The Star Wars franchise is a series of epic science-fiction space opera films created by writer/producer/director George Lucas. It began with the release of the first film, Star Wars, in 1977. It was later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope following the release of the sequel film The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and later Return of the Jedi in 1983. These three films later became referred to the original trilogy and Episodes IV, V, and VI when a fourth film, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (a prequel) was released in 1989 and two more films, Episode II: The Clone Wars and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith followed over the next seven years. Currently, a sequel trilogy of three more films is underway, starting with Episode VII: The New Republic, which is currently in the post-production phase and i