Timeline of Star Wars-related Events
This chronology is taken from all Star Wars-related events, showing the development behind the Star Wars universe.
05/14/44 |
George Walton Lucas, Jr., is born in Modesto, CA |
06/12/62 |
Lucas is involved in a near-fatal car accident |
06/09/64 |
Lucas gets his Associate's Degree in art from Modesto Junior College |
mm/dd/65 |
Lucas completes his first film, Look at Life for a USC class in animation |
mm/dd/66 |
Lucas completes Herbie with Paul Golding, for a USC class exercise in cinematic design |
mm/dd/66 |
Lucas completes 1.42.08 |
mm/dd/67 |
Lucas completes The Emperor, a documentary about an LA disc jockey |
mm/dd/67 |
Lucas completes THX 1138:4EB (Electronic Labyrinth) as part of a teaching assignment for Navy and Marine cameramen |
mm/dd/67 |
Lucas completes Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town |
mm/dd/67 |
Lucas wins an apprenticeship at Warner Brothers, and meets Francis Ford Coppola |
mm/dd/68 |
Lucas completes Filmmaker, which documents Coppola’s work on The Rain People |
05/xx/66 |
Lucas gets his Bachelor's Degree in Cinema from USC |
mm/dd/67 |
Lucas produces 6.18.67, which chronicles the making of Carl Foreman’s McKenna’s Gold |
02/22/69 |
Lucas marries Marcia Griffin in Pacific Grove, CA |
03/11/71 |
THX-1138 is released to theaters |
01/28/73 |
Lucasfilm Ltd. is debuted at the screening for American Graffiti |
08/01/73 |
American Graffiti is released to theaters |
05/xx/74 |
George Lucas completes the first draft of Star Wars |
01/28/75 |
Lucas completes the second draft, called Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One of The Star Wars |
03/25/75 |
Production begins on Star Wars |
05/01/75 |
Lucas sends his second draft to Alan Ladd, Jr. |
06/xx/75 |
Lucas and Gary Kurtz ask John Dykstra to set up ILM |
07/xx/75 |
ILM is officially created |
08/01/75 |
Lucas delivers his third draft of The Star Wars |
03/dd/76 |
Principle filming begins on Star Wars |
mm/dd/77 |
Work on Star Wars completes, at a cost of $12.5 million |
05/25/77 |
Star Wars is released in US movie theaters |
12/16/77 |
Star Wars is released to Swedish movie theaters |
02/10/78 |
Star Wars is released to German move theaters |
03/xx/78 |
Leigh Brackett completes the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back |
07/21/78 |
Star Wars is re-released |
|
NPR airs "A Wind to Shake the Stars", the first episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (27:16) |
|
NPR airs "Points of Origin", the second episode in the |
|
NPR airs "Black Knight, White Princess, and Pawns", the third episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (28:02) |
|
NPR airs "While Giants Mark Time", the fourth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (27:42) |
|
NPR airs "Jedi That Was, Jedi To Be", the fifth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (27:28) |
|
NPR airs "The Millennium Falcon Deal", the sixth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (26:32) |
|
NPR airs "The Han Solo Solution", the seventh episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (25:26) |
|
NPR airs "Death Star's Transit", the eighth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (28:30) |
|
NPR airs "Rogues, Rebels, and Robots", the ninth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (27:52) |
|
NPR airs "The Luke Skywalker Initiative", the tenth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (25:08) |
|
NPR airs "The Jedi Nexus", the eleventh episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (26:58) |
|
NPR airs "The Case for Rebellion", the twelfth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (28:14) |
|
NPR airs "Force and Counter Force", the thirteenth episode in the Star Wars Radio Drama (28:08) |
09/dd/78 |
Lucas purchases Bulltail Ranch, on Lucas Valley Road, for development of Skywalker Ranch |
11/17/78 |
The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS_TV |
mm/dd/78 |
LucasArts Licensing is established |
03/09/79 |
Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back |
08/03/79 |
More American Graffiti is released to US theaters |
08/15/79 |
Star Wars is re-released |
11/dd/79 |
Work begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark |
mm/dd/80 |
Construction begins on Skywalker Ranch |
mm/dd/80 |
Lucas and Coppola assist Akira Kurosawa in the production of Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) |
05/21/80 |
The Empire Strikes Back is released to US theaters |
06/28/80 |
The Empire Strikes Back is released to Japanese theaters |
08/15/80 |
The Empire Strikes Back is released to Swedish theaters |
12/11/80 |
The Empire Strikes Back is released to German theaters |
|
NPR airs "Freedom's Winter", the first episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (25:39) |
|
NPR airs "The Coming Storm", the second episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (26:08) |
|
NPR airs "A Question of Survival", the third episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (25:00) |
|
NPR airs "Fire and Ice", the fourth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (26:27) |
|
NPR airs "The Millennium Falcon Pursuit", the fifth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (25:52) |
|
NPR airs "Way of the Jedi", the sixth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (27:32) |
|
NPR airs "New Allies, New Enemies", the seventh episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (27:32) |
|
NPR airs "Dark Lord's Fury", the eighth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (25:33) |
|
NPR airs "Gambler's Choice", the ninth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (24:27) |
|
NPR airs "The Clash of Lightsabers", the tenth episode in the The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama (27:34) |
01/dd/81 |
A time capsule is buried in the foundation of Skywalker Ranch |
04/10/81 |
Star Wars is re-released |
06/12/81 |
Raiders of the Lost Ark is released to theaters. Production costs totaled $18 million. |
07/31/81 |
The Empire Strikes Back is re-released |
mm/dd/81 |
Lucas acts as an uncredited Executive Producer on Body Heat, released on this date |
01/dd/82 |
Work begins on Return of the Jedi |
08/13/82 |
Star Wars is re-released |
08/dd/82 |
Lucas serves as Executive Producer for the animated film Twice Upon A Time, released on this date. |
11/19/82 |
The Empire Strikes Back is re-released |
mm/dd/82 |
The THX Sound System is first developed for use in theaters |
05/25/83 |
Return of the Jedi is released in US movie theaters |
07/02/83 |
Return of the Jedi is released in Japanese theaters |
09/30/83 |
Return of the Jedi is released to Swedish theaters |
10/19/83 |
Return of the Jedi is released to French theaters |
05/23/84 |
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is released to US theaters. Production costs totaled $30 million. |
11/25/84 |
The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage airs on ABC-TV’s "Sunday Night Movie" |
mm/dd/85 |
The main buildings of Skywalker Ranch are first opened for use |
09/07/85 |
The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour animated series begins its run on ABC-TV |
09/dd/85 |
Lucas and Coppola act as Executive Producers on the film Mishima, released on this date |
11/24/85 |
The Battle for Endor airs on ABC-TV’s "Sunday Night Movie" |
mm/dd/85 |
Lucas assists Walter Murch in the production of Return to Oz |
mm/dd/85 |
Lucas begins working on the script for Captain EO |
06/07/86 |
The Great Heap airs on ABC-TV |
06/27/86 |
Labyrinth is released to US theaters |
08/01/86 |
Howard the Duck is released to US theaters |
09/13/86 |
Captain EO is debuted at Disneyland |
11/01/86 |
The Ewoks animated series begins its run on ABC-TV |
mm/dd/87 |
LucasArts Learning is established |
mm/dd/87 |
The Tech Building at Skywalker Ranch is opened for use |
04/dd/88 |
Lucas and Coppola produce Powaqqatsi, which is released to US theaters on this date |
05/20/88 |
Willow is released to US theaters |
08/12/88 |
Tucker: The Man and His Dream is released to US theaters |
11/18/88 |
Lucas and Speilberg serve as Executive Producers on The Land Before Time, released to US theaters on this date |
05/24/89 |
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is released to US theaters. Production costs totaled $44 million. |
09/14/90 |
The Maniac Mansion television series begins its run on the Family Channel |
mm/dd/yy |
Lucasfilm and Bantam Books combine to create 16-19 new stories in the Star Wars universe. |
mm/dd/91 |
Heir to the Empire is released, becoming the first Star Wars novel set beyond Return of the Jedi |
03/04/92 |
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles begins its run on ABC-TV |
mm/dd/92 |
Lucas is given the Irving G. Thalberg Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences |
10/28/94 |
Lucas begins scripting Star Wars episodes I-III |
11/96 |
NPR airs "Tatooine Haunts", the first episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
NPR airs "Fast Friends", the second episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
|
NPR airs "Prophecies and Destinies", the third episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
|
NPR airs "Pattern and Web", the fourth episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
|
NPR airs "So Turns a Galaxy, So Turns a Wheel", the fifth episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
|
NPR airs "Blood of a Jedi", the sixth episode in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama |
|
01/25/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in US theaters |
01/31/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Kenyan theaters |
02/13/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Puerto Rican theaters |
02/21/97 |
The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition is released in US theaters |
03/14/97 |
Return of the Jedi: Special Edition is released in US theaters |
|
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Thailand |
03/19/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Belgian and French theaters |
03/20/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Australia, Germany, and Holland |
03/21/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in theaters in Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and Uruguay |
03/26/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to Venezuelan theaters |
03/27/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Croatia, Slovakia, Hong Kong, Hungary, New Zealand, Peru, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia |
03/28/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in theaters in Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Panama, and Turkey |
03/30/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in the Phillipines |
04/04/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Denmark and Iceland |
04/09/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Jamaican theaters |
04/12/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Taiwan |
04/18/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Indian theaters |
04/19/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in South Korean theaters |
04/28/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Egyptian theaters |
05/21/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Malaysia |
05/29/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to theaters in Singapore |
06/17/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released in Indonesian theaters |
06/26/97 |
Phase 1 of principal photography begins in Italy for Episode One |
07/05/97 |
Star Wars: Special Edition is released to Japanese theaters |
07/29/97 |
A sandstorm hits the Tunisian production crew working on Episode One |
09/26/97 |
Phase 1 of principal photography on Episode One closes down at Leavesdon Studios |
09/29/97 |
CGI processing begins on Episode One at LucasFilm |
03/18/98 |
Phase 1 of pickup filming on Episode One begins at Leavesden Studios |
08/07/98 |
Final phase of pickup filming on Episode One begins at Leavesden Studios |
08/07/98 |
Release date for Episode One is set for May 21, 1999 |
08/25/98 |
Pick-up filming at Leavesden wraps up for Episode I |