Imaginary Worlds is a podcast about sci-fi fantasy and other genres of speculative fiction hosted by Eric Molinsky

This Week: The Battle to Make Star Wars

Movies that change cinema often come from outsiders – whether it’s Orson Welles making Citizen Kane or George Lucas making Star Wars a.k.a. Episode IV: A New Hope. The excellent graphic novel ⁠Lucas Wars⁠ by artist Renaud Roche and writer Laurent Hopman just came out in English (the original French title is Les Guerres de Lucas.) I talk with Renaud and Laurent about why the making of Star Wars was such a long shot, and how the production changed the lives of everyone involved. Plus, we discuss the unsung heroes who helped make Star Wars happen -- like Lucas’s ex-wife Marcia and studio mogul Alan Ladd Jr.