George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope" was released in 1977, and it didn't take long for it to launch one of the biggest media franchises in history. Currently, The Walt Disney Company owns Lucasfilm, but they collaborated long before the acquisition. Their first partnership was Star Tours, a Disneyland ride that opened in 1987. In 2012, Disney officially took ownership of "Star Wars," which began a new era for the property.