Star Wars was big way before the internet, but arguably owes much of its recent cult status to the thirty-somethings who first flocked to the web in the mid 90s. No science fiction (with the possible exception of Star Trek) has this degree of fan support, with US queues having formed over five months prior to the launch of Episode II: Revenge of the Clones on May 16. The movie already made the cover of a recent edition of Time magazine and UK interest will be equally pronounced in a phenomenon that shows no sign of slowing down after more than 25 years.
First stop for movie trailers, facts and a downloadable "making of" video is the official website. Naturally, details about the storyline are carefully pre-packaged to avoid giving too much away, but if this proves insufficient there are plenty of "spoiler" sites happy to divulge fuller details. Indeed, the entire movie script was recently posted (and swiftly deleted) on Jedi.net, having been touted around the newsgroups for a reputed $100,000 since being leaked from the studio two years ago.
Even this, however, is only the tip of the iceberg, with sites already speculating on the plot for Episode 3, due for release in 2005. There is even talk of whether the original stars of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill might make appearances in the final trilogy of films, due to go into production by the end of the decade. However, letting the stars speak out is largely frowned upon by the studio, especially after Samuel L Jackson's recent antics. Having famously influenced his casting as Jedi master, Mace Windu, by a public appeal to George Lucas on the David Letterman Show, he went one further last month by blurting out the eventual fate of half the cast.
"All the Jedi die in Episode III during the Clone Wars. I told George (Lucas) I didn't mind dying, I just didn't want to go out like some punk."
Of course, idle speculation is only one side of the coin. Star Wars memorabilia remains one of the hottest properties on auction sites such as eBay, and merchandising has now easily exceeded the $2bn it had already grossed after the release of Episode 1. This time round, the new range of action figures includes Jango Fett's spaceship, Slave 1, and a suitably fetching Padmé Amidala with exposed midriff - all doing brisk business in toy stores. Beyond this, the mythology continues to support an entire sub-culture of fan-fiction. Many sites which encourages budding authors to add their own chapters to an unfolding story, are blissfully unimpeded by Hollywood, providing another possible explanation of its undying popularity. Admittedly, much of the fan-output is pure sci-fi hokum, but some efforts are both imaginative and painstakingly thorough. There is a host of fan-movies in production, featuring everything from Adam and Joe-style efforts with toys, to fully fledged productions with live actors and special effects. See the link below for a whole range of dowloadable clips due to be judged in competition by Lucas himself.
Lucas' attitude to fan adulation seems to depend on personal taste and mood. On the one hand he is actively encouraging the directors of the short film George Lucas in Love, a pastiche of Shakespeare in Love concerning the young film-maker's struggle to complete the original Star Wars. Released in 2000, his known support is improving its chances of a proper Hollywood remake next year. Then again, he can be both obstinate and litigious. When confronted by the 1978 TV comedy special The Star Wars Holiday Special, he once commented that if he had the time and a hammer, he would track down every bootlegged copy of the programme and smash it. In another interview, he responded to widespread web-criticism of Jar Jar Binks as the work of "37-year-old guys who spend all their time on the internet".
However, as a writer and director, the jury is still out. A profile of his directorial work can be found at the excellent Internet Movie database while another examines every nuance of his Jedi writings. Even so, history will surely question what the young director of American Graffiti would have achieved had he not been seduced by the Dark Side into devoting an entire career to a single franchise.
