2) General Trilogy Questions

A.  Was Star Wars originally supposed to be a trilogy?

When Star Wars was first released, it didn't have the "Episode IV" inscribed in the crawl. That was added at least a year after its original release in 1977.

B.  What about the trilogy after Return of the Jedi?

There is no trilogy set after ROTJ. George Lucas has stated it himself. It took him about 10 years to get the Classic Trilogy out, 10 years to get the Prequel Trilogy out. He doesn't have another 10 years to spare on another Star Wars trilogy.

The closest we will get to a trilogy set after ROTJ are the Star Wars novels set after ROTJ. I can highly recommend the first trilogy by Timothy Zahn.

C.  Are the original Star Wars films going to be re-released in theaters once again? What about the DVD's for the Classic Trilogy?

Another theatrical re-release is uncertain. While not committing to anything major, it's known that Lucas is going improve the original trilogy beyond his work in the "Special Editions" before releasing it on DVD for the first time. The idea being that Star Wars will end up looking as much as a seamless, 12-hour movie as possible when all his efforts on Star Wars are finished.

Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala, Prequel Trilogy) has been quoted as saying she's made a commitment to George Lucas to shoot scenes that will be placed in ROTJ for the DVD.

Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa, Episode II) has also admitted that Lucas has been trying to think of a way to squeeze his character into Episode IV (A New Hope). Smits plays Bail Organa, Princess Leia's adopted father. He is presumably on his home planet of Alderaan when the Death Star blows it up, although we never see him or any scenes of the planet Alderaan.

Whether these movies will come out in theaters before hitting DVD is not yet known.

D.  Is it true Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing are dead?

"I shrivel up every time someone mentions Star Wars to me." - Sir Alec Guiness

Sir Alec Guiness passed away early August of 2000.

Peter Cushing passed away in late August 1994.

E.  I have something called "Episode III : Fall of the Republic". Is it the real thing?

No. It was written by John Flynn. This is a fanfiction story. It started popping up in sci-fi conventions in the 80's after ROTJ concluded the original trilogy. In reality, Episode III is currently 3 years away from release, and George Lucas claims the script is almost done (keep in mind this was written May 2002).

John Flynn also wrote an article for CINESCAPE in which he tells the readers about Episodes I, II, and III, but he neglects to tell them that his sources are just his own fanfiction and his own speculations.

F.  What are the Clone Wars?

Obi-Wan refers to the Clone Wars in Episode IV, and the Timothy Zahn books refer to the Empire once having the technology to create legions of troops.

We now know (from Episode II) that the Clone Wars have to do with a separatist movement that tries to oppose the Republic. Under the command of Chancellor Palpatine, an army of clones is ordered to combat this movement. An interesting sidenote is that the clones derrived their original mateiral from Jango Fett, from whom Boba Fett himself is a clone of, raised as Jango's son.

The truth is that the separatist movement was also orchestrated by Palpatine in order to start a war, gain emergency powers, AND get an army of clones. What Episode II showed was the begining of this war. 

G.  What Star Wars related programs/movies have appeared on TV?

Each movie had a "making of" TV special. They are :

• "The Making of Star Wars" - hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 (1977)
• "SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back" - hosted by Mark Hamill (1980)
• "Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi" - (1983)

In 1978, "The Star Wars Holiday Special" aired for its only showing. The special was about Chewie visiting his family on his home planet. Most of the major movie characters had cameos. There was also a short cartoon in the middle which showed Boba Fett. If you ask around on rec.arts.sf.starwars, you can usually find someone who will sell you a copy of it.

There were two Ewok movies. They were:

• "The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage"
• "The Ewoks: Battle for Endor."

There was a season of animated cartoon "The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour." In the second season, the show became the half-hour "Ewoks" show.

In 1985, PBS aired "From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga" which is now available with the boxed set of the Trilogy.