May the Fourth be with you: As National Star Wars Day approaches, see how movies’ legacy lives on

Paul Rose Jr | Wealth of Geeks

Saturday, May 4, is National Star Wars Day. It’s about as official as an unofficial holiday can be.

Once just a silly little pun, the wordplay on the most famous phrase in the “Star Wars” universe has, in recent years, become recognized by city and state governments throughout the United States.

“Star Wars” itself has morphed and evolved in the 47 years since George Lucas first brought his vision for a space opera to the silver screen. Heavily influenced by Flash Gordon, the films of Kurosawa and John Ford’s Westerns, modern filmmakers now use “Star Wars” as their reference material.

Not bad for a film that even its creator feared would be a flop. The first film, later retitled “Star Wars: A New Hope,” was a mere 121 minutes, two hours of intergalactic fun. This week, counting the series finale of “Star Wars: Bad Batch,” Disney+ boasts 14-thousand minutes of “Star Wars” content. That adds up to nearly 10 full days of continuous viewing to get through the 234 hours of adventures, not counting the controversial “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

Add to that nearly 400 books and story collections that expand the worlds of “Star Wars.”

Where it started

“Star Wars” debuted in theaters on May 25, 1977. After the success of “Jaws” two years earlier, movies expected to do well were released wide, in between five and 700 theaters. “Star Wars” opened in 43. In fact, most theaters took it as a package deal, the mediocre film they had to run to get the big hits from Twentieth Century Fox.

That led to the now-famous images of people lined up around the block, waiting for hours to see the film. Some, including a truck driver named James Cameron, came out and immediately got in line to see it again. Despite the crowds, it still took a minute to catch on. The most famous theater at the time, Mann’s Chinese on Hollywood Boulevard, only had “Star Wars” because William Friedken’s “Sorcerer” was delayed.

Famously, George Lucas so expected the film to flop, especially after being dragged over the coals by his film school buddies at a private screening, he went on vacation in Hawaii with Stephen Spielberg, where the seeds were planted that would become “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

In the heat of summer, “Star Wars” was playing on more than 1000 screens — and stayed in theaters for more than a year. It was re-released with minor changes (like the title change) four times — 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982. In 1997, Lucas released the much-maligned Special Edition trilogy in theaters.

All told, the original film grossed $460 million. That sounds pretty tame by today’s box office standards, but adjusted for inflation, it’s more than $1.9 billion in 2024 dollars. Taking into account its inflation-adjusted budget and box office gross. That adds up to about a 2,396% profit.

The prequel generation

In 1999, “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” made the term “prequel” a household word. Going back to his notes from his original idea, “The Adventures of Luke Starkiller,” as taken from the “Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars,” Lucas decided to tell the origin story of his most famous villain: Darth Vader.

The movie grossed more than $474 million, but received a Rotten Tomatoes critical score of only 52%. Fans weren’t thrilled with the 9-year-old protagonist, the 5-year age disparity between him and his future wife, and the mish-mash of politics and government machinations. While most liked the addition of Qui-Gon Jin, Darth Maul and various members of the Jedi council, they hated Jar Jar Binks and his Gungan compatriots. The highest praise was reserved for Ewan McGregor playing a pitch-perfect younger iteration of Obi Wan Kenobi.

The film’s success was largely attributed to nostalgia and a desire to return to “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” even if it didn’t quite match up with the expectations of its now more-mature audience.

Regardless, the success allowed Lucas to finish out the prequel trilogy. Maybe the movies didn’t connect as strongly with original fans, it definitely became the touchstone for their kids. “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” brought a new generation to join forces with the old, and together drove “Star Wars” to even higher heights.

Part of the new, younger world was more detailed, and canonized animation. Fans got to dig deeper into the Clone Wars, thanks to a film and two animated series. The longer form “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series would usher writer-director Dave Filoni formally into the “Star Wars” creator sphere — something that would pay off in spades in the decades to come.

The Disney-fication of it all

In October 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Co. for just over $4 billion. The House of Mouse had been partnering with Lucasfilm all the way back in 1989 when Star Wars-MGM Studios was launched as the newest theme park in the Disney World Orlando complex. But this was something new. Not just props, merchandise, and Star Tours rides. Disney was going to complete the vision Lucas had for a final trilogy — or so they said.

In 2015, self-proclaimed “Star Wars” fanboy JJ Abrams, known for “Alias,” “Super 8,” and launching the Star Trek Kelvin timeline, brought us “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The film was a huge success; the first “Star Wars” film to nearly crack $1 billion at the box office. For better or worse, it did not follow the outlines Lucas sold to Disney for the last third of his ennealogy.

There were criticisms of the film, largely that the story in many ways too closely reflected the very first movie. Too much fan service, some said; others complained there wasn’t enough — and why did they make a woman and a disgraced Stormtrooper the main characters? Still, most were happy to see Han and Chewie and Leia again, were curious about the new Supreme Leader and a few new additions to the mythology.

The films that followed did not go as well. While “Rogue One” is often considered the best of the Disney era films, it’s also the least “Star Wars”-like in many ways. Set before the events of the original trilogy — it literally ends as Vader strides into his first scene of “A New Hope” — it focused on the grittier, war aspects of the galactic conflict that was about to erupt.

How it’s going

Abrams handed off the film reins to Rian Johnson. Having established himself with Looper and Brick, fans should have expected some subversion of expectations. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is the most polarizing of all the “Star Wars” filmed properties. Either you love it or hate it.

“Last Jedi” was quickly followed by another look into “Star Wars” past — the origins of everyone’s favorite scruffy nerf herder, Han Solo. Cowritten by Lawrence Kasden, who penned “Empire” and “Jedi,” and switching out directors mid-stream, Solo is a bit unbalanced, answering questions no one was asking, while trying to tie together disparate pieces of the “Star Wars” universe. It’s the lowest-grossing “Star Wars” film — by a long shot.

That didn’t bode well for the final movie at the time. Trying to redeem or explain the events of “Last Jedi” and cater to the nostalgia of fans, “The Rise of Skywalker” managed to bobble both. It’s not a horrible film, it just struggles to find itself and pales in comparison to what came before. It did worse at the box office and with critics than any other Skywalker-centric film. Even bringing back the Emperor couldn’t help.

As Disney-Lucasfilm canceled several previously-announced projects, “Star Wars” seemed bound for the scrap heap of fond memories, tainted by overstaying its welcome.

The rise of Disney+

That’s when Dave Filoni stepped back in. Soon to be crowned the chief creative officer of Lucasfilm, Filoni, with the help of “Iron Man” and “Lion King” director Jon Favreau, made the transition from award-winning animated “Star Wars” shows to award-winning, live-action “Star Wars” shows.

Disney+, the entertainment giant’s new streamer needed a flagship show. Filoni and Favreau put their heads together and we got “The Mandalorian.” Set in the years immediately after “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” the show managed to capture the gold standard set by the original trilogy, while at the same time successfully connecting pieces and parts of the “Star Wars” universe in a way the other Disney films failed to do.

It also introduced easily the most popular character in the “Star Wars” universe, at least according to search engine stats compiled by 1337 Games — everyone fell in love with Baby Yoda, aka Grogu.

“The Mandalorian,” “Book of Boba Fett,” “Ahsoka,” “Andor” and “Obi-Wan” not only launched Disney+ to Netflix-level streaming domination, they resurrected the “Star Wars” brand. Sure, there have been some hiccups, but for the most part, it’s the most successful “Star Wars” storytelling since the heyday of the original trilogy.

Later this year, we’ll see “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” and The Acolyte on Disney+. Shortly thereafter, The Mandalorian and Grogu returns the franchise to the big screen. The second (and final?) seasons of both “Andor” and “Ahsoka” should arrive in 2025 as well. And, Rey Skywalker is making her way back too.

Until then, novels, comics, video games, Disney Park’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, celebrations and anniversaries will keep fans invested in the Galaxy Far Far Away. “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” returns to theaters this weekend for its 25th anniversary. Tickets for Star Wars Celebration Japan, happening in the land of the rising sun in April 2025, went on sale yesterday.

“Star Wars” is here to stay, so May the Fourth, er, Force be with you.