<P> In 1971 , Lucas signed a contract with Universal Studios to direct two films . He intended one of them to be a space opera ; however , knowing film studios were skeptical about the genre , Lucas decided to direct his other idea first , American Graffiti , a coming - of - age story set in the 1960s . In 1973 , Lucas started work on his second film 's script draft of The Journal of the Whills , a space opera telling the tale of the training of apprentice CJ Thorpe as a `` Jedi - Bendu '' space commando by the legendary Mace Windy . After Universal rejected the film , 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it . On April 17 , 1973 , Lucas felt frustrated about his story being too difficult to understand , so he began writing a 13 - page script with thematic parallels to Akira Kurosawa 's The Hidden Fortress ; this draft was renamed The Star Wars . By 1974 , he had expanded the script into a rough draft screenplay , adding elements such as the Sith , the Death Star , and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller . Numerous subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film . </P>
<P> In 1971 , Lucas signed a contract with Universal Studios to direct two films . He intended one of them to be a space opera ; however , knowing film studios were skeptical about the genre , Lucas decided to direct his other idea first , American Graffiti , a coming - of - age story set in the 1960s . In 1973 , Lucas started work on his second film 's script draft of The Journal of the Whills , a space opera telling the tale of the training of apprentice CJ Thorpe as a `` Jedi - Bendu '' space commando by the legendary Mace Windy . After Universal rejected the film , 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it . On April 17 , 1973 , Lucas felt frustrated about his story being too difficult to understand , so he began writing a 13 - page script with thematic parallels to Akira Kurosawa 's The Hidden Fortress ; this draft was renamed The Star Wars . By 1974 , he had expanded the script into a rough draft screenplay , adding elements such as the Sith , the Death Star , and a protagonist named Annikin Starkiller . Numerous subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film . </P>
what was the original name of the first star wars movie
what was the original name of the first star wars movie
The Star Wars
The Star Wars