Star Wars theatrical films

The films in the Star Wars saga tell an epic tale of heroes—a modern fairy tale set against a science-fiction backdrop. While Episodes IV–VI were filmed first and tell of a group of rebels’ fight against an apparently all-powerful dictatorship, Episodes I–III show the fall of the Republic and how the Empire came to be founded in the first place.
At the center of the story are the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his son Luke. After George Lucas sold the rights to Star Wars to The Walt Disney Company, Disney planned another film trilogy and several standalone films that would shed more light on various characters
We present summaries of the films here in reverse order, so that the newer productions always appear at the top.

Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

The Empire has not been idle since the events on Bespin and has begun constructing a new Death Star. Darth Vader and the Emperor board it to oversee its completion. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and his friends have discovered where the bounty hunter Boba Fett took their companion Han Solo: to the palace of crime lord Jabba the Hutt on Luke’s
home planet of Tatooine. Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and the
droids R2-D2 and C-3PO all enter the Hutt’s palace by different routes. Although Leia manages to free Han, who is still frozen in carbonite, they are eventually all captured and sentenced to
death.

Jabba’s prisoners are to be thrown into the desert to be devoured by a Sarlacc,
but during the execution ceremony Luke succeeds in freeing himself
and his friends. A battle breaks out between the Rebels and
Jabba’s entourage, ending with the gangster’s death. Luke and his
friends flee the desert world.

Luke continues traveling with R2-D2 to Dagobah, where he
wants to complete his unfinished Jedi training with Master Yoda. But the
master is dying and explains to Luke that he will become a true Jedi
once he defeats Darth Vader. The young man is skeptical, since he
does not want to have to kill his own father. With his final breath,
Yoda reveals that there is another Skywalker. The spirit of Obi-Wan
appears in front of Yoda’s hut and answers Luke’s questions. He regrets
concealing the truth about Anakin Skywalker’s fate and confirms to Luke that Vader
is his father. He also reveals that Leia is his twin sister.

  • Zwei Roboter – ein goldfarbener, humanoider und ein kleiner, zylindrischer – gehen unter klarem Himmel Seite an Seite durch eine karge, felsige Wüstenlandschaft.
  • Eine Figur mit einem grünen Lichtschwert steht auf einem Skiff in einer Wüste und blickt mehreren Gegnern entgegen, während im Vordergrund eine gepanzerte Figur eine Waffe auf sie richtet.

Finally, Luke returns to the Rebel fleet, where an important briefing is already underway. The Rebellion has learned about the new Death Star and wants to destroy it before it is completed. A small team led by Han Solo is to land on the forest moon of Endor and destroy the shield protecting the construction in orbit. Luke joins
the team, which also includes Chewbacca and Leia. Once the shield is destroyed, the fleet under the command of Lando Calrissian is to destroy the
battle station. On Endor, the mission team is captured by the native Ewoks. The bear-like creatures mistake the golden droid C-3PO for a deity and intend to prepare the humans and Chewbacca as a feast in his honor. Thanks to 3PO’s storytelling skills and Luke’s use of the Force, however, the Ewoks become their allies in the fight against the Empire. That evening, Luke sets out to confront the Imperials because he believes he can save his father. Beforehand, he reveals to Leia that they are siblings. Once Luke is in Imperial custody, Vader takes his son to the Emperor Palpatine aboard the Death Star. The following day, a battle takes place at the shield generator between Han’s team and the Imperial soldiers, who vastly outnumber them. Fortunately,  our heroes have become honorary tribe members of the Ewoks, so the small warriors
rush to their aid. While a battle also rages outside the Death Star
between the Rebel fleet and the Empire’s warships, the Emperor tries to lure Luke to the dark side of the Force.

Finally, the Rebels manage to disable the shield generator on Endor, and the fleet concentrates its fire on the Death Star. Meanwhile, Luke duels Darth Vader and nearly succumbs to his anger, but manages to hold back at the last moment. Palpatine is disappointed and wants to kill the Jedi, but Vader saves his son and finally frees himself from his master. Although he has been mortally wounded, he spends his final minutes free from the dark side of the Force. Shortly before the Death Star is destroyed by the Rebels, Luke manages to escape. On Endor, he reunites with his friends, and the Rebels celebrate their victory over the Empire.

Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebels are hiding from the Empire on the ice planet Hoth, but Darth Vader is determined to find the pilot who destroyed the powerful battle station. He sends probe droids to every corner of the galaxy, and the secret base is soon discovered, forcing the Rebels to evacuate. In the process, our heroes are separated. Luke Skywalker sets out with his loyal droid R2-D2 to find Master Yoda, as the spirit of Obi-Wan advised him in a vision. Meanwhile, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and the droid C-3PO flee aboard the Millennium Falcon from the Imperial Star Destroyers lying in wait for the Rebel ships in Hoth's orbit. With great difficulty, they manage to hide in a nearby asteroid field, but the TIE fighters leave no stone unturned. Darth Vader even contacts several bounty hunters, including Boba Fett, to join the search. A lucrative offer, since a bounty has been placed on the smuggler Han Solo by the gangster Jabba the Hutt.

  • Ein Mann in einer dunklen Jacke zeigt mit dem Finger auf eine Frau in einem weißen Top, während er mit ihr in einem blau beleuchteten, futuristisch anmutenden Flur spricht.
  • Eine kleine grüne Figur mit spitzen Ohren und einem Gewand steht in einer nebligen, sumpfartigen Umgebung und streckt beide Hände nach vorne aus.

Meanwhile, Luke has landed on the swamp planet Dagobah and tracked down Yoda. The wise Jedi Master immediately begins training Luke, even though he is initially skeptical. Obi-Wan’s spirit eventually convinces Yoda to teach the young man the ways of the Force. The training goes more or less well until Luke has a vision in which his friends are in danger. By then, they had been forced to leave the asteroid field after landing inside a gigantic space slug. Han manages to escape the Imperial ships, but Boba Fett latches onto the Millennium Falcon’s trail and follows the spacecraft to the planet Bespin, where Han seeks shelter with Lando Calrissian, a friend from his smuggling days. But the rebels are not safe for long in the Cloud City: alerted by the bounty hunter, Darth Vader arrives in the city with his stormtroopers and captures them. Han and Chewbacca are tortured to lure Luke in, whom Vader finally wants to get under his control.

  • Zwei Figuren mit blauen und roten Lichtschwertern duellieren sich in einer dunklen, verrauchten Kulisse mit blauer Beleuchtung und Metallgeländern.
  • Vier Figuren, darunter zwei Droiden und zwei Menschen in Roben, stehen in einem Raumschiff und blicken durch ein großes Fenster auf Sterne und ein abfliegendes Raumschiff.

Luke ignores Yoda and Obi-Wan’s warnings and also travels to Bespin to rescue his friends. However, they manage quite well without him. Although Darth Vader freezes Han in carbonite and hands him over to Boba Fett for delivery, Leia and Chewbacca manage to escape with Lando’s help. Luke now faces Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, and Vader not only defeats him but also reveals a terrible truth: he is Luke’s father. The young Jedi manages to escape and is picked up by his friends, but he is deeply shocked by this revelation. While Luke and Leia remain with the Rebel fleet, Lando and Chewbacca set off to find Boba Fett and the captured Han.

Episode IV – A New Hope

The entire galaxy suffers under the yoke of the Empire, an intergalactic dictatorship. Only a small group of rebels stands up to it, but the oppression is about to reach a new level when a huge battle station called the Death Star is completed, capable of destroying entire planets. Princess Leia, the senator of the planet Alderaan, comes into possession of the Death Star’s plans and is supposed to take them to her home planet for analysis. However, on the way there, her spaceship is hijacked by Darth Vader, and the princess is captured.

  • Eine Person in weißer Kleidung interagiert mit einem kleinen Roboter in einem futuristischen, schwach beleuchteten Korridor mit roter und blauer Beleuchtung.
  • Vier Figuren, darunter eine große, pelzige Gestalt, sitzen im Cockpit eines Raumschiffs, umgeben von Bedienfeldern, und blicken mit ernsten Mienen nach vorne.

Unnoticed by the imperial troops aboard, the two droids R2-D2 and C-3PO escape to the nearby desert planet Tatooine, where they are captured by Jawas and sold to the farmer Luke Skywalker, who lives with his uncle and aunt. The young man dreams of a life in the vastness of space, and he senses a hint of adventure when he discovers a hidden recording in R2-D2. It is a distress call from Princess Leia addressed to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke suspects that the intended recipient of the message might be related to the old hermit Ben, who also lives on Tatooine. Later that evening, R2-D2 disappears without a trace into the desert because he wants to search for Obi-Wan. The next day, Luke and C-3PO follow him and find the droid with Ben, who is indeed Obi-Wan Kenobi himself. The old Jedi Knight gives Luke a lightsaber that once belonged to his father, Anakin Skywalker, and asks the young man to accompany him to Alderaan in order to return the droids unharmed to the rebels. However, Luke has concerns about his uncle and returns home. During his absence, the farm was attacked by imperial stormtroopers, who left Luke’s uncle and aunt dead. Since he now has nothing left to keep him on Tatooine, he agrees to accompany Obi-Wan to Alderaan.

Upon arriving at the spaceport, Obi-Wan and Luke hire the two
smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca to escape Tatooine aboard their spacecraft, the Millennium Falcon, without being noticed by the imperial presence
in the area.
However, the flight turns out differently than expected: in the meantime, the planet Alderaan
has been destroyed by the Death Star. The battle station
is still at the scene and draws the Falcon and its
passengers aboard.

  • Zwei Figuren mit Lichtschwertern – eine rote und eine blaue – stehen sich in einem Science-Fiction-Raumschiffkorridor gegenüber, im Hintergrund sind Menschen und ein großes Raumschiff zu sehen.
  • Eine Flotte von X-Wing-Sternjägern fliegt in Formation durch den Weltraum, links davon ist ein roter Planet zu sehen und im Hintergrund ein blauer Planet.

Using a trick, Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids board the battle station unseen. There, they must split up to avoid being discovered. While Obi-Wan sets out to deactivate the tractor beam that prevents the Millennium Falcon from flying away from the Death Star, Luke discovers that Princess Leia is also on board. She is about to be executed, so Luke, Han, and
Chewbacca embark on a daring rescue mission to the battle station’s detention level. A wild firefight with the stormtroopers follows, along with a daring escape through the garbage chute, but in the end, everyone makes it back to the Millennium Falcon. Only Obi-Wan is confronted by his former student, Darth Vader, and the old man sacrifices himself in the lightsaber duel as a distraction, enabling his companions to escape.

Unaware that the Imperials have attached a tracking device to their
spaceship, our heroes fly to the Rebel base on the moon Yavin IV. There, the plans for the Death Star, which have been inside R2-D2 the entire time, are analyzed by the Rebel Alliance’s tacticians. They discover a weakness in the ventilation system that can be destroyed with an X-wing fighter. The Rebels have little time to discuss their strategy further, because the Death Star has followed the Millennium
Falcon and is threatening to pulverize the moon. Luke volunteers
to attack the battle station along with several other pilots.

Thanks to his connection to the Force, which he can sense as the son of a
Jedi Knight, and with the help
of Han and Chewbacca, Luke manages to destroy the Death Star at the very last second. However, Darth Vader manages to escape from the battle station at the last moment. Luke and Han are celebrated as heroes by the Rebels.