Why Did George Lucas Make 'Star Wars' Out Of Order?
Image Source: IGN
Every story must start somewhere. It is not uncommon for stories to evolve with time to create series where fans are later provided the backstory. In the case of Star Wars, Lucas gifted fans as well with a flash forward to complete the ultimate arc for the original characters involved. This was a move long anticipated and much appreciated as Star Wars fans are arguably one of the most loyal fanbases in the cinematic world. What throws newcomers to this particular fanbase is the (out of) numerical order in which the episodes of the series follow – 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9. A New Hope or Episode 4 begins the original trilogy – By all accounts, it is Luke Skywalker’s time to shine, of course, fans later learn that it is also Darth Vader’s journey to redemption. A New Hope was released in 1977.
While Lucas always envisioned Star Wars as a series, filming presented many challenges, ironically Lucas was sure that his magnum opus was doomed to be hopeless, so much in fact that during its release Lucas took a vacation to Hawaii to wait out the failure he feared the film was. His fear was unfounded. The Empire Strikes Back (Episode 5) came out in 1980, followed by Return of the Jedi (Episode 6) in 1983. All three movies performed well. Fans would have to wait sixteen years for the prequels to arrive.
RELATED:
Image Source: Wallpaper Flare
As Lucas began with Vader as an obvious antagonist and the quintessential henchman for the “real” bad guy as his writing evolved Vader was written in as a plot twist to be Luke and Leia’s father. This meant that Lucas would have to work around some of his original writing to further develop the storylines and maintain consistency. So, who was Vader? What is his story? Who is Luke’s father and how and why did he turn to the dark side? Lucas begins answering these questions by taking us backward to Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, released in 1999. This film introduces us to the real Vader – Anakin Skywalker as well as Padmé Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. This prequel trilogy follows these characters and allows fans insight into their evolution. Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones was released in 2002 and Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith came out in 2005. Fans bared witness to Ani’s love story with Padmé, his turn to the dark side, the birth of the twins, their separation, and the reason for Obi-Wan’s exile.
Okay, so we have an amazing story in the original trilogy and were gifted with an incredible backstory in the prequel trilogy. By all accounts, Lucas could have stopped there. But fans were hungry for more information. What happened to Luke, did he ever rebuild the Jedi? What about Princess Leia and Han Solo? Lucas felt he owed these characters the opportunity for resolution with completed character arcs. With the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm in December of 2012, George Lucas ensured that fans would get their endings. Between 2015 and 2019 Episodes 7, 8, and 9 – The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rise of Skywalker were released completing the sequel trilogy allowing viewers to see a true conclusion while affording the chance to say goodbye to Luke, Leia, and Han. Given the unexpected death of Carrie Fisher, we were all able to pay tribute to a strong and most loved princess, senator, and rebellion leader.
So why did George Lucas make Star Wars out of order? Looper sums up the answer per Lucas himself – “The Star Wars series started out as a movie that ended up being so big that I took each act and cut it into its own movie [...] When I first did Star Wars, I did it as a big piece. It was like a big script. It was way too big to make into a movie. So I took the first third of it, which is basically the first act, and I turned that into what was the original Star Wars" (George Lucas, Looper). It is important to note that Star Wars is known as an epic for a reason. George Lucas had this masterpiece in his head for years with multiple characters of prominence in mind who needed and more importantly deserved to have their stories told. While many fans expressed disappointment and even anger toward both prequel and sequel films, the devotion and overall love for these films remain strong to date with new generations falling in love with the galaxy far, far away, and many of its inhabitants.
READ NEXT:
Source(s): Looper