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Lucas himself had modest earnings from the movie, so if it bombed he would have been just some other boutique director. The unprecedented merchandising deal-- was a game-changer. Another one who made out like a bandit was Sir Alec Guiness

He did have a unique merchandising deal that was the game changer that is true.

I wasnt aware of what Alec Guiness received. Never looked into it.

Star Wars was still considered a gamble in 1977, the actors worked 4 scale, & movie was just a job for Guinness. However, Guinness had a clause in his contract for 1% of the gross; that's The Obi-Wan Deal. You know the rest of the story.