The 'Star Wars' film series is made up of two separate trilogies and has spawned an Expanded Universe that includes TV shows ('Star Wars Rebels'), video games, books and comics. The franchise launched in May 25, 1977 when 'Star Wars', written and directed by George Lucas, was first released in theaters. It was followed by 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' closing out the original franchise. Sixteen years after the last of those films hit theaters, a new prequel trilogy began with the release of 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'. It was followed by 'Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones' and 'Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'. In 2012, Lucas sold the rights to the 'Star Wars' franchise to Disney who announced a new, sequel trilogy. The first film, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', was directed by J.J. Abrams and opened in theaters in 2015. The next, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ is directed by Rian Johnson and opens in the winter of 2017. The 'Star Wars' films have made over $7.5 billion at the box-office, making it one of the highest-grossing film series of all-time.