How George Lucas Made the First Star Wars Against the Odds
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the early 1970s, science fiction films were a tough sell in Hollywood. George Lucas set out to make Star Wars anyway, drawing on old adventure serials to shape a story many studios struggled to imagine on screen.
After its release in 1977, the film found its audience through word of mouth and steady growth at the box office. Before long, theater lines were filled with new viewers wanting a taste of the experience and fans returning to see it again.
Chris Taylor, author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, tells the dramatic story of how Star Wars became the iconic franchise it is today, and why it so easily could have failed.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.3 | Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. |
| 0:07.7 | Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand |
| 0:11.8 | new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. |
| 0:15.5 | Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the |
| 0:20.3 | biology of taunons and wampas |
| 0:22.2 | on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. |
| 0:28.3 | Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your |
| 0:33.5 | podcasts. |
| 0:44.5 | Music your podcasts. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star |
| 0:50.4 | and the American people. |
| 0:52.3 | And we love to hear your stories. |
| 0:54.0 | Send them to Our American Stories.com. |
| 0:57.3 | Our listener stories, well, they're some of our favorite. |
| 1:00.4 | George Lucas is best known for creating both Star Wars and Indiana Jones, two iconic American |
| 1:06.8 | film franchises that shaped our childhoods or our children's childhoods. |
| 1:12.3 | But before he brought us to a galaxy far, far away, Lucas made two other often forgotten |
| 1:18.4 | movies. His first film, THX-1138, was produced by friend and godfather director, Francis Ford |
| 1:27.0 | Coppola, |
| 1:27.9 | but despite the talent behind it was anything but a box office success. |
| 1:33.0 | His second film, American Graffiti, was a surprise success |
... |
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