As a result, by the time the full lines are visible, the text is much smaller and harder to read. In the "fullscreen" (4:3 aspect ratio for standard-definition television) versions of the films, the full lines of text are cut off on the sides until they have scrolled further onto the screen. Each line of the text spans the width of the screen when it enters from the bottom. Several words are in all-capital letters to stress their importance: " DEATH STAR" in Star Wars, " GALACTIC EMPIRE" in Return of the Jedi, " ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC" in Attack of the Clones, " FIRST ORDER", " REPUBLIC" and " RESISTANCE" in The Force Awakens, " FIRST ORDER" and " RESISTANCE" again in The Last Jedi, and " REVENGE", " EMPEROR PALPATINE", " GENERAL LEIA ORGANA", " REY", " FIRST ORDER", and " KYLO REN" in The Rise of Skywalker.
When the text has nearly reached the vanishing point, it fades out, the camera tilts down (or, in the case of Episode II: Attack of the Clones, up), and the film begins. Each version of the opening crawl ends with a four-dot ellipsis, except for Return of the Jedi, which has a three-dot ellipsis.
The text scrolls up and away from the bottom of the screen towards a vanishing point above the top of the frame in a perspective projection. While the logo is retreating, the "crawl" text begins, starting with the film's episode number and subtitle (with the exception of the original release of Star Wars – see below), and followed by a three-paragraph prologue to the film. Initially, the logo's extremities are beyond the edge of the frame. Additionally, the opening sequence of Solo continues with a short backstory presented in the same style as the opening text, while The Clone Wars uses a narrator to provide exposition in a similar style to a newsreel.Įach film opens with the static blue text, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.", followed by the Star Wars logo shrinking in front of a field of stars, as if moving away from the viewer. The opening crawl was not used in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars or in the Star Wars "Anthology" films, Rogue One and Solo, although all three films begin with the opening text. It is one of the most immediately recognizable elements of the franchise and has been frequently parodied.
Although it has retained the same basic elements, the opening crawl has significantly evolved throughout the series. This sequence has featured at the beginning of each of the main Star Wars saga theatrical films produced by Lucasfilm. The visuals are accompanied by the " Main Title Theme", composed by John Williams. The crawl text, which describes the backstory and context of the film, then recedes toward a higher point in relation to the screen and with an apparent effect of disappearing in the distance. Within a black sky background featuring a smattering of stars, the crawl is preceded both by the opening static blue text, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." and by the Star Wars logo which recedes toward a central point on the screen before disappearing. The Star Wars opening crawl is a signature device of the opening sequences of every numbered film of the Star Wars series, an American epic space opera franchise created by George Lucas. The example shown comes from a post-1981 re-release as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The phrase "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." which remains static on the screen and the Star Wars logo which shrinks to a central point is common to all of the films and are followed by a film-specific opening crawl. Three frames representative of opening sequences from films in the Skywalker Saga.