when was episode iv added to star wars
List of changes in Star Wars re-releases The first film was released in 1977 under the title Star Wars. The subtitles Episode IV and A New Hope were retroactively added to the opening crawl in a subsequent release.[11][12] Accounts differ as to when this change occurred. Some, including Lucasfilm, date the addition to a theatrical re-release on April 10, 1981,[8][11][12] while others place it much earlier at the re-release in July 1978.[13] This change was made to bring the original film in line with the titling of its sequel The Empire Strikes Back, which was released in 1980 with the subtitle Episode V.[8]