Why was this the first movie? - Star Wars (1977) Discussion

[–] overseas7 (5071) 3 years ago

There is a sentence that let me think that George Lucas had planned at least one more SW movie from the beginning.
Beru said Owen that Luke reminds her of his father and he answered " That is what worries me " . That Vader did not die in this movie leads me to think that at least one more was planned.

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[–] moviechatterer (16326) 2 years ago

" at least one more was planned."

no that just meant they left a back door and didnt write off the possibility , not that it was planned.

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[–] millsey72 (10939) 2 months ago

The only thing Lucas planned out long term was that the emperor would not die at the end of the OT and would come back in a sequel. Everything else was made up as he went along

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[–] Tam87 (1598) 2 months ago

This was the first movie.

Lucas only pretended there was a backstory when this movie became a mega success.

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[–] stickman38 (3439) 2 months ago

The Star Wars book was written in 1976. I haven't read it but it has a backstory. Not sure how deep it goes but apparently the backstory covers Palpatine. If anyone has read this book, let us know how far it went.

However, according the AI bot, ChatGPT, this is the reason why Lucas made this movie first -

George Lucas originally created Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) in 1977 as a standalone film. At the time, he had no guarantee it would succeed, so he focused on crafting a self-contained story. However, Lucas had always envisioned a much larger saga and had written backstories for his characters and the galaxy’s history. Here's why the original trilogy came first, followed by the prequels:

1. Story Focus and Accessibility
The original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) focused on the rebellion against the Empire and Luke Skywalker's journey, which were more accessible for audiences. These stories were action-packed, inspiring, and relatively straightforward compared to the political and complex themes of the prequels.
2. Technological Limitations
Lucas wanted the prequels to showcase the grandeur of the Republic, advanced civilizations, and epic battles. The technology to create these visual effects convincingly didn’t exist in the 1970s or 1980s. By the late 1990s, CGI and filmmaking technology had advanced significantly, enabling Lucas to realize his vision for the prequels.
3. Success of the Original Trilogy
The massive success of the original trilogy proved there was a strong audience for the Star Wars universe. This success gave Lucas the resources and creative freedom to explore the prequels, which delved into the rise of Darth Vader, the fall of the Republic, and the origins of the Empire.
4. Narrative Structure
Lucas saw the story as a six-part saga (and later nine), with Episodes I-III as the backstory to Episodes IV-VI. Starting with the middle of the saga allowed audiences to experience the action and mystery of the galaxy.

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[–] Tam87 (1598) 2 months ago

I'm sure he thought about a backstory, but it wasn't all planned out.

Like others have said, he made things up as he went along. For one, Obi Wan said he discovered Anakin in the originals but in the preqeuls it was Qui Gon. Also, Vader being nothing more than a henchman in the 77 movie despite Lucas claiming he intended the saga to be the "tragedy of Darth Vader". Luke and Leia kissing each other, Vader saying nothing to Leia in ANH despite being her father - everything was winged.

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[–] Seperatrix (1349) 2 months ago

"I guess Lucas thought Star Wars would never get any sequels or prequels?"

That's exactly what Lucas explained in an interview with Leonard Maltin back in the day.

According to Lucas: He wrote an impossibly long story. Had what he thought would be an opportunity to make only one film (all the studios rejected Star Wars until Twentieth Century-Fox -- the last in line -- gave Lucas the green light because of the love for American Graffiti). He chopped it up into 9 pieces and took part 4 because that would be the segment to make a standalone film (even though Vader escapes at the end).

So yeah, according to him, he had such a hard time getting a studio to say yes he thought he'd only have one shot at it, and by extention never have a chance to make a sequel or prequel.

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[–] stickman38 (3439) 2 months ago

It's surprising that so many studios turned it down. I guess "Samurai's in space" wasn't a story anyone wanted to touch at the time. I'm sure they were kicking themselves after the smash hit SW turned out to be. The odd creatures in the story was probably enough for them to say "no". It does kind of feel like a Jim Henson space adventure. Too bad SW didn't have a more adult theme. Still a great movie franchise though.

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