STAR WARS: 25 Years Since Episode I

These days it is hard to imagine that for 22 years since the release of the first STAR WARS film we had had only three classic movies about the galaxy far, far away we could cherish. In the 90s George Lucas revamped Episodes IV, V and VI and re-released them in cinemas to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of A New Hope, and to prepare the new generation of fans for a brand new trilogy of the prequels. Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released in May of 1999 and it marked the beginning of a whole new chapter in the STAR WARS history. Since then new films, series, books and merchandise have appeared in our universe, like a massive fleet of starships that emerged one by one from hyperspace throughout the last quarter century.

Movies & TV Shows

In 2002 The Phantom Menace was followed by Episode II – Attack Of The Clones. The film continued the story of Anakin Skywalker before his turning to the dark side of the Force and was an introduction to the Clone Wars – first mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). Though it is not a part of the prequel trilogy, STAR WARS: Clone Wars animated television series was launched on Cartoon Network in 2003 as a bridge between Episodes II and III. The series concluded in 2005 just before the release of the final instalment of the new trilogy – Revenge Of The Sith, which revealed Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader. 

The Clone Wars was resurrected and developed as a 3D CGI animation in 2008 – starting with STAR WARS: The Clone Wars film set for theatrical release and followed by a seven-season TV series spanning from 2008 until its finale in 2020. The series was originally aired on Cartoon Network (seasons 1–5), then it continued on Netflix with season 6, to conclude with the 7th season on Disney+. The Clone Wars introduced new characters who now belong to the STAR WARS canon, and their stories have been expanded in further productions.

Lucasfilm, the home of STAR WARS, was acquired by The Walt Disney Studios in 2012. It is rather obvious that the house of the mouse was going to capitalize on George Lucas’ two greatest assets – Indiana Jones and the franchise in question. And so, the years 2015–2019 brought us the sequel trilogy with Episodes VII–IX: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker. In addition to that, Lucasfilm under Disney’s wings has produced two stand-alone STAR WARS movies: Rogue One (an excellent prequel to A New Hope released in 2016) and Solo (from 2018, presenting the story of Han Solo, only without Harrison Ford). The launch of the Disney+ streaming platform created a suitable medium for STAR WARS series, the most prominent of which are The Mandalorian along with The Book Of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor and Ahsoka. And yes, all of these productions represent the STAR WARS canon.

Computer Games

Following the success of the three original films, STAR WARS entered the world of computer games. In the 80s and early 90s numerous titles referring to events from Episodes IV–VI were released for arcade machines and home computers like Commodore 64, Atari, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad or Amiga. 1993 marked the beginning of the X-Wing series as well as Rebel Assault. The Jedi Knight series made its debut in the mid 90s with the release of Dark Forces in 1995, followed by Dark Forces II (1997), Jedi Outcast (2002) and Jedi Academy (2003). There was also a three-part series called Rogue Squadron (1998 – 2003) about a group of elite X-Wing pilots. In addition, there were stand-alone releases like Jedi Arena or Droids in the 80s and Shadows Of The Empire, Masters Of Teräs Käsi, Yoda Stories or Rebellion in the 90s.

Theatrical premiere of The Phantom Menace 25 years ago opened a whole new chapter in the STAR WARS games history. It started with a collection of Episode I titles including The Phantom Menace (1999), Racer (1999), Battle For Naboo (2000) and Starfighter (2001). Then in 2002 it was followed by Episode II releases such as Attack Of The Clones (2002), The Clone Wars (2002), Jedi Starfighter (2002) and The New Droid Army (2002). Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith got its self-titled game in 2005.

Other titles that have been released since 1999 include: Knights Of The Old Republic, Battlefront, STAR WARS Galaxies, Force Commander, Republic Commando, Lethal Alliance, Squadrons, Hunters, Outlaws – which is actually set for release on 30 August 2024, and further instalments in The Clone Wars series. It is worth mentioning that in 2014, along with the release of the STAR WARS Rebels 3D animated series, Disney gave us two free online browser games – Ghost Ride and Rebel Strike. Additionally, you can also find SW releases galore for mobile devices, and we guess there is no point in mentioning the Pig Star from both parts of Angry Birds STAR WARS here. Still, for the fans of crossovers there are STAR WARS skins available in Fortnite.

Merchandise

George Lucas famously kept the rights to all the STAR WARS merchandise, which brought him millions of dollars. The classic toys from the franchise are action figures manufactured by an American toy company called Kenner between 1978 and 1985. It is estimated that during this run they sold around 300 million SW products. As in the 90s Kenner became a part of Hasbro, the production of their STAR WARS figures was relaunched in 1995.

Today there are countless STAR WARS goods available, still it seems that among the most popular and sought after are STAR WARS LEGO sets. The collaboration between Lucasfilm and the legendary Danish bricks manufacturer was launched in 1999 and it successfully continues until now. So far, there has been around 1 000 original LEGO STAR WARS sets released, featuring a total of around 1 400 different minifigures from the franchise.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of this LEGO series, which was launched for the premiere of The Phantom Menace. The interest in the STAR WARS sets is strong – and we are not talking only about the younglings here! There are many adult LEGO STAR WARS collectors out there in the whole galaxy. The company created even special series dedicated to them; those include UCS (Ultimate Collector Series) with the iconic 7 541-piece Millenium Falcon set number 75192 and Master Builder Series with the incredible build of the Mos Eisley Cantina (set number 75290) from Episode IV.

This year LEGO prepared some special anniversary sets for SW fans. There are six of them and each includes a special, never before released minifigure from that universe. So far we have Boarding The Tantive IV (set number 75387) with the ARC clonetrooper Fives minifig and buildable R2-D2 (set number 75379) with a minifigure of Darth Malak. Among the rumored, yet to be released anniversary minifigs are young Leia from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Nien Nunb, QT-KT astromech droid from The Clone Wars and Cal Kestis – a Jedi Knight known from SW books and games like STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order, Survivor and Galaxy Of Heroes.

May The 4th Be With You celebration (starting on May 1) is going to feature the release of Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator (set number 75383) including an anniversary minifig of Saw Gerrera, a TIE Interceptor UCS set (number 75382), a buildable Droideka (set number 75381) and an exclusive Trade Federation Troop Carrier set (number 40686) from Episode I – available only as a gift with purchase worth at least $160 for a limited time.

Further 2024 LEGO STAR WARS releases are rumored to be a new Death Star playset, a UCS set of Jabba’s Sail Barge and its separate compliment Sarlacc Pit, a Dark Millenium Falcon with Darth Vader dressed in white and a set with buildable C-3PO, among others.

But the LEGO and Lucasfilm co-operation does not end at bricks. And yes, you are absolutely right if you have just thought about books, pens, keyrings and plushies, however, there are also LEGO STAR WARS games. They were launched in 2005 with the release of LEGO STAR WARS: The Video Game based on the prequel trilogy and enhanced with a bonus Episode IV – A New Hope level. That was followed by LEGO STAR WARS II: The Original Trilogy (2006) based on Episodes IV–VI, LEGO STAR WARS III: The Clone Wars (2011) and The Force Awakens (2016). Finally in 2022 LEGO STAR WARS: The Skywalker Saga incorporated themes from all nine episodes of the film series with the additional elements from SW TV shows in a sort of an ultimate LEGO STAR WARS package.   

The Phenomenon Continues

Despite the recent controversies surrounding the new Disney+ SW series The Acolyte, the future of the franchise looks quite bright. The demand for more STAR WARS films, series, books, games and merchandise does not seem to decrease. Old fans remain faithful to the Force and the number of younglings is still growing.

STAR WARS is a timeless worldwide phenomenon that opens the gates to the galaxy where we can run away from whatever bothers us in real life; it also makes our lives more exciting as we can take a part of that world and incorporate it into our own – whether thru a game, a LEGO set or a cosplay. And most importantly, it brings us back to the time when sky was the limit and imagination was our Millenium Falcon to the world of wonders, where the Force is always strong with us.

Unleash your Force and jump into the hyperspace with us – grab the best offer for your key to the galaxy far, far away. Choose your STAR WARS game on Kinguin and decide which side of the Force you wanna join.