Why The First Death Star Took 20 Years To Make, & The Second Was Ready 3 Years Later

The Death Star’s construction took much longer and is more complicated than the Star Wars films would lead viewers to think. During the iconic closing sequence of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, there is a scene depicting the newly reborn Darth Vader approaching Emperor Palpatine as the two look out upon the construction of the Death Star battle station: a skeleton, with a distinct dish, and progress seemingly steadily begun. This was intended as a bridge into A New Hope, and it certainly works as one. But, it also leads to something of a question when the time between these two films – 19 years – is considered. If there’s been this much progress so far, what took so long?