Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise created by George Lucas. The Star Wars universe consists of six feature movies, TV series and specials, books, comic books, games and a musical. The main storyline consists of the six feature movies, while the (comic) books, tv series and other releases are released as part of the "Expanded Universe".

The first Star Wars movie, simply called "Star Wars, but later renamed to "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" was released on May 25, 1977, and was written and directed by George Lucas. The first film was a worldwide success, which resulted in two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. Twenty-two years later, Lucas released the second trilogy.

Desperate to get off the planet and enlist in the Academy, Luke Skywalker leaves his home in Tatooine where he lived with his foster aunt and uncle. Meanwhile the galaxy is being taken over by Darth Vader. After stumbling upon a message from a rebel senator, Princess Leia, Luke is determined to find her and to protect the galaxy from Darth Vadar and his minions.

• Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
• Harrison Ford as Han Solo
• Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
• Alec Guinness as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Anthony Daniels as C-3P
• Kenny Baker as R2-D2
• Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
• David Prowse as Darth Vader
• James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader

In December 2008 George Lucas gave permission for the making of a Star Wars musical. The musical is to contain the stories from all six movies condensed into a two hour stage show, complete with singing wookies and a storm trooper kickline. The show will debut in London in April 2009, before heading to the United States.RollingStone: LucasFilm Says "Star Wars: A Musical Journey" Bound For U.S. (February 25, 2009)

Many products have been released as part of the "Star Wars Expanded Universe". The Expanded Universe refers to officially licensed material outside the six main feature films, which expand the stroyline of the main movie from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. All material published under the Expanded Universe are strictly controlled by George Lucas, who screens and approves any influencial event happening to the main characters.

The Expanded Universe consists of books, comics, an animated TV series, and more.

The Star Wars universe has resulted in a large series of books, grouped in several different story-lines.

The different story-lines are chronologically ordered in reference to the Battle of Yavin (end of Star Wars IV: A New Hope). All years are either BBY (Before Battle of Yavin) or ABY (After Battle of Yavin).

The following books and series comprise the Star Wars Universe (as of May 2010):

• The Sith Era
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic, Fatal Alliance
  • Darth Bane
• Rise of the Empire Era
  • Legacy of the Jedi
  • Jedi Apprentice Series
  • The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • Secrets of the Jedi
  • The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
  • Cloak of Deception
  • Darth Maul
  • The Starfighter Trap
  • The Phantom Menace (Episode I)
  • Rogue Planet
  • Jedi Quest Series
  • Outbound Flight
  • The Approaching Storm
  • The Clone Wars
    • Attack of the Clones (Episode II)
    • Boba Fett Series
    • Republic Commando Series
    • Clone Wars Series
  • The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny Series
    • Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  • Revenge of the Sith (Episode III)
  • Coruscant Nights
  • Last of The Jedi
  • The Han Solo Trilogy
  • The Adventures of Lando Calrissian
  • The Force Unleashed
  • The Han Solo Adventures
  • Holostar
  • Death Troopers
  • Death Star
  • Dark Forces
• Rebellion Era
  • A New Hope (Episode IV)
  • Allegiance
  • Galaxy of Fear
  • Star Wars Galaxies
  • Splinter of the Mind's Eye
  • Rebel Force
  • The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V)
  • Shadows of the Empire
  • Return of the Jedi (Episode VI)
  • The Bounty Hunter Wars
  • The Truce at Bakura
• New Jedi Order Era
  • A Practical Man
  • The New Jedi Order
  • The Dark Nest Trilogy
• Legacy Era
  • Legacy Of The Force
  • Crosscurrent
  • Millennium Falcon
  • Fate of the Jedi

Episode I - The Phantom Menace

• Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) Windows, PlayStation
• Star Wars: Episode I (Pinball hybrid)
• Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles (2000) PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance
• Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo (2000) (Action) Nintendo 64, Windows
• Star Wars Episode I: Obi-Wan's Adventures (2000) Game Boy Color
• Star Wars: Obi-Wan (2001) Xbox

Episode II - Attack of the Clones

• Star Wars: The New Droid Army (2002) Game Boy Advance
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) Game Boy Advance

Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

• Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  • Star Wars Super GameKey (2006)

Episode IV - A New Hope

• Star Wars (1983) (Rail shooter) Atari 2600, Colecovision Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Commodore 64, DOS, Nintendo GameCube
• Star Wars (1987) Famicom
• Star Wars (1991) Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear
• Star Wars Arcade (1994) Sega 32X
• Star Wars: Trench Run (2009) iPhone OS, Unity

Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1982) Atari 2600, Intellivision
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1985) Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1992) NES, Game Boy

Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Ewok Adventure Atari 2600
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle (1984) Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computer, ZX Spectrum
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1984) Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum

Other Star Wars Series

Super Star Wars

• Super Star Wars (1992)
• Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1993)
• Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1994)

X-Wing

• X-Wing (1993) MS-DOS, Mac
  • B-Wing (expansion) (1993)
  • Imperial Pursuit (expansion) (1993)
  • X-Wing: Collector's CD-ROM (1994)
• TIE Fighter (1994) Windows, Mac
  • TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire (expansion) (1994)
  • TIE Fighter: Collector's CD-ROM (1995)
• Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1997) Windows
  • Balance of Power (expansion) (1997)
  • X-Wing Collector Series (1998)
• X-Wing Alliance (1999) Windows

Rebel Assault

• Star Wars: Rebel Assault (1993) Windows, Mac, Sega CD, 3DO
• Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire (1995) Windows, PlayStation, Mac

Dark Forces/Jedi Knight

• Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995) MS-DOS, Mac, PlayStation
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (1997) Windows
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (expansion) (1998) Windows
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002) Windows, Mac, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003) Windows, Mac, Xbox

1. The Phantom Menace: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

2. Attack of the Clones: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

3. Revenge of the Sith: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

4. A New Hope: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

5. The Empire Strikes Back: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

6. Return of the Jedi: IMDb Listing | Wikipedia | Amazon.com

• Note: The links in this section are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• 1977: Star Wars

• 1980: The Empire Strikes Back

• 1983: Return of the Jedi

• 1999: The Phantom Menace

• 2002: Attack of the Clones

• 2005: Revenge of the Sith

• Official Site: Star Wars Merchandise