When Star Wars opened in 1977 it changed everything. And I mean everything! One of the things George Lucas’s saga altered was the importance of the sequel to the Hollywood filmmaking machine.
The Greatest Sequel
The Empire Strikes Back is considered by many to be the greatest sequel ever made. A large group of fans strongly believe it is the absolute best of the franchise (including myself). Empire faced a big challenge when it came out in 1980. It had to surpass the enormous success of Star Wars, which was released just three years earlier.
Did it top the phenomenon of Star Wars? Simply put, No. But it did change the way we looked at Star Wars and helped to make Star Wars a franchise that is still relevant today.
1975
People forget that Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was Hollywood’s first blockbuster. It beat Star Wars to the cinema by 2 years when it was released in 1975. Jaws was the highest grossing film of all time until Star Wars took its spot.
There have been 3 sequels to Jaws and none of those installments were able to equal the impact of the original. Spielberg did not return to direct the killer shark follow-ups and that played a part in why the franchise did not grow. The movies did not establish a mythology to build upon the way Star Wars did. Each Jaws sequel felt like a diminished copy of the classic first picture.
Quality
There was nothing diminishing about the quality of Empire. All the main characters returned, and Lucas remained the creative godfather of the series. Empire introduced fan favorite characters like Jedi Master, Yoda.
Changing Everything
It also changed the way fans viewed the 1977 original. The reveal of Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker’s father changed everything audiences thought they knew about the saga. Star Wars made you care about its characters. The Empire Strikes Back gave you key details about who they were.
Current Blockbusters
Blockbusters released today try hard to make sure the audience knows more follow-up stories are coming. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly teasing its audience with hints and glimpses of what is coming next. It is difficult to understand a Marvel movie if you have not watched the earlier films and Disney Plus shows.
Empire was not just a follow-up to Star Wars—it was the next chapter in a larger story. The movie after Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, was hard to understand without seeing the first film. There was a time when Hollywood viewed this kind of tactic as financially dangerous. Studios did not want to alienate viewers from watching a film if they had not seen the one prior.
The unparalleled success of Star Wars changed the way studios viewed the financial significance of sequels.
- Adam C. Better
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