The Empire Strikes Back was adapted into a 1982 radio play broadcast on National Public Radio in the United States.[368] Return of the Jedi was released in 1983, concluding the original film trilogy. Jedi's plot follows the Rebel assault on the Empire and Luke's final confrontation with Vader and the Emperor. Like the previous films, Jedi was a financial success and fared well with critics.[369][370]
Nearly two decades after the release of Empire, Lucas wrote and directed the prequel trilogy, consisting of The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The films chronicle the history between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and the latter's fall to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader. The storylines and certain new characters in the prequel films polarized critics and fans.[w] After Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, Disney developed a sequel trilogy, consisting of The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[x] Original trilogy cast members—including Ford, Hamill, and Fisher—reprised their roles, and were joined by new characters portrayed by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac.[380] Standalone films and television series have also been released, with narratives relating to the story arcs of the original trilogy.[y]
