January: George Lucas begins writing the first of four drafts of the Star Wars screenplay.
	May: Lucas completes 13-page plot summary that opens with the line: "This is the story of Mace Windu, a revered Jedi-bendu of Opuchi who was related to Usby C.J. Thape, padawan learner to the famed Jedi."
	June: Lucas turns down a higher salary for directing Star Wars in exchange for sequel, merchandising and publishing rights.

	Lucas turns down lucrative directing jobs to continue developing Star Wars.
	May: Lucas finishes writing The Star Wars - this rough draft being the first of the four screenplay drafts for Star Wars.

	28 January: Second draft of Star Wars is completed - The Adventures Of The Starkiller, Episode 1: The Star Wars.
	June: John Dykstra is hired to lead the effects department. Industrial Light & Magic formed shortly thereafter.
	August: Third draft of the screenplay is finished - The Star Wars - from The Adventures of Luke Starkiller.
	November: The three-month casting process begins. Since Star Wars and Brian DePalma's Carrie are each looking for lead actors of similar age, the two movies combine their casting call. Eventually Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are selected for Star Wars and Sissy Spacek and William Katt are selected for Carrie. The final proof of actors considered for the part of Han Solo included Christopher Walken, Nick Nolte and several Afro-American actors. Japanese film star Toshiro Mifune was considered for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and both Jodie Foster and Amy Irving were considered for Princess Leia.
	December: Twentieth Century-Fox gives the official green light to Star Wars. Lucas has already invested $1 million of his own money in the project.

	January: Lucas decides to change the script, killing off Ben Kenobi in the middle of the film. Alec Guinness almost quits the film upon learning of this sudden change in his character's role.
	15 January: The revised Fourth Draft of the screenplay is completed - Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope from The Journal Of The Whills by George Lucas.
	22 March: Principal photography for Star Wars begins on location in Tozeur, Tunisia.
	26 March: First winter rainstorm in 50 years in Tunisia. Kenny Baker's radio-controlled R2 unit is not functioning, which does not prevent it from inexplicably receiving Tunisian radio signals.
	16 July: Principal photography on Star Wars completed.
	September: After a year of work by Industrial Light & Magic, Lucas feels he has very few effects shots he can actually use. The movie is in danger of running out of money. Lucas goes to Fox for more funds and receives half the money he feels is necessary to complete the film.

	January: Lucas shows a rough cut of Star Wars to his friends Hal Barwood, Jay Cocks, Brian DePalma, Steven Spielberg, Matthew Robbins, Bill Hyuck and Gloria Katz. All but Spielberg and Cocks feel the film is an unmitigated disaster.
	11 January: Mark Hamill is involved in a high-speed auto accident in California. He goes through extensive reconstructive surgery on his nose and is unable to participate in Tatooine re-shoots in the California desert.
	March: John Williams records the Star Wars soundtrack with the London Symphony Orchestra.
	30 April: Star Wars screened for an enthusiastic test audience at San Francisco's North-point theatre.
	25 May: Star Wars initial theatrical release in the US. Initially opening at 32 theaters, it expands in a few days to over 200. Lines go around the block and Star Wars becomes an instant phenomenon.

	May: Finse, Norway, selected as location site for Hoth scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.
	March: Veteran screenwriter Leigh Brackett dies of cancer two weeks after turning in the first draft of Empire.
	21 July: Star Wars first theatrical re-release (US).
	November: Empire director Irvin Kershner inspects the glacier where Empire will be shot in Finse. He is stranded after a helicopter malfunctions and must walk four miles in 20-below-zero weather back to the hotel. It is an omen of problems to come with the Finse location.
	17 November: Star Wars Holiday Special on CBS.

	24 January: A fire on stage 3 in Elstree Studios, England, where Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is filming, puts Empire set construction back weeks.
	3 March: First unit cast and crew arrive in Finse.
	5 March: Finse cut off from the outside world by a fierce blizzard.
	7 March: Harrison Ford arrives the only way possible: in the engine compartment of a railroad snow clearance vehicle.
	14 March: More blizzards in Finse.
	10 April: Carrie Fisher gets the flu and can't work. She moves into a London house leased from Monty Python's Eric Idle.
	22 May: Rebel Hangar scene begins filming on the huge Star Wars stage built especially for the movie.
	30 May: Variety announces that Empire's exhibitor guarantees have topped $26 million, meaning the film has already turned a profit at the box office a year before opening.
	6 June: Veteran set designer and Star Wars alum John Barry dies at the age of 43 from a rare form of meningitis. He had collapsed on the set while working on Empire.
	10 June: Carrie Fisher takes on armed guards after receiving a kidnapping threat.
	11 June: Even though Empire is significantly behind schedule and over budget, production stops for John Barry's funeral.
	25 June: Nathan Hamill born to Mark and Marilou. Mark injures his thumb while filming and the lightsaber duel must be delayed a week while it heals.
	15 August: Star Wars second theatrical re-release (US).
	31 August: Wrap party takes place on the Dagobah set.
	5 September: Alec Guinness ends speculation about whether he will appear in Empire by coming to the set and completing all his shots in six hours.
	24 September: Photography completed with shot of tauntaun belly slit.
	November: John Williams begins composing Empire's score.

	21 May: The Empire Strikes Back initial theatrical release (US).
	Lucas takes a break from Star Wars to work on Raiders Of The Lost Ark with Steven Spielberg.

	10 April: Star Wars third theatrical re-release (US).
	31 July: The Empire Strikes Back first theatrical re-release(US).
	December: Final script for Revenge Of The Jedi arrives at Elstree Studios in England, two months late.

	January: Principal photography begins on Jedi with the Tatooine sandstorm scene, which is eventually cut from the film.
	February: Executives from Kenner and Parker Brothers visit Elstree set. Harrison Ford expresses his desire to have Solo die in Jedi but Lucas won't hear of it.
	12 February: Rebel briefing scene begins filming. Ackbar and Mon Mothma's speeches will need to be re-recorded because of loud squawks from the pigeons who live in the rafters above the stage.
	19 February: Death Star corridor scene shot where Vader chokes a guard to gain entrance to the Emperor's throne room. This scene is later cut from the film.
	April: Shooting begins in Yuma, Arizona. Local media are told that the production is Blue Harvest - Horror Beyond Imagination, but when a local reporter discovers a blueprint labelled Return Of The Jedi strict new secrecy measures are put into place: all internal memoranda are labelled Blue Harvest, around-the-clock security is installed and no full Jedi scripts are brought to Arizona.
	Easter Weekend: Over 2000 dune buggy enthusiasts are joy riding in the valley adjacent to the sail barge set. Extra security is hired and the fire department is on site 24 hours to make sure nothing goes wrong.
	10 April: Star Wars fourth theatrical re-release (US).
	17 April: Enough rumours have been leaked that fans have travelled hundreds of miles to show up at the gates of the set.
	10 May: Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill finish the day's shooting at ILM by signing a pile of photographs. Mark signs his 'Follow the Force', while Harrison's read 'Force Yourself'.
	20 May: Photography on Jedi completed with speeder bike scene at ILM.
	June: Star Wars released on video in the US.
	19 November: The Empire Strikes Back second theatrical re-release (US).

	27 January: Lucas officially changes the film's name to Return Of The Jedi.
	25 May: Return Of The Jedi initial theatrical release (US).

COMING SOON   .... to a galaxy near you!

	7 August: George Lucas unveils the title of the next installment in the saga: Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones "It harkens back to the sense of pure fun, imagination and excitement that characterised the classic movie serials and pulp space fantasy adventures that inspired the Star Wars saga."
	2 November: First teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones appears in North American movie theaters, attached to prints of Pixar's Monsters Inc. Running just over a minute, the teaser features 22 quickly edited shots from the new movie accompanied only by the unmistakable sound of Darth Vader's mechanical wheeze.
	5 November: The Breathing trailer begins to appear across the Internet as a bootleg copy recorded inside a movie theater. Fans clamour to download the file and later in the day the official Star Wars website posts a superior quality version, prompting millions of downloads. The apparent darker tone of the movie is met with both excitement and relief by fans.
	9 November: The official Episode I DVD website begins hosting a new Episode II preview for owners of the DVD only. Known as Mystery, the trailer features more than 50 shots from the new movie and is the first to include dialogue. It runs for 1 minute 18 seconds and once again is met with approval by the fans.
	16 November: The full theatrical teaser trailer for Episode II is released on the official site on the same day it begins playing on prints of Harry Potter in cinemas worldwide. Known as Forbidden Love the first two-thirds of the trailer make clear why George Lucas has promised this episode will be "the most romantic" of the whole saga, as scenes of Anakin and Padme's developing courtship are unveiled. The last section of the 2 minute 15 second teaser returns to more 'traditional' action scenes as audiences get their first glimpse at Anakin's wayward temperament.