Great artists steal." In the case of George Lucas and his collaborators on the long-running Star Wars series, it might be added that, "Great artists steal and synthesize." Lucas famously combined ideas from a variety of sources to craft his galaxy far, far away, taking everything from world history and mythology to ...

Where did George Lucas get his inspiration for Star Wars?

Lucas has said that the plot and characters in the 1958 Japanese film The Hidden Fortress, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was a major inspiration. Additionally, the film influenced Lucas to tell the story of Star Wars from the viewpoint of the humble droids, rather than a major player.

Where did the original idea for Star Wars come from?

In 1971, George Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial, but could not obtain the rights, so he began developing his own space opera. After directing American Graffiti (1973), he wrote a two-page synopsis, which 20th Century Fox decided to invest in.

Did George Lucas get inspiration for Star Wars from Dune?

It is undeniable that George Lucas was loosely inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune when crafting his Star Wars films.

Did George Lucas have a plan for Star Wars?

While there were no concrete plans for another Star Wars trilogy at the time when Disney acquired franchise parent company LucasFilm in 2012, original creator and legendary filmmaker George Lucas did have a treatment ready for a potential sequel trilogy of films by the time the acquisition went through, which he ...

Did George Lucas Steal From Dune? The REAL Story With Star Wars & Frank Herbert

Did George Lucas expect Star Wars to be successful?

He did not expect it to be a big hit. According to Lucas, Spielberg was one of the few people who thought it would be a success.

Why did Lucas sell Star Wars?

What were the reasons at the time? When George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm, to Disney, he was 68 years old. He had been thinking about retirement for some time, and he wanted to pass on his company to a company he thought would continue the Star Wars legacy.

Was Star Wars stolen from Dune?

In 1985, during a speaking engagement at UCLA, Herbert noted there were a whopping "16 points of identity between the book 'Dune' and 'Star Wars,'" admitting the odds of this being a coincidence were slim to none. Apparently, Herbert often joked that Lucas owed him dinner.

Did Dune ever sue Star Wars?

Herbert never did sue. George Lucas. But a year prior to that UCLA appearance, Herbert had put out heretics of Dune, and in one passage in the book.

Is Star Wars a Dune knockoff?

George Lucas drew inspiration from Dune for Star Wars, but failed to accurately portray indigenous people, unlike Frank Herbert. Tusken Raiders in Star Wars were depicted through harmful stereotypes but recent series like The Mandalorian aim to correct this.

Who actually invented Star Wars?

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.

Who is Palpatine based on?

Palpatine was influenced by historical leaders such as (clockwise from top left) Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, and Richard Nixon.

Who is Darth Vader based on?

The Big Picture. Darth Vader's character design in Star Wars was heavily influenced by Date Masamune, a legendary samurai from Japan known as the "One-Eyed Dragon."

Who helped George Lucas make Star Wars?

George Lucas soon planned a new space fantasy, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), requiring him to create a visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, and hire Ben Burtt as a sound designer (later evolving into Skywalker Sound), to help bring his vision to the screen.

Why are stormtroopers called stormtroopers?

In addition, stormtroopers would serve with the regular infantry to enforce oppressive rule over the galaxy. Taking their name from the "storm" of galactic history, clone troopers served as the first generation of stormtroopers, and were gradually replaced by Imperial recruits known as TK stormtroopers.

How long did it take George Lucas to write Star Wars?

Now, the original screenplay for Star Wars began, according to some sources, as early as 1971. He really wouldn't finish writing it until filming on the movie itself was complete, around 1976.

Is spices illegal in Star Wars?

The Pyke Syndicate benefits from the lucrative and illegal trade of spice, a golden orange powder sought after in the underworld.

Did Tatooine copy Dune?

Arrakis/Tatooine

One of the main similarities between these two works is the description of the planet Arrakis (Dune) and the planet Tatooine (Star Wars). For example, although Lucas does not go into detail in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, it's shown that the planets are separated by class.

Is Paul Atreides like Anakin?

These two sci-fi series share numerous similarities, not the least of which being a Messianic character whose actions are anything but benevolent. Both Paul Atreides and Anakin Skywalker brought unparalleled destruction to their respective galaxies, but which of these so-called heroes did greater damage?

Is Paul Atreides evil?

Dune: Part Two ends with Paul convincing the Fremen to join him in his "holy war" for the empire, where he plans to decimate his enemies in order to become Emperor. As such he is a villain, and Dune: Messiah examines how and why this is the case, and the dangers of having messianic figures.

Is Star Wars based on the Bible?

Most audiences don't know that “Raiders” was not the first movie of Lucas' to borrow from the Bible. A 1977 science fiction film directed by Lucas, titled “Star Wars,” borrowed more than the Ark of the Covenant for its story.

Is tatooine based on Arrakis?

The fictional desert planet of Tatooine in the Star Wars franchise was inspired by the desert planet of Arrakis in Dune.

Was George Lucas rich before Star Wars?

How much was George Lucas worth before Star Wars? Due mainly to the global box-office success of American Graffiti, Lucas was a multimillionaire (net worth about $4 million, or around $20 million adjusted for inflation today) before cameras rolled on his blockbuster sci-fi landmark.

How rich is George Lucas?

Lucas first made the list back in 1997, largely thanks to owning the merchandising rights for his galaxy far, far away. However, the deal in 2012 to sell his Lucasfilm to ABC News' parent company Disney for more than $4 billion in cash and stock boosted his net worth to $5.5 billion.

Does Lucas regret selling Star Wars to Disney?

Oh, I think he deeply regrets it on one level, in that Disney ruined the Star Wars franchise coming out of the gate and continues to ruin it. Lucas always considered the original six Star Wars films as “my kids,” and he felt very protective of them. But, when The Force Awakens premiered, 3 years afte…