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In 1977, Star Wars changed the world. It took the universe by storm, completely redefining everything everyone knew about movies. But then, in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back changed Star Wars.

Sequels were not as well regarded back then as they are today. Other than 1974’s The Godfather: Part II, sequels were typically seen as mere cash grabs that couldn’t possibly match the quality of the original, let alone exceed it. In the same way that George Lucas’ Star Wars fundamentally changed everything with its release, The Empire Strikes Back shattered this stigma, proving that there were endless story possibilities for more Star Wars.

Directed by Irvin Kershner, The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980 — forty years ago today (article originally published 5/21/2020 by Nathanael Molnar). It’s amazing to think about how much time has passed since this seminal film was released, and how much has changed in its wake. We live in an age of franchise movies, where ongoing cinematic stories are ever evolving. Star Wars was essentially the first movie franchise to break into the mainstream. There were theatrical series like Planet of the Apes and Godzilla, but nothing had the simultaneous commercial explosion that Star Wars experienced.

The Empire Strikes Back introduced the concept of an expanded universe by referring to itself as “Part V” in the opening crawl, insinuating more story preceded 1977’s Star Wars. With this, the floodgates were thrown open for large-scale cinematic franchises. This has ultimately grown into what we have today with the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Avengers: Endgame itself just turned one year old. Looking back on Empire, it’s fascinating to examine how the sequel cemented the legacy of this new forming franchise.