<Tr> <Th> Toys </Th> <Td> Toys </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Theme park attractions </Th> <Td> List of theme park attractions </Td> </Tr> <P> Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, created by George Lucas and centered around a film series that began with the eponymous 1977 movie . The saga quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon . </P> <P> The first film was followed by two successful sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy . A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, albeit to mixed reactions from critics and fans . A sequel trilogy concluding the main story of the nine - episode saga began in 2015 with The Force Awakens . The first eight films were nominated for Academy Awards (with wins going to the first two released) and were commercially successful, with a combined box office revenue of over US $8.5 billion . Together with the theatrical spin - off films The Clone Wars (2008), Rogue One (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Star Wars is the second highest - grossing film series ever . </P>

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