Lucas had planned a prequel trilogy (as well as a sequel trilogy) before the release of the original film, but halted major Star Wars films beyond the original trilogy by 1981. The trilogy was released from 1999 to 2005 and is set before the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–83), making it the first act of the Skywalker saga, despite being the second released. The Star Wars prequel trilogy, colloquially referred to as the prequels, is a series of epic space-opera films written and directed by George Lucas.
