Was Star Wars 5 Always Called 5? No and Here's Why

When it comes to the Star Wars naming and titling system, people can’t help being confused. It wasn’t just the episode order that threw people off, the titles didn’t even stay the same. Was Star Wars 5 always called 5? What was the original title of Star Wars V? And why did it suddenly become Episode V? Let’s untangle the mess with Fendory in this post.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Before we get into the gritty nitty, it’s time to go over the basics again. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was the direct sequel to Star Wars from 1977. It came out on May 21, 1980 and grossed around $401.5 million worldwide in its initial run. Later re‑releases pushed that total to about $538‑549 million globally.

Story-wise, Star Wars 5 picks up three years later. The Rebels are hiding on Hoth while The Empire shows up and ruins everything. Luke, who gets a vision after getting wrecked by a wampa, then goes to some swamp to train with Yoda. In parallel, Han and Leia get caught in Cloud City. Vader shows up, drops the “I am your father” bomb, and things go downhill fast.

The story ends in chaos with Han frozen and Luke messed up. The Rebels are scattered, and the whole thing leaves you hanging with no clear win and no plan.

ALSO READ: What is order 66 in Star Wars?

Was Star Wars 5 Always Called 5? The Original Title

So, was Star Wars 5 called 5 back then? Nope. Upon its release in 1980, early promo materials and even press coverage called it simply Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In the original poster and marketing, there was no “Episode V” in the title but it was just “Star Wars”.

Not long after that we saw “The Empire Strikes Back” on posters and in trailers. The “Episode V” text appeared only in the opening crawl of the film in its original 1980 theatrical release. That said, the number didn’t show up elsewhere, be it in promotional materials such as posters or trailers.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back poster back then

Why Was The Second Movie Episode V? 

To understand how they landed on “5”, you need to go back to how the film crew numbered things in general. It is quite a long story. In case you didn’t know, the original Star Wars movie, which was released in 1977, didn’t come with a number either. It was simply Star Wars, meaning no Episode IV or anything.

The push for numbering came thanks to how well the original did. The prolific creator of the blockbuster Star Wars, George Lucas, now wanted to turn the franchise into a multi‑part saga, with a trilogy of trilogies. That means there would be 9 films in total.

Accordingly, they re-released Star Wars in 1981 and then added “Episode IV A New Hope”. That explains why the sequel, which is The Empire Strikes Back, despite being the second released Star Wars film, comes with the title Episode V. It is also to show that the movie was part of a much larger story, not a standalone sequel.

Now, the confusing part is: Why was the first movie labeled Episode IV even though it was the first released, and the second movie took “V”? In fact, Lucas’ intent for the saga being middle (the original trilogy) was to make you feel like you were jumping in mid-story. Then you look back to the prequels to understand how the story began. The final trilogy was meant to close it all. We did explain this in great detail in our article on Why is Star Wars Episode 4 5 6 then 1 2 3? and recommend some ways to watch them. You can check it out.

Why Do Episode Numbers Matter in Star Wars?

As mentioned earlier, the numbering was not random. If Star Wars was going to be treated as a saga, it had to carry episode numbers. Below are some reasons:

• Numbering reinforced the idea of an epic space opera. It gave Star Wars the feel of a continuing myth rather than a one-off hit.

• Helped fans track narrative across prequels, sequels, spin-offs, especially once the timeline got bigger than three movies.

• Influenced naming of merchandise, posters, and books.

• Created structure for modern Star Wars timeline discussions, making it easier to group movies into trilogies and order them.

FAQs

1. Was Episode V always part of Empire's original crawl?

Yes. From its very first screening in 1980, the crawl read “Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,” even if posters did not.

2. When did Star Wars get episode numbers?

In 1981, during the first theatrical re-release, the opening crawl was updated. That re-release renamed the original film Episode IV A New Hope.

3. Was the Episode plan always 9 parts?

Originally Lucas envisioned 9-12 episodes. He then decided to cut it down to 9 with the idea of three trilogies because of story focus and production limits.

4. Why were episodes not released in order?

Lucas believed the original trilogy had the strongest arc and tech readiness. The prequels also needed more advanced technology.

5. Did fans complain about the numbering?

Yes, some confusion at first, but over time most accepted the episodic saga as part of Star Wars identity.

Big fan of the franchise? Fendory  offers an officially licensed  Star Wars merchandise collection with a variety of t-shirts, hoodies and more at great deals. The designs feature iconic scenes from Episode V and many fan-favorite characters such as Baby Yoda, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker. Feel free to check it out!