Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: A New Hope follows Luke Skywalker, a farm boy on the desert planet Tatooine, who joins the Rebellion against the Empire after the droid R2-D2 delivers Princess Leia Organa's plea for help. Rebel spies have stolen the plans to the Empire's planet destroying battle station, the Death Star, and Darth Vader captures Leia, but not before she hides the plans inside R2-D2 together with a message asking for help.

R2-D2 and C-3PO escape to Tatooine, where Luke ends up with them and discovers Leia's message, which is meant for the hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi. That is the setup the rest of the story grows from.

The full plot of Star Wars: A New Hope runs from a stolen set of Death Star plans to a medal ceremony at the rebel base. After Darth Vader captures Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2 and C-3PO reach Tatooine, where Luke Skywalker finds her message and meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tells him about the Force and about his father. When Imperial troops kill Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Luke joins Obi-Wan to carry the plans to the rebels.

The two hire the smuggler Han Solo and his copilot Chewbacca to fly them away from the planet. Then the Death Star destroys Leia's home world of Alderaan, and the heroes' ship is pulled into the station. Luke, Han and Chewbacca rescue Leia from a cell while Obi-Wan disables the tractor beam, and he later faces Vader in a duel, letting himself be struck down so the others can escape.

At the rebel base, the rebels study the plans and find a weakness in the station, and a small fighter squadron goes in to attack it. Vader hunts the rebel pilots, but Han returns at the last moment and sends Vader's fighter spinning away. Trusting the Force and Obi-Wan's voice, Luke fires his torpedoes into the exhaust port, and the Death Star explodes. Back on the ground, Leia honors Luke and Han with medals in a ceremony.

Star Wars: A New Hope was released in US theaters on May 25, 1977, opening in only 32 theaters with no premiere or red carpet. The confirmed US release date comes from Box Office Mojo. Australia is reported as October 27, 1977 and the United Kingdom as December 27, 1977, both from TMDB's release listings, so those two dates carry the label reported rather than confirmed.

What did it cost, and what did it earn? Box Office Mojo gives a budget of $11 million, a domestic gross of $461 million and an international gross of $314 million, which adds up to a worldwide total of $775 million. That is about 70 times the budget. For how it compares with the other films, see Star Wars box office.

Will it return to theaters in 2027? No re-release date for this film is confirmed, although the 50th anniversary of its US release falls on May 25, 2027.

The ending of Star Wars: A New Hope settles the Death Star threat and leaves the war open. Luke turns off his targeting computer, trusts the Force and lands his torpedoes in the station's one weak point, the exhaust port, and the Death Star is wiped out. Han Solo comes back at the key moment and sends Vader's fighter spinning away, which is why Vader survives rather than dying with the station.

In the story, Han's return is the one change of heart the plot needs. He was hired as a smuggler to fly passengers off Tatooine, and he arrives back at the last moment to take the risk while Luke takes the shot. That split is why the medal ceremony honors both of them.

A production detail adds context. The official Star Wars site reports that Lucas decided during the Tunisia shoot that Obi-Wan Kenobi would die before the end of the film, and that choice gives Luke's final run, guided by Obi-Wan's voice, its weight. In my opinion, the sequence works because it pays off three earlier scenes: Obi-Wan telling Luke about the Force on Tatooine, Obi-Wan letting Vader strike him down during the duel so the others can escape, and the destruction of Alderaan, which shows what the station can do before anyone attacks it.

How does the ending compare with the rest of the series? Vader's escape is the open thread, and The Empire Strikes Back, second in release order, is where the war continues. Return of the Jedi, third in release order, completes the original run of three. This film is the only one of the three that closes on a ceremony, with Leia honoring Luke and Han, rather than on the war still in motion. Rogue One sits sixth in story order, directly before this film, so a viewer going in chronological order arrives at the medal ceremony right after it. Watching in release order instead, the ceremony is the first resolution the series offers, which is a different experience from reading it as the seventh chapter.

One more point of context from the BFI's Sight and Sound: all nine stages at Elstree Studios were occupied by sets, while the Tunisia shoot lasted about two and a half weeks. The desert scenes and the studio interiors were made in very different conditions, and the ending's tight, cut-together action belongs to the studio side of that split.

Can the film be watched alone? Star Wars: A New Hope can be watched alone, but Vader's escape leaves the war open for The Empire Strikes Back. The next film in release order is The Empire Strikes Back, and for where this film sits against the rest, see the Star Wars timeline.

Star Wars: A New Hope was filmed in Tunisia and at Elstree Studios in England, with further work at Shepperton Studios, in Death Valley and at Tikal in Guatemala.

• Tunisia: the Tatooine desert scenes, including Chott el Djerid, Tozeur and Nefta, and the Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata, which stood in for Luke's home.
• Elstree Studios, England: the interior sets.
• Shepperton Studios, England: the rebel hangar.
• Death Valley, United States: additional Tatooine scenes.
• Tikal, Guatemala: the Yavin 4 rebel base.

The Tunisian desert came first. Principal photography began there on March 22, 1976, and the first shot was Scene 26, the Jawas selling droids to Owen Lars and Luke. The first attempt at the twin sunset scene on day one failed because of poor weather and was redone a week later, on March 29. R2-D2's head fell off several times during the Tunisia shoot, which lasted about two and a half weeks, according to the BFI's Sight and Sound.

Back in England, all nine stages at Elstree Studios were occupied by sets, as the same BFI feature reports.

Star Wars: A New Hope began shooting in Tunisia on March 22, 1976, and opened in only 32 theaters on May 25, 1977.

• The shoot began under the working title "The Star Wars".
• The first shot was Scene 26, the Jawas selling droids to Owen Lars and Luke, and the first spoken line came from Phil Brown as Uncle Owen.
• The first attempt at the twin sunset scene on day one failed because of poor weather, and it was redone a week later, on March 29.
• Luke's surname was still "Starkiller" during early filming and was changed to "Skywalker" about a month later.
• During the Tunisia shoot R2-D2's head fell off several times, and the R5-D4 head explosion effect failed, so the crew improvised with piano wire.
• All nine stages at Elstree Studios were occupied by sets.
• The film opened with no premiere or red carpet, and Lucas did not realize it had opened at the Chinese Theater until he saw the marquee.

These details are reported by the official Star Wars site, the BFI and ABC News.