STAR WARS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Answers to your questions about the Star Wars movies, the Star Wars books, and the Star Wars Universe in general. If you don't find your answer here, you can Ask Yoda.

  1. Movies & TV
  2. The Books
  3. The Star Wars Universe

The Star Wars Movies & TV Shows

Who made the Star Wars movies?
Many people helped in the making of the Star Wars movies, but they are all created by George Lucas. Lucas came up with the idea and story for Star Wars, and he has editorial control over all the Star Wars stories. He also wrote and directed several of the movies. For some of the movies, he chose other people to write the scripts and direct the filming. However, the scripts were still based on his own stories, and he could still make decisions about the filming. Besides Star Wars, George Lucas also made American Graffiti and Willow, and he helped produce the Indiana Jones movies, which were directed by his friend Steven Speilberg.

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What order should I watch the Star Wars movies in?
It's up to you. The stories of the six Star Wars movies take place in a different order than the movies were made, so you can watch them either in the order they were made (like most people did before recently) or in the order that they take place (like many young people do now). The six Star Wars movies, in the order the stories take place, are:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Episode IV: Star Wars: A New Hope* (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

If you look at the release dates of the movies, you can see that they were released in the order 4-5-6-1-2-3. Many longtime fans of Star Wars prefer to watch them in this order, because it's the order that they originally experienced them in. This order also preserves some of the big suprises in the story (they won't be surprises if you watch 1-2-3 first). However, others prefer to watch the movies in the order 1-2-3-4-5-6, because then you can experience the whole story in order.

*Note: Episode IV: Star Wars: A New Hope was originally just called Star Wars, before they decided to make more movies.

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Will there be a Star Wars sequel trilogy with Episodes 7, 8, and 9 (VII, VIII, and IX)?
Probably not. He used to say that he would like to, but for the last 20 years he's been saying that he won't. In fact, now he even claims that he never wanted to make any more Star Wars movies after Episode 6 (VI). If you've read on the internet about plans for Episodes 7-9, such as from a website called SuperShadow.com, that's all a fake. That website is notorious for making up fake Star Wars information. See also: I heard something on SuperShadow.com. Is it true?

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Is it true that they're making a Star Wars TV show?
Yes, this is true. In addition to The Clone Wars, the 3D computer animated TV show now on TV, Lucasfilm is also planning to start making a live action (not animated) Star Wars TV show sometime soon (to start showing in 2010 or later). We don't know yet what it will be about, but Lucasfilm says it will likely take place between Episodes III and IV, and put the spotlight on minor characters of the Star Wars galaxy instead of the main movie characters. For a summary of what is known (and rumored) about the new series, check out the Star Wars live-action TV series article on Wookieepedia.

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I heard something on SuperShadow.com. Is it true?
Probably not. The information on SuperShadow.com is either fake or taken from other Star Wars websites. Almost any other Star Wars website can tell you that SuperShadow is a fraud, and even representatives from the official Star Wars website at StarWars.com have commented on the fakeness of SuperShadow's information. For more information on SuperShadow, check out this Wookieepedia article, or do a search for "supershadow" and look at the other search results besides SuperShadow.com itself. For honest and mostly accurate information about Star Wars, I recommend www.TheForce.net (the biggest Star Wars news site) and Wookieepedia (a fan-made encyclopedia of all things Star Wars). If you want only the officially approved and verified news, you can go to Lucasfilm's official Star Wars website at www.StarWars.com.

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Star Wars Books

Are the Star Wars movies based on books?
No. The books of Star Wars Episodes 1-6 are based on the movie scripts. Authors are hired to write them while the movies are being filmed, so the book can be released a few months before the movie. Other books are new stories, separate from the movies.

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There's so many Star Wars books - what are they all about?
A few of the books are based on the movies. The rest tell stories that take place before, during, between, or after the movies. For example, some books tell about the events of the Clone Wars between Episodes II and III, while others tell the adventures of Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca after Episode 6 (VI).

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Who writes the Star Wars books?
Not George Lucas. Even the first Star Wars book, which says "by George Lucas" , was actually written by fantasy author Alan Dean Foster (based on Lucas's movie script). Instead, Lucasfilm, its subdivision Lucas Licensing, and contracted publishers choose professional science fiction and fantasy authors to write books in the Star Wars universe. Authors whose Star Wars books prove popular are often invited back to write more.

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I want to write a Star Wars book. Can I get it published?
Probably not, unless you are already a published science fiction or fantasy author. Lucas Licensing and its partner publishers currently only hire professional authors to write Star Wars books. Even if you are already a published author, you can't just submit a Star Wars book or publish one yourself - you'll have to a licensed Star Wars book publisher (such as Del Rey) to discuss your interest and get your project approved before they'll hire you.

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I want to read Star Wars books. Where should I start?
It's up to you! Browse through them and find something that sounds interesting. If you're interested in reading the books that take place after Episode 6 (VI), you might want to start closer to the beginning - but you don't have to! If the book isn't in a particular series, odds are that you'll be able to pick it up and follow the plot just fine. Or if you're really hardcore, you could try to read all the Star Wars books in order! But it might be tricky, because there are so many, and more are coming out all the time. To see a list of all the full-length Star Wars novels in the order they take place, check out Yoda's Datapad's Star Wars Book List. If you want to get the opinions of other Star Wars fans about what to read first or next, I recommend the Where should I start? thread on the official Star Wars message boards. For more information about upcoming Star Wars books, see: What new Star Wars books are coming, and when will they be out?

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What new Star Wars books are coming, and when?
To see a list of upcoming Star Wars releases (including books, comics, and more), I recommend the Books, Comics and TV release schedule on the StarWars.com message boards, or Eddie's Once Upon A Galaxy release schedule. These are both very well maintained and accurate compilations of information collected from the Star Wars publishers.

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Does George Lucas personally approve every Star Wars book?
No, not personally. He employs a dedicated staff of editors and licensing staff in a division of the company called Lucas Licensing. It's the job of the people at Licensing to decide what Star Wars books and other stories are published, and they're also in charge of making sure the stories fit together as well as possible. But George Lucas's personal approval is required for certain things, such as the deaths of characters from the movies, and he has sometimes designated certain topics or time periods to be off limits (for example, before he made Episodes I-III, authors weren't allowed to write their own stories about that time period).

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Does George Lucas read the Star Wars books?
Apparently not. He hasn't publicly expressed much interest in what happens outside of the movies and TV series, and he even has said that in his own imagination, the stories in the books nevered happened (though he did give his permission for other people to write the books). On the other hand, he has shown some interest in the Star Wars comic books, even deciding to include a character from the comics, Aayla Secura, in Episodes II and III (Quinlan Vos, another character from the same comics, was almost in Episode III, but his scene was never filmed).

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The Star Wars Universe

What species is Yoda, and where is he from?
No one knows the answers to these questions except perhaps George Lucas himself. He has intentionally left out this information, and it probably will never be revealed, because he prefers to keep it a mystery. If you've heard that Yoda's species is called a "Whill" and that he is from the planet "Grentarik" (or that his last name is "D'Kana"), this is incorrect. This is fake information made up by SuperShadow.

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Who trained Yoda as a Jedi?
This has been traditionally thought of as just another one of the mysteries of Yoda's past (See also: What species is Yoda, and where is he from?). However, Star Wars Galaxy published an article in the 1990's which said that Yoda's Jedi Master was named N'Kata Del Gormo, and that his species was called Hysalrian. For a long time, fans weren't sure if this obscure source, which was based on a competition for the magazine's readers, was officially accurate. But recent comments from Lucas Licensing's continuity director, Leland Chee, suggest that Lucas Licensing does consider this information to likely be accurate.

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I heard that Boba Fett survived his "death" in Return of the Jedi (Episode 6). Is this true?
Yes, according to books, comics, and other sources approved by Lucas Licensing, Fett did escape the Sarlacc and went on to continue bounty hunting for many more years. George Lucas has said that in his own idea of the story, Boba Fett died in the Sarlacc. This is consistent with his usual position that the books, comics, and other stories are cool stories but not necessarily part of his personal vision of Star Wars. This doesn't mean the stories from the books and comics are invalid or not correct - it just means that George Lucas considers the "Expanded Universe" (stories outside of the movies and TV shows) to be a separate story from his own vision.

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What's the difference between a Sith and a Dark Jedi?
The Sith are followers of a cult of evil Force-users originally founded by stray Jedi. The term "Dark Jedi" refers specifically to a former Jedi who has fallen to the dark side. Or in casual use, it could refer to any dark side user. So all Sith could maybe be called Dark Jedi, but not all Dark Jedi are Sith.

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Why does Obi-Wan say in Episode 5 that Yoda trained him? Didn't Qui-Gon?
The answer is that they both trained him. As seen in Episode II, very young Jedi trainees are taught in groups at the Jedi Temple by Yoda. When they get to be about 12 years old, they are chosen individually as apprentices. So Obi-Wan trained under Yoda as a child, then was chosen as an apprentice by Qui-Gon.

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How old are the characters in each movie?
Check out Yoda's nifty table of Star Wars character ages!

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