Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas in his first directorial effort since the original Star Wars: The Phantom Menace released in 1977. Set 19 years after the original trilogy (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of The Sith), the film follows a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance, who aim to destroy the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. When the rebel leader Princess Leia is captured by the Empire, Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, acquires stolen architectural plans of the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
