A New Hope Got here Out

Frank Herbert printed his seminal sci-fi novel “Dune” in 1965, creating an enormous and detailed socio-political sci-fi mythology so complicated that it required a glossary. For a few years, “Dune” attracted a subset of very attentive readers, joyful to get misplaced in Herbert’s large area opera. “Dune” was set many tens of hundreds of years sooner or later, the place numerous galactic sects and royal households wrestled for management of a uncommon spice solely situated on the planet Arrakis. The spice was a hallucinogen that was additionally mandatory for area journey. The plot and characters of “Dune” are legion, and the complete multi-book political/spiritual saga is just too complicated to get into right here. Fortunately, the fundamentals are all frequent data due to a 1984 movie adaptation of “Dune” by David Lynch, and a pair of diversifications from Denis Villeneuve in 2021 and 2024. 

By 1977, Herbert had written two extra sequels to “Dune,” referred to as “Dune Messiah” and “Kids of Dune,” and the mythology had solely expanded that rather more. It was at this level in his profession that “Star Wars” hit theaters. It should not want reiterating that George Lucas’ area opera, impressed by the corny sci-fi serials Lucas watched as a child, was a big industry-rattling game-changer. Its success prompted all of Hollywood to pivot extra closely towards sci-fi particularly, and towards particular results on the whole. “Star Wars” wasn’t the identical taste as “Dune” — Lucas’ movie was easier and extra kid-friendly — however it was a brand new sci-fi mythology launched into the pop firmament. 

In a 1977 interview with the Day by day Information, nevertheless, Herbert felt that Lucas was ripping him off. Certainly, Herbert felt that “Star Wars” had “borrowed” a lot from his novels that he was briefly contemplating authorized motion. 

Though the tone of “Dune” and the tone of “Star Wars” are very completely different, there are sufficient superficial similarities to present one pause. Herbert was requested by the Village Voice if he was contemplating authorized motion, and stated: 

“I’ll attempt onerous to not sue. […] I do not know what e-book of mine it suits, however I believe it could be ‘Dune,’ since in that I had a Princess Alia and the film has a Princess Leia. And I hear there’s a sandworm carcass and hood-dwellers within the desert, similar to in Dune.'”

Herbert did not find yourself suing Lucas, however one can think about that he retained a small quantity of animosity. Lucas was quoted in the identical article, having been requested about his movie’s similarities to “Dune.” To the matter, Lucas merely stated that the one similarity between “Star Wars” and “Dune” is that “they each have deserts.” Certainly, Lucas has spoken about his inspirations for “Star Wars” usually, and he normally talks about “Flash Gordon” in addition to the movies of Akira Kurosawa. He modeled his robotic characters after the leads of Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress,” and took the movie’s ultimate Demise Star bombing sequence from the 1955 British movie “The Dam Busters.” 

“Dune,” in the meantime, was rarely cited as a supply of inspiration, making its similarities possible coincidental. If Lucas did take inspiration from “Dune,” it could have been unconscious; Lucas might need learn Herbert’s e-book and internalized a few of it.

If Herbert had sued Lucas, would he have had a case? It is attainable. He already identified that “Princess Alia” sounds quite a bit like “Princess Leia,” however he did not observe that the characters are literally considerably related. They’re each of royal lineage, sure, and each are the sisters of their respective saga’s warrior protagonists. Additionally, they’re each delicate to a notable magical pressure of their galaxies. Leia can use the Pressure, whereas Alia has psychic talents granted to her by the Water of Life. 

“Dune” contains a sect of witches referred to as the Bene Gesserit who can notably manipulate the weak-willed utilizing a hypnotic spell referred to as The Voice. In “Star Wars,” the outdated sage Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) explains that the Pressure can be utilized in a really related style. The desert settings are, after all, related, though solely “Dune” incorporates outsize sandworms that make the deserts uninhabitable. That’s, till Lucas wrote his 1983 sequel “Return of the Jedi,” which featured a sandworm-like creature referred to as a Sarlacc. 

Additionally, in “Star Wars,” the galaxy is dominated with an iron fist by an evil empire referred to as, properly, the Galactic Empire. That is eerily much like the Imperium from “Dune,” an imperial pressure that manipulates the varied royal homes for their very own profit. The imperium aren’t essentially evil villains, however they definitely aren’t a pressure for good within the galaxy. “Star Wars” has a hotshot character within the type of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and “Dune” has a hotshot character within the type of Duncan Idaho. 

And a deeper delve will solely reveal extra similarities. Might Herbert have received in courtroom? Maybe not, however one can perceive why he’d be miffed. 

Frank Herbert printed his seminal sci-fi novel “Dune” in 1965, creating an enormous and detailed socio-political sci-fi mythology so complicated that it required a glossary. For a few years, “Dune” attracted a subset of very attentive readers, joyful to get misplaced in Herbert’s large area opera. “Dune” was set many tens of hundreds of years sooner or later, the place numerous galactic sects and royal households wrestled for management of a uncommon spice solely situated on the planet Arrakis. The spice was a hallucinogen that was additionally mandatory for area journey. The plot and characters of “Dune” are legion, and the complete multi-book political/spiritual saga is just too complicated to get into right here. Fortunately, the fundamentals are all frequent data due to a 1984 movie adaptation of “Dune” by David Lynch, and a pair of diversifications from Denis Villeneuve in 2021 and 2024. 

By 1977, Herbert had written two extra sequels to “Dune,” referred to as “Dune Messiah” and “Kids of Dune,” and the mythology had solely expanded that rather more. It was at this level in his profession that “Star Wars” hit theaters. It should not want reiterating that George Lucas’ area opera, impressed by the corny sci-fi serials Lucas watched as a child, was a big industry-rattling game-changer. Its success prompted all of Hollywood to pivot extra closely towards sci-fi particularly, and towards particular results on the whole. “Star Wars” wasn’t the identical taste as “Dune” — Lucas’ movie was easier and extra kid-friendly — however it was a brand new sci-fi mythology launched into the pop firmament. 

In a 1977 interview with the Day by day Information, nevertheless, Herbert felt that Lucas was ripping him off. Certainly, Herbert felt that “Star Wars” had “borrowed” a lot from his novels that he was briefly contemplating authorized motion. 

Though the tone of “Dune” and the tone of “Star Wars” are very completely different, there are sufficient superficial similarities to present one pause. Herbert was requested by the Village Voice if he was contemplating authorized motion, and stated: 

“I’ll attempt onerous to not sue. […] I do not know what e-book of mine it suits, however I believe it could be ‘Dune,’ since in that I had a Princess Alia and the film has a Princess Leia. And I hear there’s a sandworm carcass and hood-dwellers within the desert, similar to in Dune.'”

Herbert did not find yourself suing Lucas, however one can think about that he retained a small quantity of animosity. Lucas was quoted in the identical article, having been requested about his movie’s similarities to “Dune.” To the matter, Lucas merely stated that the one similarity between “Star Wars” and “Dune” is that “they each have deserts.” Certainly, Lucas has spoken about his inspirations for “Star Wars” usually, and he normally talks about “Flash Gordon” in addition to the movies of Akira Kurosawa. He modeled his robotic characters after the leads of Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress,” and took the movie’s ultimate Demise Star bombing sequence from the 1955 British movie “The Dam Busters.” 

“Dune,” in the meantime, was rarely cited as a supply of inspiration, making its similarities possible coincidental. If Lucas did take inspiration from “Dune,” it could have been unconscious; Lucas might need learn Herbert’s e-book and internalized a few of it.

If Herbert had sued Lucas, would he have had a case? It is attainable. He already identified that “Princess Alia” sounds quite a bit like “Princess Leia,” however he did not observe that the characters are literally considerably related. They’re each of royal lineage, sure, and each are the sisters of their respective saga’s warrior protagonists. Additionally, they’re each delicate to a notable magical pressure of their galaxies. Leia can use the Pressure, whereas Alia has psychic talents granted to her by the Water of Life. 

“Dune” contains a sect of witches referred to as the Bene Gesserit who can notably manipulate the weak-willed utilizing a hypnotic spell referred to as The Voice. In “Star Wars,” the outdated sage Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) explains that the Pressure can be utilized in a really related style. The desert settings are, after all, related, though solely “Dune” incorporates outsize sandworms that make the deserts uninhabitable. That’s, till Lucas wrote his 1983 sequel “Return of the Jedi,” which featured a sandworm-like creature referred to as a Sarlacc. 

Additionally, in “Star Wars,” the galaxy is dominated with an iron fist by an evil empire referred to as, properly, the Galactic Empire. That is eerily much like the Imperium from “Dune,” an imperial pressure that manipulates the varied royal homes for their very own profit. The imperium aren’t essentially evil villains, however they definitely aren’t a pressure for good within the galaxy. “Star Wars” has a hotshot character within the type of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and “Dune” has a hotshot character within the type of Duncan Idaho. 

And a deeper delve will solely reveal extra similarities. Might Herbert have received in courtroom? Maybe not, however one can perceive why he’d be miffed.