A long time ago—May 25, 1977, to be precise—few knew about a certain galaxy far, far away or how a film focused on its interstellar strife, Star Wars, would send the global imagination into hyperspace when it was released that day. Now, 39 years later, the same force that inspired legions to line up and see the original movie for the umpteenth time (and every installment thereafter), as well as unleash a universe of merchandising, continues to keep us delightfully suspended in disbelief—held fast in its Vader-like grip. In…