Prior to releasing the original 1977 film, and made possible by its success, Lucas planned "three trilogies of nine films".[56][66] However, he announced to Time in 1978 that he planned "10 sequels".[67] He confirmed that he had outlined the prequels and sequels in 1981.[68] At various stages of development, the sequel trilogy was to focus on the rebuilding of the Republic,[69] the return of Luke as a Jedi Master (a role similar to that of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy),[66] Luke's sister (not yet determined to be Leia),[57] Han, Leia,[70] R2-D2 and C-3PO.[56][71] However, after beginning work on the prequel trilogy, Lucas insisted that Star Wars was meant to be a six-part series and that there would be no sequel trilogy.[72][73]