© 2023 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Star Wars,' The Trilogy That NPR Turned Into Radio Drama

Mark Hamill takes off his storm trooper helmet in a scene from the film <em>Star Wars</em>.
Archive Photos
/
20th Century-Fox/Getty Images
Mark Hamill takes off his storm trooper helmet in a scene from the film Star Wars.

The ninth episode of Star Wars blasts into theaters this weekend, more than 40 years since the release of George Lucas' original hit movie. Back then, NPR got in on Star Wars saga action, creating a radio dramaof that original episode.

In 1981, George Lucas sold the radio rights for $1, and the network partnered with the University of Southern California theater program to produce it. The production was an overwhelming success, and NPR went on to do radio versions of all the movies in the original trilogy.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
David Greene is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author. He is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, the most listened-to radio news program in the United States, and also of NPR's popular morning news podcast, Up First.
From now to Giving Tuesday, you can make a huge impact on the local journalism you get from WKAR. We need 500 donations to unlock a special $50,000 gift. Your donation, of any amount, can get us closer to funding the news and entertainment you value from our station.