In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make
American Graffiti and
Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although
Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages.
American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.
Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then wrote a 13-page treatment called
The Star Wars, which was a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's
The Hidden Fortress. By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a young boy as the protagonist named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and also introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight.
The "Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled
Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the
Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply
The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.