And even then, the “IV” was meant to evoke the feeling of being dropped into an ongoing narrative, as opposed to actually being part of one. Lucas hadn’t actually set anything in stone. In 1978, he was still going with the idea that Vader wasn’t Luke’s father. That reveal in Empire Strikes Back is the most influential movie retcon of all time.
Don’t give George Lucas more credit than he deserves. “Episode IV” wasn’t even added to the opening crawl until it was re-released.
And even then, the “IV” was meant to evoke the feeling of being dropped into an ongoing narrative, as opposed to actually being part of one. Lucas hadn’t actually set anything in stone. In 1978, he was still going with the idea that Vader wasn’t Luke’s father. That reveal in Empire Strikes Back is the most influential movie retcon of all time.
It was a huge deal when ‘Empire…’ came out and it had ‘Episode V’ in the title. iirc