Forty years ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars is celebrating 40 years since the release of the first movie in 1977. The hugely successful movie franchise has been rejuvenated since Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4bn in 2012, with sequels and spin-offs being released annually

BEFORE STAR WARS . . .

Writer/director George Lucas (left), known for his work at University of Southern California, achieved fame with his 1973 movie, American Graffiti, leading Twentieth Century Fox to seek him out for its next project — Star Wars

INFLUENCES . . .

Lucas acknowledges plot and characters from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 movie The Hidden Fortress influenced him to tell story from viewpoint of droids R2-D2 (right) and C-3PO (far right)

AMERICAN GRAFFITI . . .

Coming-of-age comedy/drama set in smalltown California in 1962. It cost $777,000 to make and drew $140m at global box office — earning Lucas  $7m personal fortune and making him one of world’s most sought after directors

SPOILER WARNING!

George Lucas addresses Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida, 2017

STAR WARS SAGA . . Director Rotten Tomatoes score Worldwide box office takings

PREQUEL TRILOGY

Ep.1 The Phantom Menace (1999) 

George Lucas

55%

$1,027,044,677

EP.II Attack of the Clones (2002)

George Lucas 65%

EP.III Revenge of the Sith (2005)

George Lucas 79%

$848,754,768

Prequel trilogy total:$649,398,328

ORIGINAL TRILOGY

EP.IV A New Hope (1977)

George Lucas

93%

$775,398,007

EP. V The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Irvin Kershner

94%

$775,398,007

EP VI Return of the Jedi (1983)

Richard Marquand

80%

$538,375,067

Original trilogy total:$2,525,197,773

DISNEY EXPANSION

EP VII The Force Awakens (2015)

J.J. Abrams

92%

$2,068,223,624

EP VIII The Last Jedi (Dec 15, 2017)

Franchise total:$2,089,171,081

Rian Johnson

Star Wars: Ep. IX (due 2019)

STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY SERIES . . . 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Untitled Han Solo movie (filming, expected 2018), Untitled Boba Fett movie (pre-production, expected 2020)

The Star Wars universe is a rough place to hang out in, with a dozen high profile deaths and numerous amputations!

MAJOR CHARACTER ARCS

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader  Killed by Darth Sidious

BB-8

Boba Fett Killed by Sarlacc

C-3PO

Captain Phasma

Chewbacca

Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus Killed by Anakin Skywalker

Darth Maul Killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi

Finn

General Grievous

General Hux

Han Solo Kylo Ren Parents to Ben

Jabba the Hutt Killed by Leia Organa

Ben Solo/Kylo Ren

Lando Calrissian

Leia Organa

Luke Skywalker

Mace Windu Killed by Darth Sidious

Maz Kanata  

Obi-Wan Kenobi Killed by Darth Vader

Padmé Amidala Died of broken heart Parents to twins Luke and Leia

Poe Dameron

Qui-Gon Jinn Killed by Darth Maul

R2-D2

Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious 

Supreme Leader Snoke

Rey

Yoda Old age

“She’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!” Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)

Millennium Falcon soars over moon Yavin 4

Character first appears

Dies (or killed by another character)

Hand amputated

Last seen alive

Child born

Sources: Star Wars Graphics (Egmont), starwars.com, Wookieepedia, Den of Geek, IMDB, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes

*Stand-alone movies set in Star Wars universe but not part of main saga

*As of May 12, 2017Pictures: Getty Images, Lucasfilm/Disney