Avatar: The Last Airbender
Summary
The past and future of theStar Warsfranchise have been altogether shaped by 10 unlike years , all of which were entire to preserving a galaxy far , far aside . When watch theStar Warsmovies in outlet order , it is easy to forget that some of them did not exist before . Star Warsis now such an iconic footnote in pappa civilisation that a world without the franchise seems unimaginable . While the tone ofStar Warsmovies regarding rankingchanges by the day , each and every instalment has been vital to preserving that feel that the franchise is irreplaceable .
The slating ofupcomingStar Warsmovieswill doubtlessly continue this tradition , with each one likely offering a slew of qualities that make it stand out as an significant ingress to the saga . Not only will each lineament film provide the worldwide amusement audience come to require , but several of them - alongsideStar Wars’upcoming TV shows- will retain to shape the enfranchisement as retiring installments have done . Be it the enfranchisement ’s origin or the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney , single years of the past can be pinpointed as integral toStar Wars’past and future tense for unlike reasons .
101977 - The First Star Wars Movie Releases - With Tie-Ins
The year that it all began is undoubtedly the most important moment in Star Wars history.
In 1977 , George Lucas releasedStar Wars . What lead off as a output that many in Hollywood , include Lucas himself to an extent , had small faith in quickly became one of the most iconic film in pop culture history . go against box office records and construct the foundation for what it later became , Lucas ' original 1977Star Warsand its linkup - In made up the most crucial year in the enfranchisement ’s total history . Not only wasStar Warsvital to portraying what that individual franchise could become , but it became one of the pillars of Hollywood filmmaking in oecumenical .
Lucas proved that entire galaxies , universes , and planets could be craft on a honorable , passable budget . This naturally expand into what could be possible with inflated Hollywood budgets in the enfranchisement ’s future tense , but it also changed filmmaking forever . The bequest that 1977’sStar Warsholds for the entire filmmaking industriousness can not be hyperbolise , making the year incredibly vital toStar Wars’future but also the future tense of movie theater itself . With Lucas ' linkup - in novelizations too , one of the cornerstones of the modernStar Warsfranchise was born .
Lucas ' novelizations , Star war : From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker , normalized write films as novel , a format that continue in the franchise today to cater extra context to stories , traditional knowledge , and characters .

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91980 - The Empire Strikes Back Makes Cinematic History
The sequel to Star Wars somehow surpassed its predecessor in every conceivable way.
If 1977’sStar Warswas not enough to convert the industry forever , the same happened three years later with the release ofThe Empire Strikes Backin 1980 . Given the overwhelming winner of the first picture , a continuation was highly anticipated . This expectancy turn out to make cinematic chronicle , with the film somehow outdoing the banner lay out by its precursor . WhileThe Empire Strikes Backmay not have had the same overwhelming shock on the industry regarding box post numbers , the film changed the worldwide perception of whatStar Warscould be .
The Empire Strikes Back is widely involve as the best Star Wars movie ever made . Here is every way it alter the Star Wars dealership perpetually .
From deepen the traditional knowledge , story , and characters of the originalStar Warsto increase the budget and thus the telling technical feats of the first flick , The Empire Strikes Backis class as a superior film to its harbinger in almost every aspect . To further howThe Empire Strikes BackmadeStar Warsand cinematic history , the film ’s story possesses one of the most iconic plot spin of all time . Darth Vader being revealed as Luke ’s Padre changed the entire perception ofStar Wars , all while solidifying itself as an iconic footer of the pic industry .

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81983 - Return of the Jedi Ends The Original Trilogy
All good things must come to an end, if only temporarily.
While maybe not as groundbreaking from a cinematic and ethnical point of view as bothStar WarsandThe Empire Strikes Back , Return of the Jedisolidified 1983 as another integral year for the franchise . The ground for this is simple : Return of the Jedisatisfyingly ended the original trilogy . Due toReturn of the Jedi ’s well - written culmination of what quickly became an iconic dealership , 1983 became integral toStar Warsas it ply the bar for ending a substantial , three - movie story .
71991 - The Star Wars Expanded Universe Is Relaunched
Star Wars underwent a period of uncertainty until 1991.
Between 1983’sReturn of the Jediand 1991 , little in the style ofStar Warsexcitement was provided . However , in 1991 , theStar WarsExpanded Universe came thunder back to life . spearhead by Timothy Zahn’sHeir to the Empirenovel , wider stories arrange within theStar Warsuniverse became commonplace once more . Regarding the dealership ’s yesteryear , this initiative arguably revive the enfranchisement after yr of uncertainty ahead of the prequel trilogy entering production .
Where theStar WarsExpanded Universe had the most wakeless impact on the franchise , however , was its hereafter . The Expanded Universe turn out that Star Wars could subsist beyond the realms of filmmaking , something that began to influence the franchise into the transmedia goliath it is today . Not only that , but the EU start with a write up by Zahn that is still impactingStar Warsstorytelling via the New Republic timeline . This narration , alongside the popularDark Empirecomics of the EU which set out in 1991 , solidifies the year as an integral column of the dealership ’s past and future tense .
One of the coming Star Wars picture is Dave Filoni ’s Heir to the Empire labor which has several highly exciting prospects for the New Republic era .

61996 - Star Wars’ First True Transmedia Story Is Released
Star Wars capitalized on the Expanded Universe’s concept through Shadows of the Empire.
As allude to , 1991 as a year showed Lucas and his team at Lucasfilm whatStar Warswas capable of from a transmedia perspective . In a way that proves both 1991 and 1996 as integral years to the franchise , the latter saw the sack ofShadows of the Empire , Star Wars’first true transmedia dimension . In orderliness to reigniteStar Warsbefore the prequel trilogy began , a multimedia system story was crafted set in the earned run average of the original trilogy .
Each of these story connected with one another across unlike mediums , a strategy that was uncommon at the time but is now stronger than ever inStar Wars .
While the story itself is compelling , it is the manner it was constructed that helpedShadows of the EmpireshapeStar Wars’future . The novelShadows of the Empirewas released , put betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi . This novel was then expand by a six - issue comic book series , another mirthful Bible subsequence , and even a video game for the Nintendo 64 . Each of these stories connected with one another across dissimilar medium , a strategy that was uncommon at the time but is now stronger than ever inStar war .

51999 - George Lucas Launches The Prequel Trilogy
The prequel trilogy ushered in a previously unthinkable era of division for the Star Wars franchise.
WithStar Warsback in the spot thanks to Lucasfilm ’s efforts in the 1990s , the spill of theStar Warsprequel trilogy front to capitalize . While theStar Warsprequels were improbably successful from a box office standpoint , the trilogy brought about a new age of divisiveness which was not commonly colligate with the franchise before 1999 . This alone is enough to reckon 1999 as an integral point inStar Wars ' past , without mentioning the ways the prequel trilogy go on to agitate the boundaries of both filmmaking andStar Warsstorytelling in its future .
Star Wars Prequel
Release Date

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Worldwide Box Office
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score
Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace

1999
$ 868,352,530
52 %

Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the clone
2002
$ 645,256,452

65 %
Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005

$ 924,305,084
79 %
With the advancement of applied science in the nearly two decades betweenReturn of the JediandThe Phantom Menace , Lucas began to prove what was possible with CGI filmmaking . Many of the technical advancements made for the prequel trilogy are still used today , proving one way in which 1999 changedStar Warsand Hollywood as a whole . While the CGI elements of the prequels were not always double-dyed , Lucas and his squad made advancements many consider impossible at that time .

What ’s more , Lucas infinitely expatiate the oscilloscope , storytelling theory , and lore of theStar Warsuniverse . Through elements like the midi - chlorians , young planets , ship , animal , and weapons , Lucas progress upon the original trilogy and flesh out theStar Warsgalaxy beyond impression . These elements have regulate what come after 1999’sThe Phantom Menacein both the other two prequels and beyond , make the year a lively touchstone of the franchise ’s story .
42008 - George Lucas Launches The Clone Wars
Star Wars took its first major step into the realm of television.
While theDroidsandEwoksanimated shows of the 1980s markedStar Wars’TV debut , there is no denying that 2008 and the dismissal ofStar warfare : The Clone Warsare crucial to the franchise ’s past and future . Lucas took what he build in the prequel trilogy and boom even further , craft a entirely CGI - animated TV show chronicling the nominal Clone Wars . This show was integral to the future ofStar Warsas it proved what TV could offer the franchise , but also retroactively became cardinal to the past tense of the extragalactic nebula by adding invaluable circumstance to the prequel trilogy .
With Star warfare : The Clone Wars being released non - chronologically , you ask the correct viewing order to make signified of its dissimilar plotlines .
The Clone Wars’legacy is still feel to this day , from the fleshing out of prequel role with now - iconic vocalization actors to introducing entirely new quality that are determine the franchise in 2024 . These elements , as well as the longer form of storytelling based in the prequel era , sparked a period of revisionism for Lucas ' three prequel stories . This marks 2008 as lively to theStar Warsprojects that come before it , as well as prove the year to be essential to what the dealership ’s television efforts became .

Ahsoka Tano is one of the many character create for The Clone Wars who is an integral part of Star Wars storytelling in 2024 .
32012 - Disney Buys Lucasfilm, Changing Star Wars Forever
Star Wars entered a new era after the turn of the decade.
Perhaps the biggest , most consequential year regarding theStar Warsfranchise since 1977 came in 2012 with Disney ’s learning of Lucasfilm . Lucas sold his franchise for myriad reasons ; Lucas was in his late 60s in 2012 and was looking to go to bed , while also palpate a sense of disconnection withStar Warsdue to the electronegative outcry over the prequel trilogy . Therefore , Lucas soldStar Warsand its adjacent properties to a studio he believed could adequately keep the bequest of the franchise : Disney .
This kickstarted an entirely new era forStar Wars . Unlike the time ofThe Clone Warsin which Lucas was partly using his personal earnings to craft the show , Disney ’s attainment of Lucasfilm pave the way for near - endless budgets to be apply toStar Warsproductions . This has been evident in the manyStar Warsproductions under the Disney streamer . This , combined with the other benefits ofStar Warsbeing part of one of the expectant medium conglomerates in history , note 2012 as a new beginning for the franchise .
22015 - Disney’s Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Kicks Off
The division of the prequels reared its head once more as Disney moved the franchise forward.
With Disney ’s acquisition of Lucasfilm beginning the new era of the dealership , the first hint that this was coming to fruition was the release ofStar Wars : The Force Awakensin 2015.2015 became the year thatStar Warsfinally moved forward , introducing new character and young stories , all while reinvent the bequest characters from the original trilogy . For this reasonableness alone , 2015 became an integral year in reshapingStar Wars’future . That said , 2015 also was the accelerator for a period of divisiveness that was arguably strong than the one initiated by the prequel trilogy .
Star Wars Sequel
Star Wars : The Force Awakens
2015
$ 2,064,615,817
93 %
Star war : The Last Jedi
2017
$ 1,331,635,141
91 %
Star Wars : The Rise of Skywalker
2019
$ 1,072,767,997
51 %
2015 ’s lasting bequest concerningStar Warsshould be the full point of authorisation it bring back to the franchise , not only through the sequels but the two anthology films release as well . Unfortunately , though , the splitting of the fanbase that was due to Disney ’s treatment of the dealership is arguably the most prominent reason behind 2015 ’s importance to the saga . Nonetheless , it remain the example thatStar Warswould not be as overwhelmingly successful as it is in 2024 were it not for Disney ’s resurgence of the franchise beginning in 2015 .
12019 - The Mandalorian Is The Beginning Of A New Star Wars Era
Star Wars' prior tentative steps into the realm of TV became the beginning of the franchise’s small-screen dominance.
As highlighted in 2008 withThe Clone Wars , it had previously been proven that the dealership could find winner in the world of television . This was also the pillow slip with other animated shows likeStar state of war RebelsandStar Wars Resistance . However , the dependable beginning of a new era forStar Warsbegan in 2019 with the universal launch of Disney+ and the release ofThe Mandalorian . The first bouncy - actionStar WarsTV show , The Mandalorianproved that a novel type of storytelling was possible for the enfranchisement that expound on what issue forth before while pave itinerary for new stories .
The success ofThe Mandalorianhas visit an endless wave of television production breed out of Lucasfilm , fromAhsokaandThe Book of Boba Fettin the New Republic geological era toObi - Wan KenobiandAndor . Future projects likeThe AcolyteandSkeleton Creware only set to further expound alive - action TV storytelling inStar Warswhich can be traced back to 2019 andThe Mandalorian ’s release . Prior to 2019 , theStar Warsfranchise was preponderantly made up of feature film firing , somethingThe Mandalorianaltered for a sentence . The success of television production view Lucasfilm move off from theatrical filmmaking .
Above all else , this ongoing slate of video production sincerely proves 2019 to be the start of a new era for a galaxy far , far off .
Star war : The Rise of Skywalkermarked the final theatrical celluloid in the franchise before an bombardment of telly productions were released draw back toThe Mandalorian ’s achiever in 2019 . From the said live - natural action stories toStar Wars : The Clone Warsseason 7,Star Wars : The Bad Batch , Star Wars Visions , Star state of war : Young Jedi Adventures , andTales of the Jedi , the little - screen dominance ofStar Warswas clear to see . Above all else , this ongoing slating of TV production truly evidence 2019 to be the head start of a new geological era for a galaxy far , far by .