[[quoteright:330:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_wars_title_card.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:Are you hearing the {{Fanfare}} just looking at this?]]

->''A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...''
-->-- ''Star Wars'' opening card

A classic tale of [[{{heroes}} good]] and [[EvilOverlord evil]], [[FaceHeelTurn corruption]] and [[HeelFaceTurn redemption]], [[WaveMotionGun hi-tech super-weapons]] and [[SwordFight swordplay]], ''StarWars'' brought SpaceOpera to [[{{Film}} the big screen]]. It is a [[CashCowFranchise juggernaut of a franchise]], making creator GeorgeLucas one of the most powerful men financially and [[SoCoolItsAwesome in entertainment.]]
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'''The Original Trilogy''' (1977-1983)
* ''Episode 4: ANewHope''
* ''Episode 5: TheEmpireStrikesBack''
* ''Episode 6: ReturnOfTheJedi''

Opening with a tale of a brave rebellion fighting [[TheEmpire the evil empire]], the story centered on Luke Skywalker, a simple [[FarmBoy farm boy]] who finds himself [[JumpedAtTheCall drawn]] into that conflict when some [[RobotBuddy robot buddies]] show up at his doorstep with some [[PlotCoupon important information]]. As he embarks on TheHerosJourney, it encompasses three films and meets many now-legendary characters like [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Leia]], the LovableRogue Han Solo and the OldMaster Obi-Wan Kenobi.

[[{{mentors}} With guidance]] from Obi-Wan and later Yoda, Luke learned the mystic powers of the Jedi and brought down TheEmpire. Along the way, he discovered that Darth Vader, TheDragon of the [[EvilOverlord Emperor]], [[LukeIAmYourFather was his father]], and the [[DistressedDamsel love-interest Princess]] was his sister.

Episode IV, due to {{executive meddling}}, wasn't given the title card of ''A New Hope'' until its first home video release, and as a result many casual fans refer to it as simply ''Star Wars'' even though all the films carry the same title/subtitle pattern now.

'''The Prequel Trilogy''' (1999-2005)
* ''Episode 1: ThePhantomMenace''
* ''Episode 2: AttackOfTheClones''
* ''Episode 3: RevengeOfTheSith''

The second trilogy to be released was chronologically the first. Essentially an extended prequel, it centered on Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, and his growth from a young slave on a remote planet into a powerful Jedi Knight. It showed how [[EvilChancellor Senator/Chancellor Palpatine]] (the BigBad of the Original Trilogy) gained supreme power through [[XanatosGambit complex schemes]], and Anakin's [[StartOfDarkness corruption]] at his hands. It also showed Obi-Wan's story in training Anakin and the fall of the Jedi Order, with Obi-Wan and Yoda becoming [[LastOfHisKind the last of their kind]].

As part of the marketing for the prequels they were refered to more often by episode number rather than the episode name. In fact many did not catch on to the name of Episode One being ''The Phantom Menace.'' Episode Three is an anomaly, where fans refer to it equally by both episode number and the name ''Revenge of the Sith.''
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Lucas has long argued that the prequel's story existed in some form or another from the beginning of the saga, as the films featured the subtitles, ''Episode IV-VI'' (although the subtitle "''Episode IV''" wasn't in the first Star Wars film until its 1981 video re-release). ''A New Hope'' and a few elements of the original trilogy also make slightly more sense when seen against the {{backstory}} in the prequels, though others... don't. The original trilogy was released to theaters again in 1997 for the [[MilestoneCelebration 20th Anniversary]], featuring a few new special effects, cleaning up a few perceived {{Special Effects Failure}}s, added some deleted scenes and tweaked some original scenes.

A third trilogy, consisting of ''Episodes VII, VIII'' and ''IX'', was reportedly planned, but WordOfGod claims it won't happen. Unless GeorgeLucas should change his mind again. They wouldn't make sense from a narrative standpoint, though; even though ''IV, V'' and ''VI'' spent more time focusing on Luke, Leia and Han, Darth Vader was still their central character, just as he is for the Prequel Trilogy. Ultimately, the saga is about Anakin Skywalker: his growth, his fall from grace, and his eventual redemption by his son.
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'''[[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]'''

As expected for a film series this popular, the ExpandedUniverse is immense. Made-For-TV films, {{Animated Adaptation}}s, VideoGames and a large series of novels cover this. Even with how massive the project is, ''Star Wars'' has one of the more elaborate, and internally consistent {{canon}}s. TV Tropes has a very incomplete list of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. See [[http://starwars.wikia.com Wookieepedia]] for a ''really'' complete list.
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''StarWars'' was itself inspired by 1930s serials and comic strips such as ''FlashGordon'' and ''BuckRogers''. It was particularly inspired by [[IsaacAsimov Asimov's]] ''{{Foundation}}'', most manifested in the Imperial capital of Coruscant and the concept of the Empire itself (generally, the influence is visible in the original trilogy, to which Asimov was an adviser). Most of its tropes are thus OlderThanTheyThink, but the film did [[FollowTheLeader popularise them]], and many modern SpaceOpera or SciFi shows and movies contain {{homage}}s to ''Star Wars''.

George Lucas was also highly influenced by Asian cinema including Akira Kurosawa films, ''TheHiddenFortress'' in particular. Using the point of view of the [[ThoseTwoGuys two lowliest characters]] as part of the narrative; Lucas based R2-D2 and C-3P0 off of the bumbling peasants in ''The Hidden Fortress''.
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The popularity of the series has led to many parodies and spoofs. These are some notable ones:
* ''DarthsAndDroids''
* ''[[LegoCrossoverGame Lego StarWars]]''
* ''{{Spaceballs}}'' (a parody by MelBrooks)
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!![[TropeNamer Tropes This Franchise Named]]:
* ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway
* AlwaysABiggerFish
* TheDarkSide
** TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget
** DrunkOnTheDarkSide
** TurnToTheDarkSide
* ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge
* FearLeadsToAnger
* TheForce
* GeorgeLucasThrowback
* IHaveTheHighGround
* ISenseADisturbanceInTheForce
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy (by way of {{GURPS}}; the Stormtroopers were infamously terrible shots)
* LukeNounverber
* JabbaTableManners
* JediMindTrick
* JediTruth
* LukeIAmYourFather
** LukeIMightBeYourFather
** LukeYouAreMyFather
* NeverTellMeTheOdds
* NotInThisForYourRevolution
* TheObiWan
* ObiWanMoment (actually a reference to it in a DVDCommentary for another film)
* RestrainingBolt
* RootingForTheEmpire (from a fan poll)
* ThatsNoMoon, It's A Space Station!
* ThankTheMaker
* TheWookieeHasNoPants
* ThereIsAnother
* ThereIsNoTry
* VaderBreath
* WhatAPieceOfJunk
* WookieeGambit (now named TrojanPrisoner)
* WretchedHive Of Scum And Villainy
* YouAreInCommandNow, ''Admiral'' Piett.
* YouHaveFailedMe For The Last Time, Ozzel
* YouRebelScum
* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou

!'''Other Tropes featured in the ''Star Wars'' universe:'''
* AerithAndBob: Qui-Gon Jinn to ... Luke.
* AdaptationDecay: A lot of the EU books and games and even most of the films are arguably this, depending on who you ask.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish (well, Basic)
* AlternateUniverse: the ''Infinities'' series
* AmusingAlien (Many appear in the various works, but C-3PO is the most known and most visible example.)
* AntiHero (Han in ''A New Hope''. He is mostly self-serving until [[AbandonedByTheCavalry he comes through for them in the end.]])
* {{Archetype}} (Luke is literally a textbook hero, designed right out of the book ''[[BooksOnTrope The Hero With A Thousand Faces]]''.)
* AscendedExtra (With how much ExpandedUniverse material is being written, we're well on our way to ''every single background character from the films'' getting names and thorough backstories.)
** For example, that protocol droid that breaks down while Luke is buying things from the Jawas in A New Hope?[[spoiler: Common theory goes that robot was in tune with The Force, and broke itself so R2 would be chosen instead. Yes, a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Robot Jedi.]]]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence (It's happening to force users left and right, you think someone would find a way to get rid of them.)
* AsteroidThicket: the famous Asteroid Chase from ''TheEmpireStrikesBack''; revisited in ''AttackOfTheClones'' with the rings of Geonosis.
* AttackPatternAlpha
* AuthorAppeal (A society of warrior-sages who can have all the sex they want so long as they don't get too attached? Sign me up!)
** Where the hell does it say Jedi can have all the sex they want? They never explicitly say that it ''isn't'' forbidden, but I thought that was because it didn't need to be spelled out
** Scroll down to the G-Rated Sex section.
* AuthorCatchphrase ("I've got a bad feeling about this.")
* {{Badass}} (lots and lots of characters)
* BadassArmy (The Jedi and Sith armies when they aren't being put through ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy.)
** Also the Grand Army of the Republic.
* BareYourMidriff: Many characters in different ways.
* TheBattlestar
* BeingWatched (Jedi can detect being watched)
* {{BFM}}
* BigDamnGunship (''AttackOfTheClones'' has one of the archetypical depictions of this, but it is certainly not limited to any single movie, show, comic or book.)
* BigDamnHeroes (Han's return to save Luke in ''ANewHope'' is probably the best-known example, but there are many.)
* BigNo
** A New Hope: Luke after Obi-Wan is killed by Vader.
** The Empire Strikes Back: Luke after [[LukeIAmYourFather the big]] [[TheReveal reveal]].
** Return of the Jedi: Probably not one worth mentioning.
** The Phantom Menace: Obi-Wan after Qui-Gon was killed by Darth Maul.
** Attack of the Clones: Yoda hearing Qui-Gon's voice after Anakin's RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Tusken Raiders
** Revenge of the Sith: [[MemeticMutation Should]] [[Narm be]] [[DoNotWant obvious]]. Other notable ones were Palpatine pulling out three [[LargeHam hammy]] No's, while being cornered by Mace Windu and Anakin while trying to stop Mace Windu from killing Palpatine
* BilingualDialogue (Han and Chewie, R2 and everybody else)
* BizarreAlienBiology (Several near-human or rubber-forehead species, as described in the Expanded Universe)
* BizarreSexualDimorphism (Devaronians in the EU; males are bald and have horns, females are hornless and furry)
** Don't forget X'Ting, who change gender every three years.
* BodyHorror: (If you want to picture some seriously messed up stuff, research the Bo'Marr Monks and what they did to Bib Fortuna.)
* BrokenBase (There is a schism between fans who insist that the original trilogy is the best and that the prequels can piss-off, and the fans who believe that the entire series is good. )
** More generally, there is a related but not identical schism between pro-Lucas and anti-Lucas fans.
** And then there's the schisms between fans who love/hate this or that era of the Expanded Universe ...
* CanonFodder (despite the ExpandedUniverse, or maybe because of it)
* CaptainObvious: Admiral Ackbar, and his utterly needless exclamation of [[spoiler: "Its a trap!"]]
* CasualInterstellarTravel
* CharmPerson (the Jedi Mind Trick.)
* TheChessmaster: (Their are a number of these in the Star Wars Saga, most obviously Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine in the films, and Grand Admiral Thrawn in the EU)
* CircleOfExtinction (Reversed, somewhat. Anakin circles Palpatine as the latter tempts him to do a FaceHeelTurn)
* CivilWar
* ClingyCostume: Darth Vader's costume is also a life-support system, and can never be removed outside a special room lest he die.
* CloningGold: Star Wars is variably described as either being loosely inspired by or blatantly ripped-off from ''{{Dune}}''. It cloned the source so well that ''Dune'' was forced into a niche fandom.
* ColdBloodedTorture (Vader's torture of Princess Leia in the first movie, and later Han Solo in the second. The Emperor's use of electrical torture on Luke would also count. It gets worse, if you weren't intimidated by the sight of an interrogator droid (from the first movie) before, look them up. Apparently all their fancy little implements have names, and these droids are specifically programmed to analyze physical and chemical weaknesses in their victims in order to better torture them.)
* CollectibleCardGame
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience (In space battles, Rebel lasers are red, and Imperial lasers are green. In the prequels, Republic shots were blue, Separatist shots were red. Also, only Sith are allowed to carry red lightsabers.)
** Last time this troper checked, neither Adi Gallia nor Leia Solo were Sith.
***The lightsaber thing only applies in the movies, the EU, especially the games don't follow it
***The in-universe explanation is that after Order 66 most of the traditions and specific practices of the Jedi were forgotten. So the blue/green standard was a time-period thing. (But also of course used thematically.)
** And, of course, only a [[SamuelLJackson bad]] [[PulpFiction motherfucker]] gets to use a purple lightsaber blade.
* ContinuityDrift
* CoolOldGuy
* CoolStarship (Each film introduces at least one.)
** Ep. I: N-1 Starfighter
*** ...and the Republic Cruiser.
** Ep. II: Republic Gunship and Jedi Starfighter
** Ep. III: Jedi Interceptor and ''Invisible Hand''
** Ep. IV: X-Wing and ''Millennium Falcon''
*** ...and the Death Star.
**** ...and Darth Vader's TIE.
** Ep. V: ''Executor'' and Slave I
** Ep. VI: Lambda-class Shuttle
*** ...and the other Death Star.
**** ...and the B-Wing.
****...and the A-Wing.
*** Also, pretty much every Star Destroyer, from the Imperator, to the Acclamator, to the Venator, to the various Super Star Destroyers, to the EU-only Victory.
**** Don't forget the ''Errant Venture'' on the EU-only SDs. It's a combination Star Destroyer, Death Star, Jedi training facility, and casino. The only thing it isn't is attractive-looking.
***** It does, however, get a red paint job.
* CoolSword (light sabers)
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass (compare Yoda as we first meet him in Episode V and his duel with Palpatine)
* TheCrown: Princess Leia.
* CrystalDragonJesus (The Force)
* CrystalSpiresAndTogas
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome (too many to list here, [[CrowningMoment/StarWars check out its page]].)
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming (too many to list here)
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome (Lucas has frequently made it clear that the movies are not exactly as he envisioned, but he was never disappointed with the music.)
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy (Palpatine)
* DeathBySex (The H'nemthe)
* DeathOfTheAuthor (There is a significant portion of the fanbase that simply ignores [[WordOfGod every word George Lucas says]].)
* DecadeDissonance (A bit of a clash between the prequel's and the original trilogies' style for technology)
* DelayedExplosion
* DeletedScene (Scenes restored in the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy and finished in the DVD releases for the prequels.)
* DemotedToExtra: [[TheScrappy Jar-Jar Binks]]. In Attack of the Clones, he had a somewhat significant appearance. And In Revenge of the Sith, he had very minor appearances.
* DesignatedHero: (Anakin is very unheroic in the prequels, even well before he falls.)
** ... except when he's saving the Gungan army from the Trade Federation army in ''ThePhantomMenace'' and--aside from murdering Dooku--all through the opening sequence of ''RevengeOfTheSith''. He does have his moments.
* DevelopmentGag (Usually shows up in character names.)
* DisneyVillainDeath: Palpatine, Darth Maul, Mace Windu, and a score of EU characters all went out this way.
* DoesntLikeGuns (Obi Wan, who considers blasters inelegant and uncivilized)
* DownerEnding: All six films had something to be depressed about in the end-
** ''A New Hope''- Darth Vader gets away. Only three fighters out of dozens survive the final battle, although this is not commented on; the finale is a celebratory march.
** ''The Empire Strikes Back''- The Empire storms the Rebellion's hidden base and drives the entire Rebel fleet into hiding, Luke gets his hand cut off after finding out that Darth Vader is his father, and Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite after confessing his love to Leia.
** ''Return of the Jedi''- Darth Vader does a HeelFaceTurn and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath is then killed,]] somewhat eclipsed by the Empire going belly up and the galaxy being freed.
** ''The Phantom Menace''- The protagonist Qui-Gon Jinn is killed in a climactic fight that only served as proof that an ancient evil still existed, also eclipsed by an ending celebration.
** ''Attack of the Clones''- Featured a Jedi massacre and the start of the Clone Wars. Also lets the viewers see a 10 year old Boba Fett pick up his father's decapitated head after the Jedi Massacre.
--->'''Yoda:'''Victory? Victory you say? Master Obi-Wan, not victory. The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun the Clone War has.
** ''Revenge of the Sith''- Drops a ton of bombs on us. Palpatine orders the clone troopers to turn on the Jedi, and the genocide begins. Anakin falls completely to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader after sustaining grievous injuries in a fight with Obi-Wan. Padme dies, orphaning newborns Luke and Leia Skywalker. And Palpatine takes full control of the government and declares the Empire in one of the most chilling speeches in cinematic history.
** And when it comes to the [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], well, knowing they've got ''LegacyOfTheForce'' and ''StarWarsLegacy'' to look forward to turns the entire ''franchise'' into one big DownerEnding.
* TheDragAlong (C-3P0 fills this niche like a glove in every movie)
* DressCodedForYourConvenience
* DueToTheDead (Jedi practice cremation.)
* DullSurprise (Although there are arguably some instances of it in the original trilogy too, this is taken to new levels in the prequels)
** FridgeBrilliance : [[TinMan Jedi]] [[EmotionsVsStoicism are trained from birth to repress emotion.]]
*** It looked more like [[BadBadActing something else]], especially with Christensen and Portman, but I guess we'll have to give them the benefit of a doubt.
* TheDutifulSon (Or daughter in this case. Luke seems to think Leia is this, being in the Rebellion while he was on Tatooine)
* EliteMooks (The Storm Troopers, and the Super Battledroids from the prequel trilogy)
* EmotionsVsStoicism (Why Jedi are good and Sith are evil, though in the Expanded Universe, stoicism is treated a bit less kindly, as the New Jedi Order by Luke is less rigid.)
* TheEmpire
* EnsembleDarkhorse: With the amount of time Star Wars has been around, there have been many, but fewer so than Boba Fett, whose death in Return of the Jedi was eventually changed so that he survived falling into the Sarlaac Pit.
** Also, Wedge Antilles, who went from a single appearance in the first film to appearing in all three of the original trilogy ''and'' considerable [[ExpandedUniverse EU]] following. The [[XWingSeries X-Wing series]], anyone?
* [[EtTuBrute Et Tu Anachin/Iacen/Exar/Quicumque]]
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses (Leia)
* {{Evil Counterpart}} (Tarkin is this to Obi-Wan. Vader is Luke's counterpart. And Papatine is Yoda's)
* EvilOverlooker (many StarWars posters)
* ExcuseMeComingThrough (In ''The New Jedi Order'', one of Han Solo's security droids invokes this trope almost by name while carrying a live thermal detonator.
* ExpandedUniverse (One of the first major ones)
* FamousLastWords (Too many to list)
* FanNickname (For Luke, Farmboy or Wormie. For Palpatine, Sid, Palpy, Palps, or Palpidious)
** I've also heard "Vaderkin" to refer to Vader between taking the name Darth Vader and Mustafar incident. The ExpandedUniverse introduces us to Jimmy, JINO, Darth Chicken, and a few others.
* {{Fanfare}} (The iconic opening music)
* FastRoping (The clone tropers in Episode III employ this trope.)
* FetishFuel (it has its own page)
* FeudalFuture
* FirstInstallmentWins (for two decades, almost three, there were no prequels)
** Wouldn't that be ''second'' installment wins, since ''Empire'' is everyone's favorite?
*** Not to [[{{Premonition45}} this troper]]. ANH is still my favorite.
* FishPeople (Kit Fisto and the Gungans in the prequels, as well as the Aqualish, Mon Calimari, and Quarren)
* FiveManBand (Luke is TheHero, Han's TheLancer, R2 and 3PO trade off being TheSmartGuy, Chewie's TheBigGuy, and Leia is TheChick. Well, sometimes. Threepio is sometimes TheChick, Leia can be very proactive in some scenes.)
* FlawExploitation (Anakin/Vader's love for his family)
* FloatingHeadSyndrome (on the most recent {{DVD}}s)
* FollowTheLeader (Inspired so many)
* GoodOldWays
* GRatedSex (WordOfGod specifically says a kiss represents sex.)
**[[{{Twincest}} Ummm...]] [[{{squick}} Okay...]]
***And right in front of Han, no less.
***George has a history of creepy pronouncements. This troper distinctly remembers him mentioning in an interview that Wookiees have six breasts. In another interview, he specifically said Jedi have sex, but relationships are forbidden. Probably to make it so [[AManIsNotAVirgin the Jedi are still "cool"]].
***At least it's not as bad as what happened to Oedipus, which was probably an inspiration.
***If this applies to the prequel trilogy too, this means that [[FridgeLogic Anakin and Padme were in the act on the way to being executed in Episode II]].
***What's so creepy about an alien species having six breasts?
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold (Every year there is an additional story in the ExpandedUniverse set during or around the movies, lately TheCloneWars.)
* HarmonyVersusDiscipline (The Force = The Way of Harmony and TheDarkSide = The Path of Discipline, in theory with Jedi trying to be one with the Force and the Sith trying to control it by channeling their desires. In practise the Jedi believe in only using TheForce with a helping of self control, while The Sith wants domination through Discipline, which they practice through unchecked desires and rage)
* HaveAGayOldTime - There's a whole page of lines that sound sexual but aren't on Wookieepedia. My favorite?
-->Nute Gunray: My lord, is that legal?
-->[[strike:Palpatine]] Darth Sidious: I will ''make'' it legal.
* HighlyConspicuousUniform: White armored Stormtroopers on Endor. 'Nuff said.
* HoldYourHippogriffs: The books are notorious for this.
** "Out of the [[strike:frying pan]] reactor core and into the [[strike:fire]] supernova."
** "Like a [[strike:hot knife]] neutrino through [[strike:butter]] plasma."
*** Which blew Gabe's fuse in ''[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/7/23/ Penny Arcade]]'':
---> '''Gabe:''' I get it, man. It says Star Wars on the cover. I know I'm reading about Star Wars. It's like, do they not have butter in space? Or hot knives to cut it with?
---> '''Tycho:''' Listen, don't get your mynocks in a... sarlacc.
* HollywoodTactics (it's ''made of'' this trope.)
** To be fair, the Rebel's tactics (in the films anyway) weren't that bad, and when they did apparently stupid things like attacking a massive battlestation with a few dozen fighters, it was usually because they had grossly inferior forces to begin with and really had no other options.
* {{Homage}}
* HoYay (very little outside the ExpandedUniverse, but Luke and Han have a few longing stares in Episodes IV and V.)
** Obi Wan loved Anakin (like a brother, but that doesn't stop the {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s)
* HumanAliens (aka near-human aliens, some of which have a common ancestry)
* HumanoidAliens
* HumongousMecha (the AT-series walkers in the films, and various types of droids such as EVS Construction Droids in the Expanded Universe.)
* [[SpannerInTheWorks Hydrospanner In The Works]]
* IconicLogo
* IKnowThatGun (Many examples.)
**Han Solo's blaster is a WW1 Mauser C96 handgun with bits stuck on.
**Rebel soldiers are armed with prop weapons the body of which is a cast of a WW2 Sturmgewehr-44 assault rifle.
**Stormtroopers tend to carry heavy blasters which are MG34 machine guns without magazines, and rifles made from British Sterling SMGs.
**Jawa blasters are made from British Lee-Enfield Mk. III bolt-action rifles with tin cans stuck on the end.
**The body of Boba Fett's blaster is an Enfield No. 1 Mk. 1 flaregun.
**You can take this all the way to I Know That Tank and even I Know That ''Battleship'' with the vehicles; the models built for shooting were detailled using parts of dozens of model kits of tanks, ships, aircraft and vehicles haphazardly arranged over their surfaces.
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon (About half the weapons in the movies, but the lightsabers and the Death Stars get special note.)
* ImpracticallyFancyOutfit (Amidala's clothes.)
* InTheBlood (In this case, it's Midichlorians and Evil)
* InternetBackdraft (Depending on what SW forums you go to, mentioning the prequels could start a war)
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll
* JacobMarleyWarning (Vader to Luke)
* JonasQuinn (Dash Rendar from ''ShadowsOfTheEmpire'' was created to present a Han Solo character without actually ''using'' Han Solo, who was frozen in carbonite at the time.)
* LaResistance: The Rebel Alliance
* LargeHam (Just about the entire cast at times, but primarily Palpatine, Jabba, and of course {{BRIAN BLESSED}}.)
* LeastCommonSkinTone (There are precisely two black people in the original trilogy: Lando, and Grizz Fix, an X-wing pilot who gets a quarter second of screen time (''dying'') in ''Jedi''. The prequels are slightly better about this. Slightly. Blue skin is still more common than black, but at least there's Mace Windu, [[MemeticMutation the galaxy's biggest badass]], among the black characters.)
* LaserBlade: Lightsabers
* LegoCrossoverGame
* MadeOfPhlebotinum (''StarWars'' could nominally be considered this trope, especially a planet like Coruscant, for example. [[{{Subspace Or Hyperspace}} Hyperdrive]], {{the force}}, [[{{Flying Car}} levitating vehicles]], [[{{Frickin Laser Beams}} laser weapons]]...there wouldn't be much left to this [[{{The Verse}} 'verse]] if you subtracted the {{Phlebotinum}}.)
* MasterApprenticeChain (Even without getting into the [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] we have:)
** Yoda > Count Dooku > Qui-Gon Jinn > Obi-Wan Kenobi > Anakin & Luke Skywalker
** Darth Plagueis > Darth Sidious > Darths Maul, Tyranus, and Vader.
** [[spoiler: Qui-Gon Jinn]] > Yoda > Obi-Wan Kenobi > Luke Skywalker (Implied in the movie, spelled out in the novelization)
* MemeticMutation (Just about everything. The original trilogy alone has easily the highest degree of quotes per movie ''ever''. The prequels slightly less so.)
-->'''Admiral Ackbar:''' ''[[CaptainObvious "It's a trap!"]]''
-->'''Darth Vader:''' ''[[BlindIdiotTranslation "DO NOT WANT!"]]''
* MagnificentBastard: Palpatine in the Prequel Trilogy. In the original trilogy he's more of a SmugSnake.
* AMillionIsAStatistic
** Possibly averted with regards to [[spoiler: Alderaan]], and the shock and horror various characters express at its destruction.
* MindOverManners (Jedi's responsible use of their suggestion and telepathy powers)
* MiniMecha (Some of the walkers, such as the AT-RT from Revenge of the Sith)
* MisguidedMissile
* MonowheelMayhem (The Wheel Bikes.)
* {{Narm}} (Various scenes, sometimes YourMileageMayVary)
**[[Narm/StarWars Now with its own page.]]
* NeckLift
* NiceHat (Padmé has a few)
* NightmareFuel: Each movie gave us a new, different creature for our heroes to go up against.
** ''A New Hope'' had the dianoga in the trash compactor scene.
** ''Empire'' had the wampa, as well as a brief glimpse of some swamp creature. AND the space slug on the asteroid.
** ''ROTJ'' had the rancor and the sarlacc. Ewoks don't count.
** The Jedi faced off against three underwater beasts in ''The Phantom Menace''.
** The arena scene in ''Attack of the Clones'' also had three creatures, each trying to kill one of the heroes.
** ''Revenge of the Sith'', oddly, had no creature feature, unless you count the lizard-dog Obi rode during the attack on Grievous. However, WordOfGod says there was originally supposed to be something waiting for Obi-Wan after he fell into the canyon during Order 66. But the idea of interrupting the most heartbreaking and emotional scene in the whole movie with Obi-Wan sneaking past a Loch Ness probably came off as a bad idea.
** The way Anakin became Darth Vader (being mutilated and burnt almost to death while screaming to Obi-Wan "I hate you!") is something definitly disturbing to see.
* NotNowBernard: C-3PO, especially in the EU.
* NotSoDifferent (Luke and Vader)
* NotWearingTights (The Jedi Order)
* OldMaster: Of course, being a sci-fi film that borrows heavily from classical myth, it isn't surprising that Homer's creation made its way to Star Wars.
* OldSchoolDogfighting
* PintsizedPowerhouse (Yoda)
* PlanetVille: Averted with the planet of Naboo: we see a swamp which also has an underwater city inside it, a regular city, and some villas in "Lake Country." Played pretty straight everywhere else.
* PeopleJars
* PetTheDog: In an book of short stories about the various denizens of Jabba's palace, the poor rancor keeper just wanted to leave Jabba's palace with his dear pet rancor and find a nice play to live with his bloodthirsty friend. Until that damned Jedi had to show up and ruin everything...
* PimpedOutDress: Amidala has loads of them.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Much of the Imperial Brass. Palpatine himself is not necessarily, if only because he probably sees ''everyone'' as pawns.
* PromotedFanboy (Nearly two generations has grown up with ''Star Wars'', almost anyone working on modern projects is one of these.)
* PuttingOnTheReich (Many officials of TheEmpire.)
* RayGun (Blasters and the turbo lasers)
* RebelLeader (Princess Leia)
* RedShirt (Luke's wingmen in the original trilogy seemed to get killed if an Imperial so much as sneezes.)
* RefugeInCool: Most of the franchise is loaded with RuleOfCool.
* RetiredBadass (Yoda and Obi-wan)
* RightInFrontOfMe (Luke and Yoda; also Qui-Gon and Amidala)
* RubberForeheadAliens (Twi'lek, Cereans, Chevs, Zabrak, Khommites, etc.)
* RuleOfCool (Lightsabers are the epitome of this trope.)
** Rumor has it that this trope is the main reason why Mace Windu has a purple lightsaber, because Samuel L. Jackson thought it looked cool. (Also so that he would be visible in a huge lightsaber battle.) Also note that said lightsaber is the only one used in the movie canon that is not red, blue or green.
***This fact is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by General Grievous in the Revenge of the Sith video game.
--->"Who fights with a purple lightsaber anyway?"
* SamuelLJackson (since he asked...)
** This is best exemplified in ''Shatterpoint.''
* TheScrappy: Jar-Jar
** And the Ewoks.
** And midichlorians.
** A lot of the main characters in the prequels, unfortunately.
* {{Sequelitis}} (technically, ''prequel''itis)
** YourMileageMayVary
* SerkisFolk (In the prequels.)
* ShoutOut (There's actually a few shout outs to the Oz books. Namely Princess Leia's hairbuns which are based on Princess Ozma's hair poppys and the Ewoks are based on the Teddy Bear tribe.)
** I thought they were based on Hopi hair.
* SidekickExMachina (Chewbacca)
* SingleBiomePlanet ([[JustifiedTrope Justified]] for Bespin but not so much for the others)
* SinisterGeometry (The Death Star, the Imperial Star Destroyers.)
* SlaveMooks: The Clones, in some people's point of view, and the Insane Selkath.
* StarfishAliens
* StandardTimeUnits
* StealthInSpace (cloaking devices in the ExpandedUniverse; Han's successful attempts at hiding from Star Destroyers in ''The Empire Strikes Back'')
* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker (Yoda)
* SummerBlockbuster (the TropeCodifier, along with StevenSpielberg's ''{{Jaws}}'')
* SupernaturalMartialArts (a lot of the Force powers)
* SurvivalMantra
* TactfulTranslation (the most prominent example being how Threepio translates Jabba the Hutt's discussion with a disguised Princess Leia)
* TargetTheAudience: The posters for ''A New Hope'' and ''Return of the Jedi''.
* TenchiSolution (how [[WordOfGod George]] explains Jedi attitudes toward monogamy)
* TermsOfEndangerment
* ThickerThanWater
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The Super Star Wars trilogy were not only the most notable aversion, but they're were also [[NintendoHard freakin' hard]]. The Rogue Squadron and X-Wing series are also considered good games in their own right.
* TheThreeFacesOfAdam (Anakin and Luke both start out as the Hunter, with each trilogy detailing their evolution to Lord.)
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks (especially when you have telekinetic powers)
** subverted in its first appearance (episode VI), when Vader [[CriticalFailure totally misses]].
* ThirtyXanatosPileup (innumerable)
** ''Return of the Jedi'' exemplifies this trope. Everything Luke or Palpatine does is a XanatosGambit, coincidentally making Luke the greatest assassin ever. Leia also pulls one off at the beginning.
* TookALevelInBadass (Luke, once on Dagobah, again between episode V and VI. Anakin in the prequels.)
** And after he blows up the Death Star, Luke is ''much'' more confident than he was in most of ''A New Hope''.
* TooMuchOfAGoodThing
* TragicHero (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is a textbook example of this trope)
* TrainingFromHell
* TreeTopTown The Ewok village on Endor and the Wookiees' dwellings on Kashyyyk.
* {{Twincest}} (averted, at least in {{Fanon}})
* UnfortunateNames
* {{Undercrank}} (Used in the early movies where CG would be used in the later ones. The alarmingly fast doors on the Death Star 1 are almost certainly undercranked.)
* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: Luke and Leia in ''Revenge of the Sith''.
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome (The original trilogy ''still'' stands up well today and for the prequels show that whatever flaws Lucas has as a writer, visually he knows his stuff.)
* VoiceOfTheLegion
* WeAreAsMayflies (Yoda)
* WithFriendsLikeThese (R2-D2 and C-3P0, though the BilingualDialogue means we don't know just how much hostility R2 reciprocates, though occasionally C-3P0 quotes him: "Don't call me a 'mindless philosopher'...")
** In the EU, when R2 communicates by comlink, we find out that yes, he hits back just as well as he takes it.
* TheWookieeHasNoPants, at least in regard to some concerns of [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executives]]...
* {{Wuxia}} : One of the genres that inspired the franchise.
** Particularly [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soresu.jpg form III Soresu]]. OrSoIHeard.
* XanatosGambit / XanatosRoulette (Palpatine)
** Better yet, there's an ExpandedUniverse character actually ''called'' Xanatos.
*** He's better at being OutGambitted. though.
* ZergRush (The Empire's TIE Fighters, at least in the ExpandedUniverse.)
** In the films as well. They are described as "short range", get killed in one hit and "There's - Too many of them!"
*** Both the clone and droid armies in Episode II as well.
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