Changes

During the time of the Prequel trilogy, Lucas's liberal politics came to the forefront, with there being a more overt left-leaning agenda in the films, including a negative depiction of creating a military, a negative depiction of capitalism in ''Episode I'' and ''II'' via the main antagonistic groups of the Trade Federation and the Separatists, respectively (the former showing the Trade Federation literally owning a seat in the Senate, and the latter having the inner circle of the Separatists being composed of various corporations such as the aforementioned Trade Federation as well as the Techno Guild, Intergalactic Banking Clan, and the Corporate Alliance), some demonization of Republicans in the form of the main antagonist Nute Gunray (who was explicitly named after both [[Ronald Reagan]] in reference to his role in SDI as well as then-Senate Majority Leader [[Newt Gingrich]]), the minor character and "senator" of the Trade Federation Lott Dod (referring to Trent Lott, then-current House Majority Leader of the Republican Party), and to a lesser extent the entire Republican party (as the first film, and the decision to make the Trade Federation the main villains was derived largely from the [[Republican Revolution (1994)|Republican Revolution of 1994]] as well as Gingrich's [[Contract with America]] plan, all of which had occurred within eight days of Lucas draft-writing ''Episode I''), as well as some [[George W. Bush]] jabs in the third movie (as well as at least one implied instance of promoting postmodernism via the line "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."). While box office successes, the Prequel Trilogy had controversial reception, with complaints including the creation of Jar-Jar Binks as well as the more overt pushing of politics in the films (particularly pushing a more left-wing view of politics).

During the time of the Prequel trilogy, Lucas's liberal politics came to the forefront, with there being a more overt left-leaning agenda in the films, including a negative depiction of creating a military, a negative depiction of capitalism in ''Episode I'' and ''II'' via the main antagonistic groups of the Trade Federation and the Separatists, respectively (the former showing the Trade Federation literally owning a seat in the Senate, and the latter having the inner circle of the Separatists being composed of various corporations such as the aforementioned Trade Federation as well as the Techno Guild, Intergalactic Banking Clan, and the Corporate Alliance), some demonization of Republicans in the form of the main antagonist Nute Gunray (who was explicitly named after both [[Ronald Reagan]] in reference to his role in SDI as well as then-Senate Majority Leader [[Newt Gingrich]]), the minor character and "senator" of the Trade Federation Lott Dod (referring to Trent Lott, then-current House Majority Leader of the Republican Party), and to a lesser extent the entire Republican party (as the first film, and the decision to make the Trade Federation the main villains was derived largely from the [[Republican Revolution (1994)|Republican Revolution of 1994]] as well as Gingrich's [[Contract with America]] plan, all of which had occurred within eight days of Lucas draft-writing ''Episode I''), as well as some [[George W. Bush]] jabs in the third movie (as well as at least one implied instance of promoting postmodernism via the line "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."). While box office successes, the Prequel Trilogy had controversial reception, with complaints including the creation of Jar-Jar Binks as well as the more overt pushing of politics in the films (particularly pushing a more left-wing view of politics).

In 1984 and 1985, two spinoff movies to the original trilogy (''Episode IV, V'' and ''VI'') were made featuring the Ewok characters seen in ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''.  An animated film called ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' was released in 2008. In 2012, [[George Lucas]] sold the franchise to [[The Walt Disney Company]], which plans to make three more movies <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/10/30/disney-buying-tar-wars-maker-lucasfilm-for-405b/</ref>  ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' was released on December 18, 2015, making it the second film in the overall franchise (the first being ''The Clone Wars''), and the first in the main series, to not be released in May.  ''Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi'' followed suit, releasing on December 15, 2017.  ''Episode IX'' is slated for a December 20, 2019 release, with J.J. Abrams returning to direct.  Overall, with the comics, movies, video games, books of various genres, and toys, it is the second-highest grossing media franchise in existence, with only ''[[Pokemon]]'' surpassing it.

In 1984 and 1985, two spinoff movies to the original trilogy (''Episode IV, V'' and ''VI'') were made featuring the Ewok characters seen in ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''.  An animated film called ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' was released in 2008. In 2012, [[George Lucas]] sold the franchise to [[The Walt Disney Company]], which plans to make three more movies <ref>https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/10/30/disney-buying-tar-wars-maker-lucasfilm-for-405b/</ref>  ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' was released on December 18, 2015, making it the second film in the overall franchise (the first being ''The Clone Wars''), and the first in the main series, to not be released in May.  ''Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi'' followed suit, releasing on December 15, 2017.  ''Episode IX'' is slated for a December 20, 2019 release, with J.J. Abrams returning to direct.  Overall, with the comics, movies, video games, books of various genres, and toys, it is the second-highest grossing media franchise in existence, with only ''[[Pokemon]]'' surpassing it.

== Main Films ==

== Main Films ==

== The Franchise ==

== The Franchise ==

The ''Star Wars'' film series and its expanded universe has been a large revenue producer.  As of 2005 the ''Star Wars'' franchise has produced over $20 billion.<ref>http://www.forbes.com/2005/05/12/cx_ah_0512starwars.html</ref>  With the release of the expanded universe series it has increased.

The ''Star Wars'' film series and its expanded universe has been a large revenue producer.  As of 2005 the ''Star Wars'' franchise has produced over $20 billion.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2005/05/12/cx_ah_0512starwars.html</ref>  With the release of the expanded universe series it has increased.

== Portrayal of religion ==

== Portrayal of religion ==

==Special Editions==

==Special Editions==

In recent years, ''Star Wars'' has become infamous for its re-releases, as well as edits to the film that have been met with heavy criticism from fans.  In 1997, in honor of the 20th anniversary of ''A New Hope'', the Original Trilogy was released in theaters, with a film being released each month from January to March.  Later that year, the trilogy was released on VHS.  It was during this release of the original films that the alterations began.  Some of the most infamous changes include Greedo proceeding to shoot first and missing despite being inches away from Han before Han shot him when originally, Han Solo shot first (Lucas, when discussing this particular change, would later claim to the Hollywood Reporter that it was "always Greedo shooting first" and that they just did closeups and that they went back to the original intention to dissuade any notions that Han was a "cold blooded killer"<ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523</ref> despite Han shooting first being mentioned in a shooting script<ref>http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/george-lucas-claims-han-shot-stupid-liar.html</ref>), as well as Jabba the Hutt being added to ''A New Hope'', which was created from a deleted scene in which Jabba was played by an actor.  The same scene also included a cameo from Boba Fett, who first appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Out of the 1997 re-releases, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' received the least amount of changes, with the most significant being different angles in the wampa cave on Hoth.  Another was Luke's scream when falling after the duel with Darth Vader.  The scream was actually used for Emperor Palpatine when he is thrown down the Death Star by Darth Vader in ''Return of the Jedi.''  In ''Return of the Jedi'', the music from Jabba's palace was changed, as was the ending of the film.  The sarlacc scene was altered as well, with a CGI beak being added.  The original ending featured the song called "Yub Nub", with just the celebration on Endor.  The 1997 version would feature a new song, simply called "Victory Celebration," which has a more tribal sound than "Yub Nub".  Scenes were added featuring celebrations occurring on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant following Palpatine's downfall, even though ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' was still two years away from release.

In recent years, ''Star Wars'' has become infamous for its re-releases, as well as edits to the film that have been met with heavy criticism from fans.  In 1997, in honor of the 20th anniversary of ''A New Hope'', the Original Trilogy was released in theaters, with a film being released each month from January to March.  Later that year, the trilogy was released on VHS.  It was during this release of the original films that the alterations began.  Some of the most infamous changes include Greedo proceeding to shoot first and missing despite being inches away from Han before Han shot him when originally, Han Solo shot first (Lucas, when discussing this particular change, would later claim to the Hollywood Reporter that it was "always Greedo shooting first" and that they just did closeups and that they went back to the original intention to dissuade any notions that Han was a "cold blooded killer"<ref>https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523</ref> despite Han shooting first being mentioned in a shooting script<ref>http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/george-lucas-claims-han-shot-stupid-liar.html</ref>), as well as Jabba the Hutt being added to ''A New Hope'', which was created from a deleted scene in which Jabba was played by an actor.  The same scene also included a cameo from Boba Fett, who first appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Out of the 1997 re-releases, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' received the least amount of changes, with the most significant being different angles in the wampa cave on Hoth.  Another was Luke's scream when falling after the duel with Darth Vader.  The scream was actually used for Emperor Palpatine when he is thrown down the Death Star by Darth Vader in ''Return of the Jedi.''  In ''Return of the Jedi'', the music from Jabba's palace was changed, as was the ending of the film.  The sarlacc scene was altered as well, with a CGI beak being added.  The original ending featured the song called "Yub Nub", with just the celebration on Endor.  The 1997 version would feature a new song, simply called "Victory Celebration," which has a more tribal sound than "Yub Nub".  Scenes were added featuring celebrations occurring on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant following Palpatine's downfall, even though ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' was still two years away from release.

In 2004, the Original Trilogy was released on DVD for the first time, eight months before the release of ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''.  These releases featured even more changes.  In ''A New Hope'', Jabba's appearance was altered to look more like he did in ''Return of the Jedi''.  In ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the scene in which Darth Vader talks to Palpatine was altered.  Elaine Baker, who played the Emperor, and Clive Revill, who provided the voice, were replaced with Ian McDiarmid.  McDiarmid played Palpatine in ''Return of the Jedi'' as well as the Prequel Trilogy.  The way the Emperor looks in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is similar to his appearance in ''Revenge of the Sith''.  The voice of Boba Fett was also changed.  Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'', provided the voice.  Out of the three original films, ''Return of the Jedi'' has the most notorious changes.  The first was the inclusion of a celebration scene on Naboo in the ending following Palpatine's death, as well as a Gungan saying "Wesa Free!" in the background.  The second was Sebastian Shaw, the actor who played Anakin Skywalker as a force ghost being edited out from the Endor celebration scene and replaced with Hayden Christensen.  The reason provided for the change was that he "died as a Jedi" in ''Revenge of the Sith'', hence why he looks the same.

In 2004, the Original Trilogy was released on DVD for the first time, eight months before the release of ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''.  These releases featured even more changes.  In ''A New Hope'', Jabba's appearance was altered to look more like he did in ''Return of the Jedi''.  In ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the scene in which Darth Vader talks to Palpatine was altered.  Elaine Baker, who played the Emperor, and Clive Revill, who provided the voice, were replaced with Ian McDiarmid.  McDiarmid played Palpatine in ''Return of the Jedi'' as well as the Prequel Trilogy.  The way the Emperor looks in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is similar to his appearance in ''Revenge of the Sith''.  The voice of Boba Fett was also changed.  Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'', provided the voice.  Out of the three original films, ''Return of the Jedi'' has the most notorious changes.  The first was the inclusion of a celebration scene on Naboo in the ending following Palpatine's death, as well as a Gungan saying "Wesa Free!" in the background.  The second was Sebastian Shaw, the actor who played Anakin Skywalker as a force ghost being edited out from the Endor celebration scene and replaced with Hayden Christensen.  The reason provided for the change was that he "died as a Jedi" in ''Revenge of the Sith'', hence why he looks the same.