This is the latest instalment in our From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries.
It is hard to imagine a world in which Star Wars is not the galaxy-conquering behemoth we know today.
As of 2025, George Lucasโs sci-fi franchise includes nine films and three movie spin-offs, with more streaming and animated series being added all the time.
Of course, none of this would have happened without the 1977 original, a pitch-perfect popcorn odyssey buoyed by John Williamsโ triumphant music and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)โs dazzling special effects.
But it was the 1980 sequel, Star Wars: Episode V โ The Empire Strikes Back, which is 45 this month, that turned this stand-alone success into an enduring pop-culture phenomenon. And it almost ended in disaster.