that the fans didn't always appreciate.

At least when Lucas is gone, or has fully passed the creative mantle on to other hands, there will be a large stable of experienced writers and artists who know the boundaries within which they must work to continue telling Star Wars adventures that look and feel like Star Wars adventures. But the scope of the expanded universe is too broad for what we do here. The pages which follow only seek to recap the highlights of the movie-told adventures, with a feel for continuity. But look in the margins for interesting notes about many of the people who helped make the movies.

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