<P> The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars ( later subtitled Episode IV : A New Hope in 1981 ) , which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon . It was followed by the 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 , which received mixed reactions from both critics and fans . A sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars : The Force Awakens and continued in 2017 with the release of Star Wars : The Last Jedi . The first eight films were nominated for Academy Awards ( with wins going to the first two films released ) and have been commercial successes , with a combined box office revenue of over US $8.5 billion , making Star Wars the second highest - grossing film series . Spin - off films include the animated Star Wars : The Clone Wars ( 2008 ) and Rogue One ( 2016 ) , the latter of which is the first in a planned series of anthology films . </P>
<P> The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars ( later subtitled Episode IV : A New Hope in 1981 ) , which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon . It was followed by the 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 , which received mixed reactions from both critics and fans . A sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars : The Force Awakens and continued in 2017 with the release of Star Wars : The Last Jedi . The first eight films were nominated for Academy Awards ( with wins going to the first two films released ) and have been commercial successes , with a combined box office revenue of over US $8.5 billion , making Star Wars the second highest - grossing film series . Spin - off films include the animated Star Wars : The Clone Wars ( 2008 ) and Rogue One ( 2016 ) , the latter of which is the first in a planned series of anthology films . </P>
when did the first star wars movie come put
when did the first star wars movie come put
1977
1977