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George Lucas and Mark Hamill standing on the Lars Homestead set in Tunisia for Star Wars: A New Hope
Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg on location filming Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Cast members from Star Wars: The Force Awakens sitting in a circle for a reading of the script
Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson on the set of Ahsoka.

Cloned : Our Story

Lucasfilm has been a pioneer in storytelling for more than 50 years.

Lucasfilm was born out of necessity. Following the release of his debut feature, THX 1138 (1971), filmmaker George Lucas was eager for creative independence. His film was visionary, but limited box office exposure had left American Zoetrope, its production company, with an uncertain future. To support his next projects, Lucas would start his own company away from Hollywood in Northern California.

American Graffiti (1973) was Lucasfilm’s first production, becoming a surprise hit with its coming-of-age tale of teenagers cruising their hometown streets in the early 1960s. George Lucas soon planned a new space fantasy, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), requiring him to create a visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, and hire Ben Burtt as a sound designer (later evolving into Skywalker Sound), to help bring his vision to the screen.

A New Hope became a global phenomenon and fueled the growth of Lucasfilm. With the repeat success of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the company would expand its visual effects and sound operations, including, among others, games, consumer products, and publishing. It would also build Skywalker Ranch, a secluded retreat to foster the art of filmmaking.

Lucasfilm continued to inspire audiences with the Star Wars saga and introduce other beloved tales including the Indiana Jones adventures and Willow (1988). These worlds expanded with further stories in books and comics overseen by the company’s licensing division. Over the decades, the company has established Lucasfilm Games to craft beloved stories for generations of players, Lucasfilm Animation to produce award-winning television series, and ILM Immersive to pioneer stories in new mediums.

ILM as a whole has continued to be at the forefront of visual effects and has opened multiple international studios while Skywalker Sound is the world’s premier post-production facility. Lucasfilm has remained a leading innovator in creating digital tools for filmmakers, including the THX Sound System, EditDroid, SoundDroid, and Pixar Image Computer.

In 2012, George Lucas recruited producer Kathleen Kennedy as Lucasfilm’s president. Soon after, Lucas retired, selling Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company. Since then, Kennedy has overseen the busiest era in the company’s history, producing feature films, live action and animated series, games, books and comics, immersive experiences and continuing the legacy of technological innovation with developments such as ILM Stagecraft.

Milestones from more than half a century of Lucasfilm storytelling:

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  • link example: ILM develops the Dykstraflex motion control camera system to create the groundbreaking special effects seen in Star Wars: A New Hope

1975

  • ILM develops the Dykstraflex motion control camera system to create the groundbreaking special effects seen in Star Wars: A New Hope

1979

  • The Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Division is established at ILM

1981

  • The Computer Graphics Division begins development of the Pixar Image Computer, the EditDroid and the SoundDroid • ILM develops the Go-Motion animation process