﻿A long time ago, cinema audiences were transported to a galaxy far, far away: one where imperial cruisers battled rebel fighters, where droids rubbed circuits with Wookiees and where a spaceship called the Millennium Falcon could make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. That was 1977 but, in 2015, as the franchise approaches its seventh big-screen instalment, interest in Star Wars shows no sign of abating – now, there is news of a new film about Han Solo and of a reappearance for Darth Vader. “Countless fans around the world are in a constant state of vigilance waiting for the release of new poster art, new trailers and other information,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box-office monitor Rentrak. “It’s hard to imagine any other movie franchise that could evoke such a level of passion, enthusiasm and excitement.” 
The latest Star Wars mania dates from the Hollywood studio Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm from the film’s creator, George Lucas, in 2012; the $4bn acquisition was accompanied by an announcement of three more sequential “episodes” – VII, VIII and IX – plus then unspecified plans for spin-off movies and “stand-alones” to fill the gaps in the release schedule. Details of the second spin-off have now been made public: an “origins story” about Han Solo, the intergalactic smuggler played by Harrison Ford in the first three films, which is scheduled to be released in May 2018. 
It will follow the release in December 2015 of Episode VII, directed by JJ Abrams and titled Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the unnamed Episode VIII due out in 2017 and the already announced spin-off, Rogue One, which will arrive in cinemas in 2016. 
That movie will outline a rebel mission to steal the plans of the Death Star, a key plot element of the first film in 1977. Levels of interest in the rumour that Rogue One will also feature the reappearance of Darth Vader, the black-clad villain of the original series, only confirmed the power of Star Wars nostalgia. 
In creating a multi-stranded, multi-character cinema “universe” around Star Wars, Lucasfilm-Disney are taking their cue from the phenomenally successful series of films produced by Marvel Studios, which Disney also acquired, in 2009.