When it first came out, in 1977, it was just Star Wars. It wasn’t until later, after its surprise success at the box office, that Lucas started talking about 9 parts, with the original being the 4th. I, being young and naïve, assumed that these books existed. I went nuts trying to find them!According to the official Star Wars website: “In the original May 1977 release of Star Wars, the opening crawl did not feature an Episode number or the subtitle “A New Hope.” Those would be added with the film’s April 10, 1981, theatrical re-release.”
With great power comes great responsibility.