Free Hero’s Journey Template: 12 Stages With a Star Wars Example
The hero’s journey is the story shape behind a lot of the films you already know. A hero leaves home, faces trials, nearly dies, wins something and comes back changed. This free hero’s journey template walks you through all 12 stages on two pages. Fill it in on screen or print it. There’s also a completed Star Wars example, so you can see how each stage looks in a real film.
TL;DR: 12 Stages Across 3 Acts
Act one has five stages that get your hero out the door. Act two has four stages of tests, danger and reward. Act three has three stages that bring the hero home changed. Download the worksheet, write a sentence or two per stage, then check the last box: how has your hero changed?
Download the Free Hero’s Journey Template
Two fillable pages with all 12 stages, split by act. Type in it or print it. The Star Wars example shows every stage filled in.
What Is the Hero’s Journey?
The hero’s journey comes from Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, published in 1949. Campbell studied myths from around the world and found the same pattern again and again. He called it the monomyth and broke it into 17 stages.
Christopher Vogler, a story consultant at Disney, later cut it down to 12 stages for screenwriters. His memo on it grew into the book The Writer’s Journey. The 12 stages in this template follow Vogler’s version, because it lines up neatly with three acts.
The 12 Stages of the Hero’s Journey
| Act | Stage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| One | 1. Ordinary World | The hero’s normal life before the story |
| One | 2. Call to Adventure | A problem or offer shakes things up |
| One | 3. Refusal of the Call | Fear, doubt or duty holds them back |
| One | 4. Meeting the Mentor | Someone gives advice, training or a gift |
| One | 5. Crossing the Threshold | They commit and enter the special world |
| Two | 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies | They learn the rules of the new world |
| Two | 7. Approach to the Inmost Cave | They close in on the big danger |
| Two | 8. The Ordeal | The biggest test so far, often a brush with death |
| Two | 9. Reward | What they win by surviving |
| Three | 10. The Road Back | The push for home, and a new threat |
| Three | 11. Resurrection | The final test, where the change shows |
| Three | 12. Return with the Elixir | Home again, with something to share |
The “elixir” doesn’t have to be magic. It can be a lesson, a relationship or freedom for other people.
Want a shortcut through the 12 stages?
Start with stages 1 and 12.
Once you know where your hero starts and what they bring home, the stages in between have something to aim at.
Hero’s Journey Example: Star Wars (1977)
George Lucas has said he read Campbell while developing Star Wars, and it shows. Here’s the worksheet filled in for Luke Skywalker.
- Ordinary World: Luke works his uncle’s moisture farm on Tatooine and watches the twin suns set, wishing he were anywhere else.
- Call to Adventure: R2-D2 plays Leia’s hidden message asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help.
- Refusal of the Call: Obi-Wan asks Luke to come to Alderaan. Luke says no. His uncle needs him for the harvest.
- Meeting the Mentor: Obi-Wan gives Luke his father’s lightsaber and tells him about the Force.
- Crossing the Threshold: Luke finds his aunt and uncle murdered. He commits, and the Millennium Falcon jumps to hyperspace.
- Tests, Allies, Enemies: The Mos Eisley cantina, hiring Han Solo and Chewbacca, and blindfolded lightsaber training.
- Approach to the Inmost Cave: A tractor beam pulls the Falcon into the Death Star. The heroes hide and sneak in.
- The Ordeal: They rescue Leia and nearly get crushed in the trash compactor.
- Reward: They escape with Leia and the Death Star plans, but Obi-Wan is killed by Darth Vader.
- The Road Back: TIE fighters chase them to the Rebel base, and the Death Star follows.
- Resurrection: The trench run. Luke switches off his targeting computer and trusts the Force.
- Return with the Elixir: The medal ceremony. Luke has a new family, and the Rebellion survives.
The trash compactor is a textbook “belly of the whale” moment, one of Campbell’s original stages. The heroes are swallowed, the walls close in and they come out the other side.
How to Fill In the Hero’s Journey Worksheet
The template has two pages, in US Letter and A4.
- Page 1: title, writer, hero and goal, then the five stages of act one and a notes box
- Page 2: act two and act three, then a box to sum up how your hero has changed
- Name your hero’s goal. Put it in the top row. Every stage should push them toward it or away from it.
- Write one or two sentences per stage. Keep it to what happens, not how it’s shot.
- Skip or merge stages if you need to. Not every story needs a refusal or a mentor. The stages are a checklist, not a rulebook.
- Fill in the change box last. If you can’t describe the change in one line, go back to stages 8 and 11.
To build out the hero before you plot, start with our character profile template. For how the change plays out scene by scene, read our guide to the character arc.
Stuck on stage 8?
Ask what your hero is most afraid of, then put it in the room with them.
The ordeal works best when it tests the same flaw the ending needs them to beat.
Hero’s Journey vs Story Circle vs Three-Act Structure
The hero’s journey is the most detailed of the three. The Dan Harmon story circle squeezes it into eight steps, which suits TV episodes and shorts. The three act structure template focuses on timing, so you know roughly which page each turning point should land on. All three use Star Wars, so you can put them side by side.
Prefer page numbers to stages? Our Save the Cat beat sheet template maps a story onto 15 beats, from the opening image to the final image.
FAQs About the Hero’s Journey Template
Does the Hero’s Journey Only Work for Action and Fantasy?
No. The stages describe an inner journey as much as an outer one. A drama about a teacher at a new school can follow the same 12 stages, with a staff meeting as the ordeal.
Can I Use the Worksheet for an Ensemble Cast?
Yes. In an ensemble film, give each lead their own worksheet and look for where their stages overlap.
Should My Act Breaks Land Exactly Where the Worksheet Splits?
Not exactly. The split is a guide. Crossing the threshold usually lands around the end of act one, and the road back around the start of act three.
The Final Cut on the Hero’s Journey Template
A hero’s journey template turns a big idea into 12 boxes you can fill in one at a time.
Download the worksheet, start with the ordinary world and the elixir, and fill in the stages between.
What does your hero bring home?
Jay Neill
Jay Neill is the founder and managing editor of iFILMthings and believes everyone should have access to the film resources they need to plan their filmmaking project, which is why he’s dedicated iFILMthings to helping all filmmakers.