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144-531: Early drafts of the Star Wars story include references to at least two planets which later evolved into the concept of Alderaan. Star Wars author George Lucas included a planet called Alderaan in early treatments ; in The Star Wars (1973), Alderaan is a city-planet and the capital planet of the galaxy (prefiguring the planet Coruscant which later featured in the films). The draft script opens with

288-565: A Force spirit . On the ice planet Hoth , he instructs Luke to travel to Dagobah to find the exiled Jedi Master Yoda. Yoda is reluctant to mentor Luke, but Obi-Wan convinces him to continue Luke's training. When Luke intends to leave Dagobah to rescue his friends in Cloud City , Obi-Wan beseeches him to stay, but Luke leaves anyway. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Obi-Wan appears to Luke after Yoda's death on Dagobah. Obi-Wan confirms that Vader

432-611: A Jedi mind trick to compel Imperial troops to let them through a checkpoint. Obi-Wan and Luke hire the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan aboard Han's ship, the Millennium Falcon . During the journey, Obi-Wan instructs Luke in lightsaber combat. Obi-Wan suddenly feels "a great disturbance in the Force"; soon after, he and the others find that the Empire has obliterated Alderaan. The Falcon gets caught in

576-522: A Jedi, with or without the approval of the Jedi Council. Later, Yoda proclaims Obi-Wan a Jedi Knight and reluctantly allows Anakin to become his Padawan . The second film of the trilogy, Attack of the Clones (2002), takes place ten years later. Anakin has grown powerful but arrogant, and believes that Obi-Wan is holding him back. After they save Padmé from an assassination attempt, Obi-Wan traces

720-453: A Pretty (how) Town , Filmmaker and 6-18-67 . He was passionate and interested in camerawork and editing, defining himself as a filmmaker as opposed to being a director, and he loved making abstract visual films that created emotions purely through non-narrative structures. In 1967, Lucas re-enrolled as a USC graduate student in film production. He began working under movie and logo designer Saul Bass and film editor Verna Fields for

864-688: A clique of film students known as The Dirty Dozen . He also became good friends with fellow acclaimed student filmmaker and future Indiana Jones collaborator, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese . A group of friends, which included Chris Lewis and Don Glut , started the Clean Cut Cinema Club. Lucas, Kleiser and Lewis then formed a short-lived production company called Sunrise Productions with offices on Sunset Boulevard. There they would make up stage names for themselves, Lucas calling himself Lucas Beaumont. Their only project would be

1008-624: A donation to NYU through the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation to establish the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts . Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi ( / ˈ oʊ b iː ˌ w ɑː n k ə ˈ n oʊ b iː / ) is a character in the Star Wars franchise. In the original film trilogy , he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force . In

1152-401: A ferocious lightsaber duel, which ends with Obi-Wan severing several of his limbs. Obi-Wan leaves Vader burning to death, unaware that he will be rescued by Sidious moments later and eventually turned into a cyborg. Obi-Wan takes Padmé to the asteroid Polis Massa , where she dies after giving birth to the twins Luke and Leia. He assists in hiding the children from the newly created Empire: Leia

1296-485: A final lightsaber duel; with his dying breath, Maul asks Obi-Wan if he is protecting the "Chosen One", and Obi-Wan replies that he is. After Maul's death, Obi-Wan is seen watching over Luke Skywalker from a distance. In Rebels , Obi-Wan was voiced by Stephen Stanton , who replaced James Arnold Taylor. Rebels creator Dave Filoni , who worked with the character during the full duration of Star Wars: The Clone Wars , said he considered asking McGregor to reprise and voice

1440-804: A key supporter in the creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband funding to schools and libraries, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art , a forthcoming art museum in Los Angeles developed with his wife, Mellody Hobson . Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, California , the son of Dorothy Ellinore Lucas (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas Sr., and is of German, Swiss-German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch and French descent. His family attended Disneyland during its opening week in July 1955, and Lucas would remain enthusiastic about

1584-534: A later scene in the film, but is only shown on-screen in a distant view from space as the Empire's gigantic space station, the Death Star, moves into orbit around the planet. The battle station's commander, the Grand Moff Tarkin ( Peter Cushing ) orders the Death Star's superweapon to be fired at the planet as both a test of the superlaser at full power and as a message to the rest of the galaxy that

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1728-497: A lot of samurai pride" and turned down the roles of both Obi-Wan and Darth Vader because he thought Star Wars would employ cheap special effects and would therefore "cheapen the image of samurai". Once Guinness was selected and production was underway, Lucas credited the English actor with inspiring the cast and crew to work harder, which contributed significantly to the completion of filming. Harrison Ford , who plays Han Solo in

1872-513: A mentor for Luke, and originally planned for him to continue training Luke in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the first sequel to Star Wars . Although Obi-Wan's death was not in the final version of the Star Wars script, Lucas decided during filming that Obi-Wan should die. Alec Guinness said he begged Lucas to kill off his character because he hated Obi-Wan's dialogue. Lucas, however, claimed he added Obi-Wan's death because

2016-493: A message on Obi-Wan 's transmitter that reveals Luke's location on Tatooine. Vader pursues the ship carrying the Path members and Obi-Wan , who decides to lure Vader away and confront him on a nearby planet. As they duel, Obi-Wan regains his connection to the Force and realizes Anakin has completely embraced his identity as Vader. Obi-Wan wounds his former apprentice and leaves him incapacitated. On Tatooine, Reva pursues Luke into

2160-554: A millionaire by the age of 30. He attended Modesto Junior College , where he studied anthropology , sociology, and literature, amongst other subjects. He also began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming car races. At this time, Lucas became interested in Canyon Cinema : screenings of underground , avant-garde 16 mm filmmakers like Jordan Belson , Stan Brakhage and Bruce Conner . Lucas and childhood friend John Plummer also saw classic European films of

2304-472: A peacekeeper from the days of the Republic. He explains that Luke's father was also a Jedi, and was killed by Darth Vader. Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's lightsaber and invites him to come to Alderaan and begin Jedi training. At first Luke declines, but changes his mind after finding that his aunt and uncle have been killed by Imperial stormtroopers . As Obi-Wan and Luke approach Mos Eisley , Obi-Wan uses

2448-488: A pioneer of the modern blockbuster . Despite this, he has remained an independent filmmaker away from Hollywood for most of his career. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas moved to San Francisco and co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola . He wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB , which

2592-464: A producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been appointed as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. It was reported that Kennedy would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive and serve as co-chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's sole leader. With the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas is currently Disney's second-largest single shareholder, after

2736-629: A scene in which an "eerie blue-green" planet called Aquilae is threatened by an armed space fortress. In Lucas' 1975 draft, Adventures of the Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars , the capital planet of Alderaan is described as a floating city in the clouds, "suspended in a sea of cirrus methane". A planet described in Lucas' draft script as being "under siege by

2880-407: A semi-frozen polar sea, and thousands of lakes and rivers. It is rich in biodiversity, populated by a wide variety of flora and fauna, such as the nerf and the thranta . Human life on the planet is evidenced by a number of cities, built to harmonize with the natural environment such as on canyon walls, on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital city, Aldera, has been built on

3024-593: A small island in the center of a caldera . The Alderaanian people value arts and education highly, and place high importance on their participation in the Galactic (later Imperial) Senate and the promotion of peace through demilitarization. The largely democratic society is formed as hereditary constitutional monarchy , ruled by the King or Queen of Alderaan from the Royal House of Antilles and later, due to marriage,

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3168-528: A small planet settled by Alderaanian explorers in the Inner Rim of the galaxy. According to the 2016 novel Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray , as well as the 2017 Chuck Wendig novel Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire's End , due to the destruction of Alderaan, Princess Leia gave birth to Ben on Chandrila , the home planet of Mon Mothma , as well as the temporary capital of the New Republic . Ben

3312-470: A success. Lucas then created his own company, Lucasfilm, Ltd. , and directed the successful American Graffiti (1973). Lucas then set his sights on adapting Flash Gordon , an adventure serial from his childhood that he fondly remembered. When he was unable to obtain the rights, he set out to write an original space adventure that would eventually become Star Wars . Despite his success with his previous film, all but one studio turned Star Wars down. It

3456-542: A tree; Lucas's seatbelt had snapped, ejecting him and thereby saving his life. However, his lungs were bruised from severe hemorrhaging and he required emergency medical treatment. This incident caused him to lose interest in racing as a career, but also inspired him to pursue his other interests. Lucas's father owned a stationery store, and had wanted George to work for him when he turned 18. Lucas had been planning to go to art school, but his father said he wouldn't pay for it. Lucas declared upon leaving home that he would be

3600-535: A troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time , winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon . Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg , he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of

3744-482: A very good eye, and he thought visually," he recalled. At Plummer's recommendation, Lucas then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts . USC was one of the earliest universities to have a school devoted to motion picture film . During the years at USC, Lucas shared a dorm room with Randal Kleiser . Along with classmates such as Walter Murch , Caleb Deschanel , Hal Barwood , John Milius and Matthew Robbins , they became

3888-600: A warehouse in Van Nuys, California . After seeing the map for the location was zoned as light industrial , Lucas named the group Industrial Light and Magic, which became the Special Visual Effects department on Star Wars . Alongside Dykstra, other leading members of the original ILM team were Ken Ralston , Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Robert Blalack , Joe Johnston , Phil Tippett , Steve Gawley , Lorne Peterson and Paul Huston. By June 2013, Lucas

4032-576: Is Luke's father, and reveals that Leia is Luke's twin sister. He urges Luke to confront and defeat Vader. After the Rebels destroy the second Death Star and defeat the Empire, Obi-Wan appears at the celebration on Endor alongside the Force spirits of Yoda and Anakin Skywalker. A younger Obi-Wan appears in The Phantom Menace (1999), which is set thirty-two years before Star Wars . He is

4176-458: Is adopted by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, while Obi-Wan delivers Luke to Anakin's stepbrother Owen Lars and his wife Beru on Tatooine. Obi-Wan then goes into exile on Tatooine, where he can watch over Luke. In The Force Awakens (2015), Rey hears Obi-Wan's voice during a Force vision. During her battle against the resurrected Darth Sidious in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), she hears

4320-425: Is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm , LucasArts , Industrial Light & Magic and THX . He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Nominated for four Academy Awards , he is considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and

4464-537: Is devastated by the Galactic Empire . Alderaan is featured in a 1991 role-playing game , Graveyard of Alderaan (part of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game ). It describes how, after the Clone Wars , Alderaan's massive war machine was dismantled, and the weapons were placed aboard an armory warship called Another Chance . The ship was programmed to continually jump through hyperspace until called home by

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4608-684: Is mentioned frequently and also serves as a location in several works in the Star Wars Expanded Universe , the collection of books, comics and other material considered outside official canon, now branded Star Wars Legends . In various stories, Alderaan is presented as the home of the characters Tycho Celchu , and of Ulic Qel Droma who fought in the Great Sith War in 4000 BBY. The 1981 NPR / BBC radio drama adaptation of Star Wars features scenes set on Alderaan, in which Princess Leia discusses her mission to acquire

4752-525: Is planning to revolt against the Republic. The confederacy is led by the Sith Lord Count Dooku , the former Jedi Master of Qui-Gon . Obi-Wan is captured and sentenced to death by Dooku, but Yoda and Mace Windu arrive with an army and prevent the execution. Obi-Wan and Anakin confront Dooku, but he overpowers them both. Yoda saves their lives, but Dooku escapes. Revenge of the Sith (2005)

4896-481: Is secretly a member of the Path, an organization that aids those hunted by the Empire. As she escorts them to a hidden passageway, Vader arrives and begins harming innocent bystanders, hoping to bait Obi-Wan into revealing himself. Obi-Wan duels with Vader, who overpowers him. Tala saves Obi-Wan , but Leia is captured again by Reva. Obi-Wan and Tala rescue Leia from the Inquisitors' stronghold, escaping with

5040-405: Is set three years later. Obi-Wan is now a Jedi Master, a member of the Jedi Council, and a general. Obi-Wan and Anakin embark on a rescue mission to save the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine from the cyborg Separatist commander General Grievous . Dooku duels the Jedi once again, knocking Obi-Wan unconscious. Anakin then defeats Dooku and executes him on Palpatine's orders. After locating Grievous on

5184-404: Is widely believed to be dead. In an attempt to lure him, she kidnaps Luke's twin sister, Princess Leia. Obi-Wan agrees to rescue Leia after her adoptive father, Bail Organa, visits his home. After tracking Leia's kidnappers to the planet Daiyu, Obi-Wan encounters the con artist Haja Estree , who directs Obi-Wan to Leia's location. Obi-Wan liberates the young princess, but is unable to flee

5328-466: The Indiana Jones television prequel spinoff The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–93). There were unsuccessful projects, however, including More American Graffiti (1979), Willard Huyck 's Howard the Duck (1986), which was the biggest flop of Lucas's career, Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) and Radioland Murders (1994) directed by Mel Smith . The animation studio Pixar

5472-528: The National Film Board of Canada like Arthur Lipsett 's 21-87 , cameraman Jean-Claude Labrecque 's cinéma vérité 60 Cycles , the work of Norman McLaren and the documentaries of Claude Jutra . Lucas fell madly in love with pure cinema and quickly became prolific at making 16 mm nonstory noncharacter visual tone poems and cinéma vérité with such titles as Look at Life , Herbie , 1:42.08 , The Emperor , Anyone Lived in

5616-808: The National Mall in Washington, D.C., to commemorate American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. On September 19, 2006, the University of Southern California announced that Lucas had donated $ 175–180 million to his alma mater to expand the film school. It is the largest single donation to USC and the largest gift to a film school anywhere. Previous donations led to the already-existing George Lucas Instructional Building and Marcia Lucas Post-Production building. In 2013, Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson donated $ 25 million to

5760-537: The San Francisco Bay Area and co-founded the studio American Zoetrope with Coppola, hoping to create a liberating environment for filmmakers to direct outside the perceived oppressive control of the Hollywood studio system . Coppola thought Lucas's Electronic Labyrinth could be adapted into his first full-length feature film, which was produced by American Zoetrope as THX 1138 , but was not

5904-620: The United States Air Force as an officer, but he was immediately turned down because of his numerous speeding tickets. He was later drafted by the United States Army for military service in Vietnam , but he was exempted from service after medical tests showed he had diabetes , the disease that killed his paternal grandfather. Lucas saw many inspiring films in class, particularly the visual films coming out of

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6048-621: The United States House of Representatives subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet as the head of his Foundation to advocate for a free wireless broadband educational network. In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company for a reported sum of $ 4.05 billion. It was widely reported at the time that Lucas intended to give the majority of the proceeds from the sale to charity. A spokesperson for Lucasfilm said: "George Lucas has expressed his intention, in

6192-513: The United States Information Agency , where he met his future wife Marcia Griffin . Working as a teaching instructor for a class of U.S. Navy students who were being taught documentary cinematography, Lucas directed the short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB , which won first prize at the 1967–68 National Student film festival. Lucas was awarded a student scholarship by Warner Bros. to observe and work on

6336-832: The highest-grossing film of all time , displaced five years later by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial . After the success of American Graffiti and prior to the beginning of filming on Star Wars , Lucas was encouraged to renegotiate for a higher fee for writing and directing Star Wars than the US$ 150,000 agreed. He declined to do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular, ownership of licensing and merchandising rights (for novelizations , clothing, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements for sequels. Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for

6480-596: The prequel trilogy , he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker . Obi-Wan is portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and by Ewan McGregor in the prequel films. McGregor also plays the character in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi . Guinness' performance in Star Wars (1977) earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor , as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . Various claims have been made about

6624-425: The "Special Editions". The trilogy received further modifications and restorations for DVD releases in 2004, Blu-ray releases in 2011 and 4K releases released in 2019. Additionally, Lucas released a director's cut of THX 1138 in 2004, with the film re-cut and containing a number of CGI additions. The first Star Wars prequel was finished and released in 1999 as Episode I – The Phantom Menace , which would be

6768-452: The "secret sauce" of his movies. Lucas is the wealthiest film celebrity in the world. His personal net worth is estimated to be between $ 7.5–9.4 billion. Lucas has pledged to give half of his fortune to charity as part of an effort called The Giving Pledge led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to persuade America's richest individuals to donate their financial wealth to charities. In 1991, The George Lucas Educational Foundation

6912-628: The 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special for 20th Century Fox Television . That year, Lucas hired Los Angeles-based real-estate specialist Charles Weber to manage the company, telling him that he could keep the job as long as he made money. Lucas wanted the focus of the company to be making independent films, but the company gradually became enlarged from five employees to almost 100, increasing in middle management and running up costs. In 1980, after Weber asked Lucas for fifty million dollars to invest in other companies and suggested that they sell Skywalker Ranch to do so, Lucas fired Weber and had to let half of

7056-460: The 2019 novel Master and Apprentice , which explores his relationship with Qui-Gon prior to the events of The Phantom Menace . He is also featured in two 2022 novels: Brotherhood , which is set at the beginning of the Clone Wars, and Star Wars Padawan , which recounts his early years as an apprentice. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of

7200-610: The Alderanian Council. Bill Slavicsek , who wrote the game's sourcebook, later drew from it for his edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe . In the Dark Horse comic Dark Empire (1991–1992), New Alderaan is a Rebel Alliance colony planet populated by Alderaanians who were off-world when Alderaan was destroyed. Mon Mothma 's daughter lives there. In Alan Dean Foster 's 1976 novelization of

7344-475: The CGI film Strange Magic , his first musical. The film was produced at Skywalker Ranch . Gary Rydstrom directed the movie. At the same time the sequel trilogy was announced, a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones series also entered pre-development phase with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg set to return. Lucas originally did not specify whether the selling of Lucasfilm would affect his involvement with

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7488-835: The Chicago-based not-for-profit After School Matters, of which Hobson is the chair. On April 15, 2016, it was reported that Lucas had donated between $ 501,000 and $ 1 million through the Lucas Family Foundation (now the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation) to the Obama Foundation , which is charged with overseeing the construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side . In 2021, Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson made

7632-481: The Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated movie and television series of the same name, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012) and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams , who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all

7776-406: The Clones . The final prequel, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , began production in 2002 and was released in 2005. Numerous older fans and critics at the time considered the prequels more mixed compared to the original trilogy, though they were box office successes and popular with younger fans. In 2004, Lucas reflected that his transition from independent to corporate filmmaker mirrored

7920-474: The Clones and Revenge of the Sith , and featured the last Star Wars stories in which Lucas was involved in a major way. In 2012, Lucas self-funded and served as executive producer for Red Tails , a war film based on the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II . He also took over directing of reshoots while director Anthony Hemingway worked on other projects. I'm moving away from

8064-535: The Crystal Skull (2008), and served as an executive producer, with a cursory involvement in pre and post-production, on The Dial of Destiny (2023). In 1997, Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition featuring several modifications; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of

8208-490: The Death Star destroys the planet. In an episode of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars entitled "Assassin", Ahsoka Tano has premonitions of Padmé 's death on Alderaan. The mercenary Carasynthia "Cara" Dune , in The Mandalorian , is a former Republic Shock Trooper from Alderaan, according to Moff Gideon , which she later confirms. The planet appeared in the first and sixth episodes of

8352-581: The Death Star plans from agents of the Rebel Alliance with her father, Bail Organa (Prestor Organa). In a later scene, she is confronted by the Imperial commander Lord Tion and accused of treason. It is established that Alderaan has a strict policy against weapons. In Michael A. Stackpole 's 1998 novel, I, Jedi , Alderaan features as the sanctuary of the Caamasi when their home world of Caamas

8496-461: The Death Star's tractor beam, but the group is able to avoid detection and infiltrate the station. Obi-Wan disables the tractor beam, then encounters Vader. They engage in a lightsaber duel as Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca escape. Obi-Wan allows Vader to strike him down, then vanishes into the Force. Later, Obi-Wan contacts Luke through the Force and helps him destroy the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Obi-Wan appears several times as

8640-501: The Force, Obi-Wan reassures Luke that he will be there for him when needed. Obi-Wan appears in the animated micro-series Clone Wars , which aired on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005. Guinness was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Obi-Wan in Star Wars . In 2003, the American Film Institute selected Obi-Wan Kenobi as the 37th-greatest movie hero of all time . He

8784-475: The Holonet, the galaxy's official news source. Obi-Wan appears in the final chapter of Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader , which takes place just after Revenge of the Sith . He learns with alarm that Vader survived their duel on Mustafar, but Qui-Gon assures him that Vader will not set foot on Tatooine for fear of reawakening Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon advises him not to reveal to Luke his true parentage until

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8928-659: The House of Organa. The planetary government is the High Council of Alderaan, presided over by a First Chairman and Viceroy . The destruction of Alderaan is considered by some as an artistic depiction of the danger of nuclear weapons during the Cold War and some claim it is used as a pop-culture example of inadequate political and military action leading to negative effects. Footnotes Citations George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944)

9072-780: The Imperial Legions of Alderaan" and which is later destroyed is named as Ogana Major . Early sketches commissioned by Lucas from conceptual illustrator Ralph McQuarrie show a design which very closely resembles Cloud City , as featured in the later sequel, The Empire Strikes Back . In Lucas' third draft, the Imperial City of Alderaan has become the home world of the Sith Lords , and Darth Vader holds Princess Leia captive here. Lucas continued to hone his script, aided by screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz ; names of planets and characters were revised and

9216-571: The Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark , Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ). After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, Williams stayed on board with the franchise, and continued to score the remaining three films of the " Skywalker Saga " ( The Force Awakens , The Last Jedi , and The Rise of Skywalker , for which he received a further three Oscar nominations), after which he announced his "retirement" from

9360-400: The Los Angeles staff go. By the same year, the corporate subsidiary had been discontinued and its business was absorbed into the various divisions of Lucasfilm. Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic in 1975, he wanted his 1977 film Star Wars to include visual effects that had never been seen on film before. After discovering that the in-house effects department at 20th Century Fox

9504-611: The Main Title Theme, the Force Theme (less commonly referred to as Obi Wan Kenobi's Theme), the Rebel Alliance Theme and Princess Leia's Theme (all introduced in this film) repeatedly. Subsequent films also added to the catalog of themes for different characters, factions, and locations. The score was released to critical acclaim and won Williams his third Academy Award for Best Original Score . The score

9648-596: The Separatists, is tortured by Asajj Ventress before being rescued by Anakin, and apprehends the corrupt Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. Throughout the series, he grows increasingly wary of Palpatine's designs on the Republic and his influence on Anakin. In the Star Wars: Visionaries story "Old Wounds" (2005), Obi-Wan confronts Darth Maul on Tatooine during Luke's childhood. Owen Lars shoots and kills Maul, then warns Obi-Wan to stay away from Luke. Through

9792-420: The Sith (2005), appearing briefly at the end of the film. The adoptive father of Princess Leia, Bail Organa ( Jimmy Smits ) is seen piloting a starship to the planet's surface, which is shown as a mountainous, alpine region covered in snow. Landing his ship in a citadel among the mountains, he brings the newborn Leia to the royal palace and introduces her to his wife, Queen Breha. The backdrop for these scenes

9936-442: The Sith (2005) a short scene shows a city amid a snow-covered, mountainous landscape. Alderaan was originally featured in the first film, Star Wars , released in 1977. The opening scene depicts the capture of a small spaceship from Alderaan, the Tantive IV , by the Galactic Empire , and introduces the character of Princess Leia Organa, a princess of the Royal House of Alderaan who is played by Carrie Fisher. Alderaan appears in

10080-416: The Sith and Star Wars is depicted in The Last of the Jedi series. Set roughly a year after the fall of the Republic, the series follows Obi-Wan as he seeks out possible survivors of the Great Jedi Purge , including Anakin's former rival, Ferus Olin. The novels also depict Obi-Wan adjusting to life as a hermit on Tatooine while watching over Luke. He discovers that Vader is still alive after seeing him on

10224-445: The appellation "The Negotiator" due to his reputation for preventing and stopping battles without the use of weapons. The series highlights his numerous confrontations with General Grievous, his adversarial relationship with the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress , his romance with Duchess Satine Kryze, and the return of his old enemy Darth Maul. The animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018) takes place five years before Star Wars . In

10368-716: The apprentice of the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn , and accompanies him to negotiations with the Trade Federation , which is blockading the planet Naboo . Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon rescue Naboo's fourteen-year-old queen Padmé Amidala with help from the Gungan Jar Jar Binks , then travel to Coruscant , the capital of the Republic . When they land on Tatooine for repairs, they encounter the nine-year-old slave Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon believes

10512-422: The assassins to the planet Kamino . He learns of a massive clone army that is being created for the Republic. The clones are derived from the bounty hunter Jango Fett , and Obi-Wan deduces that he was responsible for the attempt on Padmé's life. Fett escapes to the planet Geonosis with his clone son Boba , unaware that Obi-Wan is pursuing them. On Geonosis, Obi-Wan discovers that a confederacy of star systems

10656-436: The beginning of the series, Obi-Wan is living in hiding on Tatooine and watching over the ten-year-old Luke. He has lost his connection to the Force, cannot communicate with the spirit of Qui-Gon, and experiences nightmares from his past. Unbeknownst to Obi-Wan , Anakin survived their duel on Mustafar and is now hunting Jedi as Darth Vader. Reva Sevander , one of the Empire's Inquisitors, is obsessed with finding Obi-Wan , who

10800-591: The book Skywalker: A Family at War by Kristin Baver, as the son of Princess Leia , Ben Solo would have inherited the title of "Prince of Alderaan" if the planet and the royal House of Organa not been destroyed by his grandfather, Darth Vader , and Empire prior to his birth. Upon the birth of Ben Solo, he was considered a member of the Elder Houses of the galaxy, and entitled through hereditary succession to ceremonial titles, including "Supreme Governor of Birren",

10944-545: The boy is the " Chosen One " of Jedi prophecy, destined to bring balance to the Force. After securing his freedom, Anakin joins the group on their journey. While leaving Tatooine, they are attacked by the Sith Lord Darth Maul . Back on Naboo, they meet Maul again, and engage him in lightsaber combat. Maul mortally wounds Qui-Gon, then is killed by Obi-Wan. As Qui-Gon dies, he asks his apprentice to train Anakin as

11088-404: The business ... From the company, from all this kind of stuff. —George Lucas on his future career plans In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large blockbuster films, and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features. In June 2012, it was announced that producer Kathleen Kennedy , a long-term collaborator with Steven Spielberg and

11232-489: The character served no purpose after his duel with Vader. Lucas later reflected: "It would be much more powerful, satisfying and interesting if Darth Vader were to kill him and he were to go on to a different form." When outlining The Empire Strikes Back , Lucas decided he wanted Obi-Wan to return as a spirit to continue training Luke. Partly due to Guinness' failing health, Lucas realized that he would also need another mentor character. This new mentor would eventually take

11376-447: The company. The sale reflected Lucas's desire to stop the cash flow losses from his seven-year research projects associated with new entertainment technology tools, as well as his company's new focus on creating entertainment rather than tools. As of June 1983, Lucas was worth $ 60 million, but he met cash-flow difficulties following his divorce that year, concurrent with the sudden dropoff in revenues from Star Wars licenses following

11520-639: The creative differences between him and the producers of The Force Awakens . Lucas went on to say that he needed to support the company and its employees who were going to suffer financially. Lucas described the previous six Star Wars films as his "children" and defended his vision for them, while criticizing The Force Awakens for having a "retro feel", saying: "I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new." Lucas also drew some criticism and subsequently apologized for his remark likening Disney to "white slavers". In 2015, Lucas wrote

11664-415: The creator and executive producer for a second Star Wars animated series on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone Wars which premiered with a feature film of the same name before airing its first episode. The supervising director for this animated series was Dave Filoni , who was chosen by Lucas and closely collaborated with him on its development. This series bridged the events between Attack of

11808-466: The desert in search of the runaway droid R2-D2 , Obi-Wan rescues them from Tusken Raiders . At Obi-Wan's home, R2-D2 plays a recording of Princess Leia explaining that R2-D2 contains architectural plans for the Galactic Empire 's battle station, the Death Star . Leia asks Obi-Wan to deliver R2-D2 and the plans to Alderaan to aid the Rebel Alliance . Obi-Wan reveals to Luke that he is a Jedi ,

11952-445: The desert. Remembering the massacre at the Temple, she is unable to kill the boy, and returns him to his family. Obi-Wan arrives and congratulates her for overcoming her trauma and liberating herself. In the final moments of the series, Obi-Wan finally manages to converse with Qui-Gon . Obi-Wan appears briefly in the 2015 novel Dark Disciple , which is based on unfinished episodes from The Clone Wars . It provides details about

12096-486: The end of the trilogy. The success of the first Star Wars film also resulted in more attention focused on Lucas, both positive and negative, attracting wealth and fame, but also many people who wanted Lucas's financial backing or just to threaten him. Following the release of the first Star Wars film, Lucas worked extensively as a writer and producer, including on the many Star Wars spinoffs made for film, television and other media. Lucas acted as executive producer for

12240-458: The estate of Steve Jobs . Lucas worked as a creative consultant on the Star Wars sequel trilogy 's first film, The Force Awakens . Lucas's involvement included attending early story meetings; according to Lucas, "I mostly say, 'You can't do this. You can do that.' You know, 'The cars don't have wheels. They fly with antigravity.' There's a million little pieces ... I know all that stuff." Lucas's son Jett told The Guardian that his father

12384-506: The event the deal closes, to donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors." Lucas also spoke on the matter: "For 41 years, the majority of my time and money has been put into the company. As I start a new chapter in my life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity to devote more time and resources to philanthropy." In 2005, Lucas gave $ 1 million to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on

12528-403: The film series into a "Saga". In 1994, Lucas began work on the screenplay of the first prequel, tentatively titled Episode I: The Beginning . In 1997, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars , Lucas restored the original trilogy and made numerous modifications using newly available digital technology to bring them closer to his original vision. The films were re-released in theaters as

12672-451: The film, said he admired Guinness' preparation, professionalism and kindness towards the other actors. Ewan McGregor portrays Obi-Wan in the prequel trilogy and in the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. His performance in the first prequel film, The Phantom Menace (1999), earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor . Obi-Wan is introduced in Star Wars (1977) as an elderly hermit living on Tatooine . When Luke and C-3PO travel

12816-454: The film. In October 2016, Lucas announced his decision to not be involved in the story of the film but would remain an executive producer. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , the first film of a Star Wars anthology series was released. It told the story of the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star featured in the original Star Wars film, and it was reported that Lucas liked it more than The Force Awakens . The Last Jedi ,

12960-517: The films in both of these franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s. Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers . He directed or wrote the story for ten of the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Through his companies Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound , Lucas

13104-437: The first film Lucas had directed in over two decades. Following the release of the first prequel, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II . The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales , a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles , to polish it. It was completed and released in 2002 as Attack of

13248-465: The first four Indiana Jones films, which his colleague and good friend Steven Spielberg directed. Craig Barron , who worked at ILM as part of the matte painting department, told Star Wars Insider that Lucas liked to spend time with the department's painters and often spoke of what movies he wanted to make. According to Barron, Lucas had wanted to make a film about Alexander the Great , but this film

13392-492: The form of Yoda . Lucas described Obi-Wan's character development in The Phantom Menace : "In the beginning, Obi-Wan is at odds with Qui-Gon , who rebels against the Jedi rules. But by the end of the film, he has become Qui-Gon by taking on his rebellious personality and his responsibilities." When casting Star Wars , Lucas sought an established star for the role of Obi-Wan. He considered Peter Cushing for

13536-432: The franchise. The original Star Wars film went through a tumultuous production, and during editing, Lucas suffered chest pains initially feared to be a heart attack, but actually a fit of hypertension and exhaustion. The effort that Lucas exerted during post-production for the film, and its subsequent sequels, caused strains on his relationship with his wife Marcia Lucas, and was a contributing factor to their divorce at

13680-400: The friendship between Obi-Wan and the rogue Jedi Quinlan Vos . In the 2015 Star Wars comic series , Luke goes to Obi-Wan's abandoned house on Tatooine and finds his diary, in which Obi-Wan has written stories from his past. The 2016 Marvel Comics mini-series Obi-Wan and Anakin focuses on the two Jedi between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones . Obi-Wan appears in

13824-511: The help of Tala's Path allies. Reva leads a siege on the Path facility, and Obi-Wan speaks with her to stall for time. He deduces that she was a Jedi youngling who survived Vader's massacre at the Jedi Temple, and now wants to kill him for revenge. He suggests that she can attack him when he arrives. As the Path members evacuate, Reva tries to assault Vader but is quickly overpowered and left for dead. She manages to survive, however, and finds

13968-466: The licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material produced between 1977 and 2014 was rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise. The Legends works comprise a separate narrative universe. Obi-Wan's life prior to The Phantom Menace is portrayed mostly in Jude Watson 's Jedi Apprentice series, which follows his adventures as Qui-Gon's apprentice. Notable events in

14112-441: The making of a film of his choosing. The film he chose after finding the animation department closed down was Finian's Rainbow (1968) which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola , who was revered among film school students of the time as a cinema graduate who had "made it" in Hollywood. In 1969, Lucas was one of the camera operators on the classic Rolling Stones concert film Gimme Shelter . In 1969, Lucas moved back to

14256-455: The massacre. Obi-Wan visits Padmé to ascertain Anakin's whereabouts, and realizes that Anakin is her husband and the father of her unborn child. When Padmé travels to the volcanic planet Mustafar to confront her husband herself, Obi-Wan stows away aboard her ship. Once on Mustafar, Obi-Wan confronts Vader, who accuses him and Padmé of conspiring against him. After Vader uses the Force to strangle Padmé into unconsciousness, Obi-Wan engages him in

14400-466: The modern-day populations of China and India having about 2.8 billion people combined - about 60,000 survived the destruction of the planet due to being outside of its star system at the time. One of the survivors, Cara Dune , served as a marshal of the New Republic, presumably under Princess Leia, Ben Solo's mother, around 9 ABY. Dune is played by Gina Carano in The Mandalorian . Alderaan

14544-538: The museum in California. On January 17, 2017, Lucas announced that an eleven-acre campus with green space and the museum's five-story 300,000 square foot building will be constructed over what was a parking lot in Exposition Park , Los Angeles, California. It is due to be completed in 2025. Lucas was also heavily involved and invested in the scoring process for the original Star Wars soundtrack , which

14688-459: The narrative was improved, and by the fourth draft, scenes on the Imperial capital planet had been moved to a space station called the Death Star and the peaceful world destroyed by the Empire had taken the name Alderaan. The on-screen depictions of Alderaan in the Star Wars films are scant; the distant planet is seen momentarily in Star Wars (1977) prior to its destruction, and in Revenge of

14832-484: The never completed short "Five, Four, Three", a self-referential and self-deprecating mockumentary about the making of a satirical teen beach movie called "Orgy Beach Party". Lucas was deeply influenced by the Filmic Expression course taught at the school by filmmaker Lester Novros which concentrated on the non-narrative elements of Film Form like color, light, movement, space, and time. Another inspiration

14976-536: The next two Star Wars films, commissioning Irvin Kershner to direct The Empire Strikes Back and Richard Marquand to direct Return of the Jedi , while receiving a story credit on the former and sharing a screenwriting credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the latter. Lucas also gave away his screenwriting credit out of great respect for Leigh Brackett for The Empire Strikes Back after her death from cancer. He also acted as story writer and executive producer on

15120-458: The original film , Alderaan is described as a "small green gem of a world". The planet appears more substantially in Star Wars reference guides to fictional locations. According to Kevin J. Anderson 's The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995) and Wallace, Kolins and McKinney's Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons (1998), Alderaan is covered by wild grasslands, plains, forests and mountain ranges. The planet has no ocean, but has

15264-459: The origins of the character Obi-Wan Kenobi. In his book about the Star Wars franchise, Chris Taylor asserted that Obi-Wan was inspired by the J.R.R. Tolkien character Gandalf . Ben Sherlock of ScreenRant , meanwhile, claimed that the Jedi Master was based on General Makabe Rokurōta, a character from Akira Kurosawa 's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress . Lucas created Obi-Wan Kenobi as

15408-591: The park. He was interested in comics and science fiction, including television programs such as the Flash Gordon serials. Long before Lucas began making films, he yearned to be a racecar driver, and he spent most of his high school years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. On June 12, 1962, a few days before his high school graduation, Lucas was driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina when another driver broadsided him, flipping his car several times before it crashed into

15552-569: The part, but decided the actor's lean features would be better employed as the villainous Grand Moff Tarkin . The film's producer, Gary Kurtz , felt a strong character actor was required to convey the "stability and gravitas" of Obi-Wan. Before Guinness was cast, the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune —who plays Makabe Rokurōta in The Hidden Fortress —was considered for the role. Mifune's daughter, Mika Kitagawa, said her father "had

15696-469: The planet Utapau , Obi-Wan kills him. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious— who is revealed to be Palpatine—issues Order 66 , which compels the clone troopers to murder the Jedi. Obi-Wan and Yoda find that all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple have been slaughtered, including the children. After Obi-Wan warns all surviving Jedi to go into exile, he discovers it was Anakin, now Sidious' apprentice Darth Vader, who led

15840-482: The planet before the Inquisitors detect his presence. Reva locates him and Leia, and reveals that Anakin is still alive as Vader. When Reva's superior, the Grand Inquisitor, arrives to arrest Obi-Wan , Reva stabs him with her lightsaber. Obi-Wan and Leia then escape to the mining planet Mapuzo, where they are discovered by Imperial troops. They elude their enemies with help from Tala, an Imperial officer who

15984-555: The price of any type of resistance was extermination. Alderaan explodes instantly in a ball of fire. It is later shown that the shattered planet has been reduced to a cloud of asteroids as the Millennium Falcon spaceship attempts to visit the planet. The destruction of Alderaan meant that it was not depicted in subsequent Star Wars films until the series of prequel films was produced. The planet made its first on-screen appearance since 1977 in Episode III: Revenge of

16128-405: The role. However, a voice recording of the late Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi was used in a 2018 episode. The 2022 live-action series Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. It was originally conceived as a standalone film, but was cancelled during pre-production following the box office disappointment of the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story . At

16272-473: The season 3 episode "Visions and Voices", Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray ) discovers that Obi-Wan is alive on Tatooine; Obi-Wan's old nemesis Darth Maul finds him as well. In the episode " Twin Suns ", Obi-Wan finds Ezra while he is lost in the desert while letting him know Maul was intending to use him. At that moment, Maul attacks them, and Obi-Wan ushers Ezra to retreat. Obi-Wan mortally wounds Maul during

16416-448: The second film in the sequel trilogy, was released in 2017; Lucas described the film as "beautifully made". Lucas has had cursory involvement with Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian , and the premiere of the eighth season of Game of Thrones . Lucas met with J. J. Abrams before the latter began writing the script to the sequel trilogy's final film, The Rise of Skywalker , which

16560-470: The series include his battle with the Dark Jedi Xanatos and his first independent mission. Watson's Jedi Quest series details his adventures with Anakin in the years leading up to Attack of the Clones . His heroism just before and during the Clone Wars is portrayed in novels such as Outbound Flight , The Approaching Storm , and The Cestus Deception . Obi-Wan's life between Revenge of

16704-427: The series would be a tragic one, examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change the status of the prequels relative to the originals; at first, they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning

16848-582: The series. Lucas was in attendance for a ceremony honoring Williams as the 44th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award , the first composer to receive the honor, and gave a speech in praise of their relationship and his work. In interviews, and most famously at the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration convention, Lucas has repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of Williams to the Star Wars saga, affectionately referring to him as

16992-569: The sound and visual effects subdivisions of Lucasfilm, while Lucasfilm Games, later renamed LucasArts , produces products for the gaming industry. Having lost much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas was hesitant on making additional Star Wars features. However, the prequels , which were still only a series of ideas partially pulled from his original drafts of "The Star Wars", continued to tantalize him with technical possibilities that would make it worthwhile to revisit his older material. When Star Wars became popular once again, in

17136-482: The stars as, from certain perspectives in the galaxy, its light has not ceased to emit. "We are Alderaan. We answer rage with wisdom. We answer fear with imagination. We answer rage with hope. If one life with a single drop of Alderaanian blood survive, Alderaan survives. If one life with a passion for Alderaanian creativity survives—Alderaan survives. And we are, each of us, important. And whatever happens, I bow to all of you—and to our future." ― Leia Organa According to

17280-483: The story of Star Wars character Darth Vader in some ways, but concluded he was glad to be able to make his films the way he wanted to. Lucas collaborated with Jeff Nathanson as a writer of the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , directed by Steven Spielberg. Similar to the Star Wars prequels, the reception was mixed with fans and critics alike. From 2008 to 2014, Lucas also served as

17424-580: The streaming series Obi-Wan Kenobi , in scenes depicting the Organa's residence and its surroundings. The comic series Star Wars: Princess Leia (2015) deals with Princess Leia and Evaan Verlaine (a female rebel pilot also native from Alderaan), rescuing survivors from Alderaan's destruction. It also features a brief flashback to Leia's childhood on the planet and her relationship with her adoptive father Senator Bail Organa. In Star Wars #33 (2017), Leia tells Luke that sometimes she can see Alderaan among

17568-542: The theatrical run of Return of the Jedi . At this point, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars , and had unofficially canceled the sequel trilogy . Lucas, formerly a member of Writers Guild of America West , left and maintained financial core status in 1981. Also in 1983, Lucas and Tomlinson Holman founded the audio company THX . The company was formerly owned by Lucasfilm and contains equipment for stereo, digital, and theatrical sound for films, and music. Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light & Magic , are

17712-606: The time is right. In various novels set after Return of the Jedi , Obi-Wan appears as a Force spirit. In The Truce at Bakura , he warns Luke about the Ssi-ruuk ; in The Lost City of the Jedi , he guides him to the eponymous city on Yavin 4 ; in Heir to the Empire , he bids farewell to Luke, explaining that he must abandon his spiritual form and ascend to a higher plane of consciousness. Before parting, Luke says that Obi-Wan

17856-417: The time, including Jean-Luc Godard 's Breathless , François Truffaut 's Jules et Jim and Federico Fellini 's 8½ . "That's when George really started exploring," Plummer said. Through his interest in autocross racing, Lucas met renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler , another race enthusiast. Wexler, later to work with Lucas on several occasions, was impressed by Lucas's talent. "George had

18000-425: The voices of various deceased Jedi, including Obi-Wan. He says, "These are your final steps, Rey. Rise and take them." The voices of both McGregor and Guinness were used in both films. Obi-Wan appears in the animated series The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020). He is a general during the Clone Wars , and he and Anakin have many adventures fighting the Separatists. During this time Obi-Wan's diplomatic skills earn him

18144-470: The wake of Dark Horse 's comic book line and Timothy Zahn 's trilogy of spin-off novels , Lucas realized that there was still a large audience. His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he began to consider directing once again. By 1993, it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that Lucas would be making the prequels. He began penning more to the story, indicating that

18288-544: Was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise, despite having hand-picked Abrams to direct, and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let it go and become its new generation." Among the materials turned over to the production team were story treatments Lucas developed when he considered creating Episodes VII – IX himself; in January 2015, Lucas stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas. The Force Awakens , directed by J. J. Abrams ,

18432-494: Was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California , and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture . Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , had

18576-537: Was born in 5 ABY, one year and four days after the Battle of Endor in the film Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983). According to the 2018 novel Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel by Daniel José Older , which features a young Ben Solo, the boy was never formally raised or invested as a "Prince of Alderaan", despite his mother leading the Alderaanian diaspora. Out of the 2 billion inhabitants on Alderaan - with

18720-607: Was composed by John Williams , on the recommendation of his friend and colleague Steven Spielberg. Whilst initially wanting to use tracks and film music in a similar manner to 2001: A Space Odyssey , which served as the inspiration for the film, Williams advised against this and instead proposed a system of recurring themes (or leitmotifs ) to enhance the story in the style of classical composers Gustav Holst , William Walton , and Igor Stravinsky ; works that Lucas had used as " temp tracks " for Williams to gain inspiration from. The film, and subsequent sequels and prequels, make use of

18864-897: Was considering establishing a museum, the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, to be built on Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which would display his collection of illustrations and pop art, with an estimated value of more than $ 1 billion. Lucas offered to pay the estimated $ 300 million cost of constructing the museum, and would endow it with $ 400 million when it opened, eventually adding an additional $ 400 million to its endowment. After being unable to reach an agreement with The Presidio Trust , Lucas turned to Chicago. A potential lakefront site on Museum Campus in Chicago

19008-547: Was created by compositing landscape footage of Grindelwald in Switzerland with CGI images of the city. The planet is not featured in the 2016 film Rogue One , but the character Bail Organa makes an appearance, stating that he will return to Alderaan to wait for his daughter, Leia, to bring the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi . This precedes the narrative of the 1977 film, A New Hope . He dies when

19152-590: Was founded as a nonprofit operating foundation to celebrate and encourage innovation in schools. The foundation's content is available under the brand Edutopia , in an award-winning web site, social media and via documentary films. Lucas, through his foundation, was one of the leading proponents of the E-Rate program in the universal service fund , which was enacted as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 . On June 24, 2008, Lucas testified before

19296-612: Was founded in 1979 as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm . Pixar's early computer graphics research resulted in a digital film The Adventures of André & Wally B. and groundbreaking effects in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock Holmes , and the group was purchased in 1986 by Steve Jobs shortly after he left Apple Computer . Jobs paid Lucas $ 5 million and put $ 5 million as capital into

19440-494: Was involved in the production of, and financially benefited from, almost every big-budget film released in the U.S. from the late 1980s until the 2012 Disney sale. In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated to education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation , which has been noted as

19584-417: Was like a father to him, and Obi-Wan replies that he loved Luke like a son. The novel Kenobi (2013) tells the story of Obi-Wan's first days of exile on Tatooine. Issue #24 of Marvel's 1977 Star Wars comic follows Obi-Wan during the Republic era. He is featured in various Dark Horse Comics publications, including several set during the Clone Wars. In Star Wars: Republic (1998–2006), Obi-Wan fights

19728-702: Was listed by the American Film Institute in 2005 as the greatest film score of all time . The professional relationship formed by Lucas and Williams extended through to Williams working on all of Lucas's blockbuster franchise movies: the remaining two films of the Star Wars original trilogy ; all three films of prequel trilogy developed over fifteen years later; and the five films of the Indiana Jones franchise, in which Williams reunited with his long-time collaborator Spielberg. In his collaborations with Lucas, Williams received six of his fifty-two Academy Award nominations ( Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of

19872-503: Was no longer operational, Lucas approached Douglas Trumbull , best known for the effects on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Silent Running (1972). Trumbull declined as he was already committed to working on Steven Spielberg 's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), but suggested his assistant John Dykstra to Lucas. Dykstra brought together a small team of college students, artists, and engineers and set them up in

20016-418: Was only because Alan Ladd Jr. at 20th Century Fox liked American Graffiti that he forced through a production and distribution deal for the film, which ended up restoring Fox to financial stability after a number of flops. Star Wars was significantly influenced by samurai films of Akira Kurosawa , Spaghetti Westerns , as well as classic sword and sorcery fantasy stories. Star Wars quickly became

20160-577: Was proposed in May 2014. By June 2014, Chicago had been selected, pending approval of the Chicago Plan Commission , which was granted. The museum project was renamed the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art . On June 24, 2016, Lucas announced that he was abandoning his plans to locate the museum in Chicago, due to a lawsuit by a local preservation group, Friends of the Parks, and would instead build

20304-587: Was released in 2019. Lucas founded a film production company Lucasfilm in 1971, and incorporated as Lucasfilm Ltd. on September 12, 1977. In the mid-1970s, the company's offices were located on the Universal Studios Lot . Lucas founded the Star Wars Corporation, Inc. as a subsidiary to control various legal and financial aspects of Star Wars (1977), including copyright, and sequel and merchandising rights. It also produced

20448-399: Was released on December 18, 2015. Kathleen Kennedy produced the film and its sequels. The new sequel trilogy was jointly produced by Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company , which had acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. During an interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce and outlined

20592-565: Was the Serbian montagist (and dean of the USC Film Department) Slavko Vorkapich , a film theoretician who made stunning montage sequences for Hollywood studio features at MGM , RKO , and Paramount . Vorkapich taught the autonomous nature of the cinematic art form, emphasizing the kinetic energy inherent in motion pictures. After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1967, he tried joining

20736-519: Was ultimately never produced. Projects where Lucas was credited as executive producer and sometimes story writer in this period include Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980), John Korty 's Twice Upon a Time (1983), Ewoks: Caravan of Courage (1984), Ewoks: Battle for Endor (1985), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Jim Henson 's Labyrinth (1986), Ron Howard 's Willow (1988), Don Bluth 's The Land Before Time (1988), and

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