Lucas always said the biggest influence for several of the films on Star Wars mostly Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo and John Ford's The Searchers as well as the original Flash Gordon serials.

After Star Wars became a success, Lucas announced his intention to turn the film into a series, originally totalling nine films (later pared back to six). Consequently, most reissue prints now feature the title Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope, with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) serving as Episodes Five and Six in the serial, and Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace (1999) going back to the myth's beginnings.