Marcia Lucas
While George Lucas was the creative genius behind a lot of the concept and story of Star Wars, the editing for the actual movie itself was left in the hands of others. One of the lead editors that defined the style that was made iconic in the first Star Wars movie that released Star Wars IV: A New Hope was Marcia Lucas. She was a well known editor in the realms of famous directors. She did work for many household names in cinema such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Stephen Spielberg.
Marcia Lucas didn't just contribute to the editing of Star Wars. She also gave her input into some of the most important scenes in the entire movie. For instance, in the legendary lightsaber battle between Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, George Lucas initially wrote that Obi Wan would escape the battle alive. However, Marcia Lucas suggested that Obi Wan would die in the fight, forever changing the course of the story of Star Wars. Another example of Marcia's influence being widely felt throughout the film is in the final battle to destroy the Death Star. She said herself that if the audience is not cheering by the time Luke destroys it then they failed in their mission.
