ABC broadcasts the fifth episode of the animated Star Wars spinoff series Droids, featuring the voice of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. 
ABC broadcasts the fifth episode of the animated Star Wars spinoff series Droids, featuring the voice of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO.
ABC broadcasts the sixth episode of the animated Star Wars spinoff series Droids, featuring the voice of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO.
ABC airs the Lucasfilm TV movie Ewoks: The Battle For Endor, starring Wilford Brimley, Warwick Davis, and Aubree Miller. Written and directed by the Wheat Brothers (The Fly II, Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick), the movie quickly dispenses with all but one of the human family around which the first Ewok TV movie centered and then embarks on an adventure that’s more fantasy than science fiction.
ABC premieres the 26th episode of Star Wars: Ewoks, an animated series based upon George Lucas’ furry primitive (and very marketable) characters from the 1983 film Return Of The Jedi.
Actor Jake Lloyd, who will gain fame as the face of the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, is born in Colorado. His brief acting career is dominated by his role as the boy who will become Darth Vader, and he eventually gives up acting.
After much pre-publicity billing it as – at long last – the Lucasfilm-authorized continuation of the storyline, Timothy Zahn’s novel “Star Wars: Heir To The Empire” is released by Bantam Books. Introducing Grand Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karrde and Mara Jade, among other characters later regarded by fans as mission-critical to the overall Star Wars storyline, the book also introduces the former Imperial capitol world Coruscant (a rare bit of naming that originates in non-movie media and is later carried over to “official” media). The first of a trilogy of novels, “Heir” forces its way to the top of the bestseller lists.
Timothy Zahn’s novel “Star Wars: Dark Force Rising”, the second in a trilogy of officially licensed follow-ups to the original trilogy, is released by Bantam Books. As with the first installment of the new trilogy (which will become known years later alternately as the Zahn Trilogy or the Thrawn Trilogy), “Dark Force Rising” requires no Jedi mind tricks to wind up at the top of the bestseller lists.
Timothy Zahn’s novel “Star Wars: The Last Command”, the concluding part of the hugely popular trilogy of officially licensed follow-ups to the original trilogy, is released by Bantam Books. As with the first two installments of the new trilogy (which will become known years later alternately as the Zahn Trilogy or the Thrawn Trilogy), “The Last Command” climbs to the top of the bestseller lists, and the future of a sprawling print-fiction Star Wars empire is assured in the process. With no new movies for the books to clash with, many fans regard their story developments as “official.”
A decade after the premiere of the most recent Star Wars theatrical film (and a couple of years into a burgeoning new wave of Star Wars marketing whose most visible components are new original novels, a new action figure line, and popular role playing and computer games), George Lucas quietly announces in Daily Variety that he plans to produce – but not direct – a trilogy of prequel movies set prior to Star Wars. Though the announcement excites the Star Wars fan base, it’s one of many such announcements in the pages of Variety, many of which concern projects that never make it to the screen.
20th Century Fox Film Scores releases a 4-CD set of John Williams’ soundtracks from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, presenting more material than has appeared on any of the previous releases (but still not presenting the complete score to any one of the movies). An extensive liner notes booklet with contributions from Nicholas Meyer and Lukas Kendall is included.
After dropping his kids off at school, Star Wars creator George Lucas sits down with a box of pencils and a blank legal pad, and begins writing, in longhand, the script of what will become Star Wars Episode I (though at this point, the script draft is titled Star Wars: The Beginning). Having already amassed continuity notes on the original trilogy as well as story notes dating back to the early 1970s from the early “Journal of the Whills” drafts of the Star Wars storyline, Lucas knows only that the story will involve the early days of Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
The audio drama adaptation of Tom Veitch’s Tales Of The Jedi comics is released, starring David Scott Gordon.
Varese Sarabande releases a CD of Joel McNeely’s music for the multimedia project Star Wars: Shadow Of The Empire.
The first episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Unlike previous the previous NPR adaptations, this shortened series is produced primarily as a for-profit product for Highbridge Audio which is then licensed to NPR stations for broadcast.
The second episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S.
The third episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S.
The fourth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S.
The fifth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S.
The sixth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. This is the final episode of NPR’s ongoing adaptation of Star Wars.
RCA Victor Records releases an expanded, 2-CD re-release of John Williams’ complete score from Star Wars, tying into the upcoming Special Edition re-release of the original trilogy. (Previous CD releases of the original LP program had a running time just under the capacity of a standard compact disc, so this release adds roughly half an hour of additional material not previously available.)
RCA/Victor releases an expanded edition of John Williams‘ soundtrack to the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back; the release is timed to coincide with the re-release of the movie in “Special Edition” form.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Dark Forces: Soldier For The Empire, based on the lore of the video game Dark Forces. Randal Berger stars as Kyle Katarn.
RCA/Victor releases an expanded edition of John Williams‘ soundtrack to the Star Wars sequel Return Of The Jedi; the release is timed to coincide with the re-release of the movie in “Special Edition” form.
George Lucas films the first footage for the hotly-anticipated Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace at England’s Leavesden Film Studios, a facility that Lucasfilm has rented out for the duration of the movie’s expected long production period. By this point, even details of minor cast members have been leaked to the public, possibly making the production of Episode I the beginning of the modern age of internet spoilers. The cast includes Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Nataline Portman and Jake Lloyd, with veteran cast members such as Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Ian McDiarmid reprising their roles from the original trilogy. Cameras are expected to roll through September, with a 1999 release date already set.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Tales Of The Jedi: Dark Lords Of The Sith, based on the Tales Of The Jedi comic book story arc by Kevin J. Anderson and Tom Veitch.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, based on the lore of the video game Dark Forces. Randal Berger stars as Kyle Katarn.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, based on the lore of the video game Dark Forces. Randal Berger stars as Kyle Katarn.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, based on the lore of the video game Dark Forces. Randal Berger stars as Kyle Katarn.
Highbridge Audio releases the audio drama Star Wars: Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, based on the lore of the video game Dark Forces. Randal Berger stars as Kyle Katarn.
Receiving more fanfare than any movie preview in the history of cinema, the first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace premieres nationwide, appearing before the Pixar computer-animated family film A Bug’s Life. So eager are Star Wars fans to catch their first glimpse of the new prequel that many reportedly pay full ticket price to simply watch the preview and leave before the movie with which it’s packaged. Lucasfilm’s official Star Wars web site posts the trailer on the web – though the size of the file and the still-mostly-dial-up shape of the internet at the time makes watching it online a challenge.