Ballantine Books released the official Star Wars novelization credited to George Lucas but written by Alan Dean Foster. Publishing the story in book form before the movie helped build early awareness and showed how the property could expand beyond theaters. This pre-film tie-in became an early model for blockbuster “expanded media.”
Marvel began publishing Star Wars as a comic series, starting with an adaptation of the film story. The comic arrived before the movie’s theatrical debut, helping keep the characters visible to audiences in another medium. This series later moved beyond adaptation into new adventures, shaping what would be called expanded storytelling.
Star Wars premiered in U.S. theaters, quickly becoming a major box-office success and cultural phenomenon. Its popularity created demand for sequels and encouraged wide-scale licensing across publishing, toys, and other media. This release is the anchor event for the Original Trilogy era.
Kenner introduced the “Early Bird Certificate Package,” which let families buy a certificate in 1977 and mail away for action figures shipped later. This strategy responded to overwhelming demand and manufacturing delays, while still capturing the holiday market. It helped demonstrate how Star Wars merchandising could become a major business alongside the films.
Alan Dean Foster’s novel Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was published as an original story set after the first film. It is often noted as an early step toward what fans later called the Expanded Universe (stories beyond the movies). The book showed that Star Wars could continue in prose, not just on screen.
A two-hour variety special set in the Star Wars world aired on CBS and included cast appearances and an animated segment introducing Boba Fett. The special later gained a reputation as a misstep, and it was not officially re-aired in the U.S. even as its ideas (like “Life Day”) stayed part of fan memory. It highlighted both the risks and reach of rapid franchise expansion.
Ballantine published The Art of Star Wars, collecting concept art and development materials from the first film. By presenting behind-the-scenes visuals as a mainstream book, it helped legitimize production art as part of the franchise experience. It also strengthened fan interest in how the Star Wars world was designed and built.
Del Rey released the The Empire Strikes Back novelization by Donald F. Glut about a month before the film arrived in theaters. Publishing ahead of release helped maintain momentum and offered a second way to experience the story. This also reinforced the pattern of coordinated film-and-publishing launches for major franchises.
The Empire Strikes Back premiered in theaters, continuing the story with major new characters and an ending designed to build anticipation for the next chapter. Its success confirmed Star Wars as a durable franchise rather than a one-time hit. The film’s darker tone and cliffhanger also shaped expectations for blockbuster sequels.
National Public Radio began broadcasting a multi-episode radio drama adaptation of Star Wars (1977), written by Brian Daley. The audio format expanded the story with added scenes and helped bring Star Wars to audiences outside movie theaters. It also showed how the franchise could be reinterpreted across media while keeping core music and sound design.
During a 1981 theatrical re-release, the opening crawl of the 1977 film was updated to add “Episode IV” and the subtitle “A New Hope.” This change aligned the first movie with the idea of a numbered saga, matching how The Empire Strikes Back was presented. It marked an important step in framing Star Wars as a planned multi-episode story.
NPR premiered its radio drama adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, again expanding the film story for audio. This adaptation helped keep interest high between film releases and supported the idea that Star Wars was bigger than a single format. The radio dramas became an influential part of expanded Star Wars storytelling.
Del Rey released the Return of the Jedi novelization by James Kahn shortly before the film’s premiere. The book supported the final chapter’s marketing push and let fans engage with the story through reading as well as viewing. This continued the established cross-media strategy of synchronizing major releases.
Return of the Jedi opened in theaters and concluded the central conflict of the Original Trilogy. Its release capped a six-year run of films that established Star Wars as a long-term franchise with a large supporting ecosystem of books, comics, radio, and merchandise. The trilogy’s ending also created space for future stories to shift into expanded media until the next theatrical era.
Star Wars Original Trilogy and Expanded Media (1977-1983)