Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker. Yoda. Princess Leia. Chewbacca. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nearly everyone has a favourite Star Wars character, so ubiquitous has the American epic space opera franchise created by George Lucas become since the first film, Star Wars, was released in 1977. That film (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope) was followed by The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), which together formed the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005 to mixed reception. The first of three new Star Wars films, Episode VII, entitled The Force Awakens, opens in December 2015. Apart from the films, the franchise has expanded into books, television series, computer and video games.