The Star Wars franchise has been nominated for a total of 37 Academy Awards throughout its unique history at the Oscars. Many of the nominations and wins have been centered around sound and visual effects. However, only two films have received nominations for film editing.
The original movie, A New Hope, received both the nomination and win in 1977. Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew, and Marcia Lucas, George Lucas's wife at the time, all took home the award. It was a film that broke a lot of ground in film editing techniques and was well received for its work in the category.
Marcia Lucas was also nominated for George Lucas' 1973 film, American Graffiti. Chew was nominated in 1976 for his film editing work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Hirsch received a nomination for his work in 2004 for the Ray Charles biopic, Ray.
Hirsch spoke to Rogerebert.com about his work on A New Hope, saying, "I edited Luke’s trench run that ends with the explosion of the Death Star, while Marcia worked on the first two trench runs as well as the set-up for the whole thing."
However, it wouldn't be the only Star Wars movie to get love from the Academy for film editing. Only one other Star Wars movie has received an Oscar nomination for film editing: The Force Awakens in 2015.
It was a 38-year gap between nominations in the category, but the sequel film in 2015 was honored for its work in the field. Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey were the editors that received the nomination. Both have been frequent collaborators with director, JJ Abrams.
Brandon spoke with the Independent about her editing work on the film's climatic scene where Rey meets Luke, saying, "I think also, as an editor, you know you’ve got the rhythm right when the composer just slides in their rhythmically and that music just slides in there so well. It all kind of gelled."
Both films were a breath of fresh air for the film making community, and the fact that they were honored by the Academy in the editing category demonstrates that. The Force Awakens was the most nominated film in the franchise outside of the original film.
When it comes to future Academy Awards, Star Wars fans can only hope that in two years after the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the editors can enjoy the small and rich legacy from the work of these films.