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{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width     = 250
| footer    =
| image1    = Opening_Crawl.jpg
| alt1      =
| caption1  = A comparison of how the opening crawl for the 1977 film ''Star Wars'' has been altered to include ''Episode IV A New Hope''.
| image2    = ESBOpeningCrawl.png
| alt2      =
| caption2  = The opening crawl as seen in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''.
|}}
{{Quote|One of the things we still have to shoot is the opening crawl. Shooting that crawl is actually one of the hardest things on these shows. The artwork itself is only about four feet long and maybe a foot wide. The camera is real low to the ground and we use a tilting lens to eliminate a lot of the focus problems. But everything has to be lined up just perfectly and you spend days running through tests. Every little blemish shows up. Any little bump, any little movement of the camera is going to screw up this big 2,000-frame-long take. It's fun, but pure torture.|[[Ken Ralston]] during production of [[Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi|''Star Wars'': Episode VI ''Return of the Jedi'']]|<ref name="MakingOfRotJ">''[[The Making of Return of the Jedi]]''</ref>}}
The '''opening crawl''' is the opening to the nine [[The Skywalker Saga|Skywalker saga]] films. It also served as the opening for the shows [[Star Wars: Ahsoka|''Ahsoka'']], ''[[Star Wars: The Acolyte]]'', and [[Star Wars: Skeleton Crew|''Skeleton Crew'']] as a reference to the original opening crawl and as a way to set up the events of the shows. 

==Description==
Each of the nine episodic ''[[Star Wars]]'' films begins with nearly identical openings, in which the text "A long time ago in a [[The galaxy|galaxy far, far away]].&hellip;" is displayed, followed by the ''Star Wars'' logo over a field of [[Star/Legends|stars]]. A subsequent downward tilt reveals the film's episode number, the subtitle in all-capital letters, and a three-paragraph summary of events immediately prior to the events of the film.

Two typefaces were used in the crawl: In current releases of episodes I&ndash;III and VI, News Gothic bold is used for the main body of the crawl and episode number, and Univers light ultra condensed for the titles of the films. In the current releases of Episodes IV&ndash;V and VII, News Gothic bold is used for the main body of the crawl and episode number, but varied versions of the News Gothic font are also used for the titles of the films.

In the widescreen (or letterbox) versions of the ''Star Wars'' films, each line of the opening crawl text appears directly in its entirety from the bottom of the screen (with the exception of [[Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back|''The Empire Strikes Back'']]). In the fullscreen (or pan and scan) versions, the sides of each line of opening crawl text are visible only after that line reaches the center of the screen. The pre-1995 fullscreen version of [[Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi|''Return of the Jedi'']] opted to present the opening crawl unsqueezed, having the entire widescreen image appear in a 4:3 frame horizontally compressed. In the 35mm open matte versions, the sides of each line of opening crawl text are zoomed out to a much farther distance.

==Differences==
Though each crawl is roughly similar, the individual films contain some differences in their presentation. For instance, in ''Episode II: Attack of the Clones'', the camera tilts upwards after the text finishes, rather than downwards as seen in all of the eight other films.

Some words or names are in all-capital letters to stress their importance to the story. The text is in simple, yellow, sans-serif type, and it is pitched at a sharp angle. The text scrolls upward into the distance, toward a horizon located just below the top of the screen. In a trademark of the film series, each title crawl ends with a four-dot ellipsis except for Episode VI, which ends with a three-dot ellipsis.

When originally released in 1977, the first film was simply titled ''Star Wars'', as Lucas was not certain if he would follow the film with a sequel (and [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] felt that alluding to a nonexistent "previous episode" would be too confusing). Following ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the film was re-released on April 10, 1981, with the subtitle ''Episode IV A New Hope''. The original version, without the subtitle, was not released, outside of the 1982 Laserdisc version, on home video until the [[Original unaltered trilogy|2006 limited-edition DVDs]].

The content of the opening crawl itself, as originally written by George Lucas, was initially different during the production of the first film, and contained the following:<ref name="ChrisTaylor">{{BookCite|author=Taylor, Chris|title=How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise|publisher=[[Wikipedia:Basic Books|Basic Books]]|date=2014|isbn=9781784970475}}</ref>

{{Opening_crawl
|name=
|text=It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE.

Striking from a fortress hidden among the billion stars of the galaxy, rebel spaceships have won their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet. The EMPIRE fears that another defeat could bring a thousand more solar systems into the rebellion, and Imperial control over the galaxy would be lost forever.

To crush the rebellion once and for all, the EMPIRE is constructing a sinister new battle station. Powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, its completion spells certain doom for the champions of freedom.}}

The crawl used in the film itself was a revised version by [[Brian De Palma]] and then&ndash;film critic Jay Cocks.<ref name="ChrisTaylor" />

==Non-Saga Exceptions==
[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars|''The Clone Wars'']] introductory movie, [[Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)|''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'']] ([[2008]]), and [[Star Wars Anthology Series|Anthology Films]], ''[[Rogue One: A Star Wars Story]]'' ([[2016]]) and ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'' ([[2018]]), all theatrically debuted without opening crawls.

All three include "A long time ago in a [[The galaxy|galaxy far, far away]].&hellip;" ''Rogue One'' then cuts straight to a cold open displaying a [[ST 149|shuttle]] bound for a [[Lah'mu|ringed planet]]. ''The Clone Wars'' uses a [[Wikipedia:Newsreel|newsreel]]-style [[Tom Kane|narrator]] in lieu of a crawl. ''Solo'' features backstory summaries similar to a crawl's content; these paragraphs are shown in a similar typeface and color to "A long time ago&hellip;" over sounds of a planet's dockyards and before the title card.

[[Star Wars Legends|Legends]] made-for-TV movies (the [[The Star Wars Holiday Special|''Holiday Special'']], [[Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure|''Caravan of Courage'']], and [[Ewoks: The Battle for Endor|''Battle for Endor'']]) contain neither the crawl nor the "A long time ago.&hellip;" card, either starting immediately with action or a title card.

==Origins==
[[File:SWV_Opening_crawl.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Richard Edlund]] prepares to shoot the opening crawl for [[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''Star Wars'': Episode IV ''A New Hope'']].]]
The roll-up (alternatively called the "crawl") is an homage to the opening crawl at the beginning of each episode of the ''[[Wikipedia:Flash Gordon|Flash Gordon]]'' film serials of the 1930s and 1940s, which ''Star Wars'' creator [[George Lucas]] enjoyed as a child and which inspired Lucas to write much of the ''Star Wars'' saga.<ref name="dvd">{{Film|III}} [[Star Wars home video releases|DVD]] commentary</ref> It is also for this reason that many of the subtitles of the films have a "pulpy" sound to them or are reminiscent of the ''Gordon'' serials.

In a [[2005]] interview, George Lucas described how the final phrasing of the roll-up in ''Star Wars'' came about: "The crawl is such a hard thing because you have to be careful that you're not using too many words that people don't understand. It's like a poem. I showed the very first crawl to a bunch of friends of mine in the 1970s. It went on for six paragraphs with four sentences each. [[Brian De Palma]] was there, and he threw his hands up in the air and said, 'George, you're out of your mind! Let me sit down and write this for you.' He helped me chop it down into the form that exists today."<ref name="CST">{{BookCite|author=Pearlman, Cindy|container=The force behind 'The Force'|title=[[Wikipedia:Chicago Sun-Times|Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=2005-05-15}}</ref>

According to [[Dennis Muren]] (who worked Episodes I&ndash;V), on the audio commentary track of the [[Star Wars Trilogy (DVD)|2004 original trilogy DVD release]], the roll-ups on the [[original trilogy]] films&mdash;''A New Hope'', [[Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back|''The Empire Strikes Back'']], and ''Return of the Jedi''&mdash;were accomplished with physical models laid out on the floor. Muren says the models were approximately two feet wide and six feet long. The crawl effect was accomplished with the camera moving longitudinally along the model. It was, says Muren, difficult and time-consuming to achieve a smooth scrolling effect.

With the advent of computer-generated graphics, the roll-ups for the [[prequel trilogy]] films&mdash;[[Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace|''The Phantom Menace'']], ''Attack of the Clones'', and [[Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith|''Revenge of the Sith'']]&mdash;were achieved much more quickly. However, because nobody had taken notes on how the original ones were accomplished, the design team had to rewatch and piece together the elements to make the new opening crawl.

==Film crawls==
<table class="scrollbox" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="width:{{{Width|100%}}};"><tr><td><div style="height:{{{Height|400px}}}; width:{{{Width|100%}}};">
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode I<br />THE PHANTOM MENACE
|text=Turmoil has engulfed the
Galactic Republic. The taxation
of trade routes to outlying star
systems is in dispute.

Hoping to resolve the matter
with a blockade of deadly
battleships, the greedy Trade
Federation has stopped all
shipping to the small planet
of Naboo.

While the Congress of the
Republic endlessly debates
this alarming chain of events,
the Supreme Chancellor has
secretly dispatched two Jedi
Knights, the guardians of
peace and justice in the
galaxy, to settle the conflict....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode II<br />ATTACK OF THE CLONES
|text=There is unrest in the Galactic
Senate. Several thousand solar
systems have declared their
intentions to leave the Republic.

This separatist movement,
under the leadership of the
mysterious Count Dooku, has
made it difficult for the limited
number of Jedi Knights to
maintain peace and order in
the galaxy.

Senator Amidala, the former
Queen of Naboo, is returning
to the Galactic Senate to vote
on the critical issue of creating
an ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
to assist the overwhelmed
Jedi....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode III<br />REVENGE OF THE SITH
|text=War! The Republic is crumbling
under attacks by the ruthless
Sith Lord, Count Dooku.
There are heroes on both sides.
Evil is everywhere.

In a stunning move, the
fiendish droid leader, General
Grievous, has swept into the
Republic capital and kidnapped
Chancellor Palpatine, leader of
the Galactic Senate.

As the Separatist Droid Army
attempts to flee the besieged
capital with their valuable
hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a
desperate mission to rescue the
captive Chancellor....}}
|-
|-
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode IV<br />A NEW HOPE
|text=It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the DEATH
STAR, an armored space
station with enough power to
destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode V<br />THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
|text=It is a dark time for the
Rebellion. Although the Death
Star has been destroyed,
Imperial troops have driven the
Rebel forces from their hidden
base and pursued them across
the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded Imperial
Starfleet, a group of freedom
fighters led by Luke Skywalker
has established a new secret
base on the remote ice world
of Hoth.

The evil lord Darth Vader,
obsessed with finding young
Skywalker, has dispatched
thousands of remote probes into
the far reaches of space....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode VI<br />RETURN OF THE JEDI
|text=Luke Skywalker has returned to
his home planet of Tatooine in
an attempt to rescue his
friend Han Solo from the
clutches of the vile gangster
Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the
GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly
begun construction on a new
armored space station even
more powerful than the first
dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate
weapon will spell certain doom
for the small band of rebels
struggling to restore freedom
to the galaxy...}}
|-
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode VII<br />THE FORCE AWAKENS
|text=Luke Skywalker has vanished.
In his absence, the sinister
FIRST ORDER has risen from
the ashes of the Empire
and will not rest until
Skywalker, the last Jedi,
has been destroyed.

With the support of the
REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa
leads a brave RESISTANCE.
She is desperate to find her
brother Luke and gain his
help in restoring peace
and justice to the galaxy.

Leia has sent her most daring
pilot on a secret mission
to Jakku, where an old ally
has discovered a clue to
Luke's whereabouts....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode VIII<br />THE LAST JEDI
|text=The FIRST ORDER reigns.
Having decimated the peaceful
Republic, Supreme Leader Snoke
now deploys his merciless
legions to seize military
control of the galaxy.

Only General Leia Organa's
band of RESISTANCE fighters
stand against the rising
tyranny, certain that Jedi
Master Luke Skywalker will
return and restore a spark of
hope to the fight.

But the Resistance has been
exposed. As the First Order
speeds toward the rebel base,
the brave heroes mount a
desperate escape....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Episode IX<br />THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
|text=The dead speak! The galaxy has
heard a mysterious broadcast,
a threat of REVENGE in the
sinister voice of the late
EMPEROR PALPATINE.

GENERAL LEIA ORGANA
dispatches secret agents to
gather intelligence, while REY,
the last hope of the Jedi, trains
for battle against the diabolical
FIRST ORDER.

Meanwhile, Supreme Leader
KYLO REN rages in search
of the phantom Emperor,
determined to destroy any
threat to his power....}}
|}
</div></td><td style="width:8px;"></td></tr></table>

==TV Crawls==
In [[Part Six: Far, Far Away|Episode 6]] of ''[[Star Wars: Ahsoka|Ahsoka]]'', [[Huyang]] says aloud for the first time in-universe the celebrated phrase “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away&hellip;”
<table class="scrollbox" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="width:{{{Width|100%}}};"><tr><td><div style="height:{{{Height|400px}}}; width:{{{Width|100%}}};">
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Ahsoka<br />PART ONE: MASTER AND APPRENTICE 
|text=The EVIL GALACTIC EMPIRE has fallen
and a NEW REPUBLIC has risen to take its place.
However, sinister agents are already at work
to undermine the fragile peace.

A plot is underway to find the lost
IMPERIAL GRAND ADMIRIAL THRAWN and
bring him out of exile. Once presumed dead,
rumors are spreading of Thrawn's return which
would galvanize the IMPERIAL REMNANTS
and start another war.

Former Jedi Knight AHSOKA TANO captured
one of Thrawn's allies and learned of a 
secret map which is vital to the enemy's plan.
Ahsoka now searches for the map as her prisoner, 
MORGAN ELSBETH, is transported to the
New Republic for trial....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=The Acolyte<br />LOST / FOUND
|text=A hundred years before the rise of the Empire, it is a time of peace.
The Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic have
prospered for centuries without war.

But in the dark corners of the galaxy, a powerful few
learn to use the Force in secret.

One of them, a lone assassin,
risks discovery to seek revenge....}}
|{{Opening_crawl
|name=Star Wars: Skeleton Crew<br />THIS COULD BE A REAL ADVENTURE
|text=Since the fall of the EMPIRE, the NEW REPUBLIC has maintained order.

And yet, remote hyperspace routes are increasingly plagued by piracy.

These PIRATES boldly brand their armored hulls as a sign to all ships.
Surrender or die....}}
|}
</div></td><td style="width:8px;"></td></tr></table>

==In other ''Star Wars'' media==
{{Quote|A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... There came a time of revolution, when rebels united to challenge a tyrannical empire.|audio=ATimeOfRevolution.flac|Introduction to each installment of the radio drama|<ref name="Radio">[[Star Wars (radio)|''Star Wars'' (radio)]]</ref>}}
Each episode of the [[Star Wars radio dramas|''Star Wars'' radio dramas]] begins with spoken narration that mimics the style of the movie crawls and samples some of their language. All begin with the quote "A long time ago...", and each episode of ''[[The Empire Strikes Back (radio)|The Empire Strikes Back]]'' adds, "Now, it is a dark time for the Rebellion." Each episode, except the three series finales, also ends with an outro in the same style to summarize the cliffhanger ending and tease the following episode.<ref name="Radio" /><ref>[[The Empire Strikes Back (radio)|''The Empire Strikes Back'' radio drama]]</ref><ref>[[Return of the Jedi (radio)|''Return of the Jedi'' radio drama]]</ref>

The [[West End Games]] roleplaying game supplement ''[[Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope]]'' suggests that the opening crawl from ''A New Hope'' was actually written by [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]] historian [[Voren Na'al/Legends|Voren Na'al]] to end his account of the events surrounding the [[Battle of Yavin/Legends|Battle of Yavin]]. The account includes the phrase, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away&hellip;" All of the sourcebooks and adventure books are written for [[Fantasy Flight Games]]'s [[Star Wars: Edge of the Empire|''Edge of the Empire'']], [[Star Wars: Age of Rebellion|''Age of Rebellion'']] and [[Star Wars: Force and Destiny|''Force and Destiny'']] roleplaying games include a crawl at the beginning.

[[File:THR-crawl.png|thumb|right|240px|The opening crawl to ''Star Wars: The High Republic'' Phase I]]
A large number of [[LucasArts]] computer and video games feature an opening crawl. Games based on one of the films usually include the same crawl as the movie, while other games have original crawls. Some of the games' crawls differ from the traditional film versions. [[Star Wars: TIE Fighter (video game)|''Star Wars: TIE Fighter'']] plays ''[[The Imperial March]]'' over the crawl, while [[Star Wars: Rebel Assault|''Rebel Assault'']] uses a spoken version, starting with the first paragraph from ''A New Hope'' and differing afterward. [[Star Wars: Dark Forces|''Dark Forces'']] has an unused spoken version in its cutscene data. ''The Phantom Menace'' video game begins with the film's crawl but features a second, original one partway through the game. The [[LEGO Star Wars|LEGO ''Star Wars'']] games include an opening crawl at the beginning of each chapter, with five to six chapters per movie. An opening crawl plays when a character is loaded for the first time in ''[[Star Wars: The Old Republic]]''. A shortened variation plays every subsequent time a character is loaded, recapping the story so far.

A number of [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse's]] ''Star Wars'' comics have used the same format as the opening crawl to serve as a recap of the previous events in the series. These series include ''[[Star Wars: Dark Empire]]'', [[Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (comic series)|''Tales of the Jedi'']] and many others. Opening crawls also appear in the post-2014 [[Marvel Comics]] ''Star Wars'' comics, serving to either introduce a story arc or recap events as in the Dark Horse comics.

The original edition of the novel ''[[Heir to the Empire]]'' included a still-image version on its back cover.<ref>[[:File:HeirEmpire_HC.jpg|''Heir to the Empire'' back cover]]</ref> [[Jeffrey Brown]]'s non-[[canon]] ''[[Star Wars: Jedi Academy]]'', ''[[Darth Vader and Son]]'', and ''[[Vader's Little Princess]]'' book series use the opening crawl. With a few exceptions, most canon novels published since April 25, 2014, include a page before the beginning of the novel with a passage providing background or contextual information, written in a similar style to the opening crawl. Each phase of the ''[[Star Wars: The High Republic]]'' multimedia project has its own opening crawl.

==Sources==
{{Mediacat|imagecat=Images of opening crawls}}
*{{SWArchive|url=episode-i/bts/production/f19990602/index.html|text=At First Glance}}
*{{SWArchive|url=episode-iii/bts/production/f20050126/index.html|text=Episode III: How It Begins}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

{{Interlang
|es=Texto de apertura
|de=Lauftext
}}

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