A long time ago in theaters all around the world, cinema was about to change forever as a little movie called Star Wars made its debut on May 25, 1977. As we all know, George Lucas’s passion project — which many of his peers predicted would be a failure — ended up becoming one of the most legendary pieces of filmmaking in history, ultimately spawning a never-ending saga which we’re still enjoying the fruits of today… exactly 45 years on.
With this Wednesday marking this milestone birthday for Episode IV — fun fact: it was first rechristened as A New Hope for its theatrical re-release in 1981 — Star Wars fans have been celebrating the franchise’s epic opening chapter on social media. Both those who were around to catch its first run in theaters and those who came to it at a later point over the past half-century are praising A New Hope on Twitter for the masterpiece it is.
The Empire Strikes Back is generally considered to be the finest of the original trilogy, but many fans out there hold up A New Hope as the best of the trio. If you haven’t seen it in a while, now is the perfect time to revisit it, ahead of a certain Disney Plus show’s arrival later this week.
The following fact is true. George Lucas was so convinced A New Hope was going to flop that he fled to Hawaii on its opening day to avoid the “bad news.” Instead it was a smash-hit and here we are, nearly 50 years later, singing its praises.
Although May 4 came to be known as Star Wars Day, May 25 is still a date that’s become part of the franchise’s legacy, with both Return of the Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story likewise being released on its anniversary. So happy birthday to Episode VI and the spinoff prequel, as well.
Originally Obi-Wan Kenobi was supposed to drop its first episode today, to mark ANH‘s birthday, but as it happens, Disney pushed its premiere back to this Friday. While the delay is a shame, a brand-new Star Wars series releasing this week is still the perfect way to celebrate Episode IV‘s anniversary. It makes you wonder how Lucasfilm will mark its 50th birthday in 2027…
