Star Wars is a Dune ripoff — at least, according to Frank Herbert

Very similar to the magical religions unfold by its Bene Gesserit, the influences of Dune unfold to each nook of the universe of science fiction. In some tales, the inspirations are woven so tightly into the material of the story they’re practically unattainable to select up, perhaps even for the writer themself. In others, the homages to Dune are unmissable, often to the purpose of being distracting. After which there’s Star Wars, probably the most blatant ripoff of all — not less than, based on Frank Herbert.

The Dune writer didn’t discuss a lot about George Lucas’ landmark science fiction movie earlier than his loss of life in 1986, however he answered a number of questions on it over time, and he at all times appeared not less than slightly aggravated on the similarities between the 2 tales.

The primary public feedback he appears to have made concerning the film come from an interview with the Related Press from 1977, the yr A New Hope was launched. The article is fairly simple shit-stirring, nevertheless it’s clear that whereas Herbert hadn’t but seen the film, he did have some ideas about its similarities to his seminal collection, which was already three books in.

Herbert begins by saying an editor for the Village Voice had referred to as him and requested if he had seen Star Wars, and whether or not or not he was going to sue. It’s a robust lead-in, however apparently that’s what was prime of thoughts of Herbert.

“I’ll strive onerous to not sue,” Herbert informed the Related Press. “I do not know what guide of mine it matches, however I think it might 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 goes on to brag, rightfully, concerning the ubiquity of Dune, each in fashionable tradition and whilst a university textbook on topics like “structure, psychology, writing, English, human residing, house evaluation, and a few I’ve forgotten.” Herbert doesn’t get too particular on this early article, nevertheless it’s clear the film’s reported similarities to his personal work didn’t sit fairly proper with him. And later it might be even clearer that they caught in his craw, a method or one other.

Picture: Warner Bros. Photos

Now, with many years of hindsight and years of interviews, it’s simple to see that Star Wars, notably the primary movie, is an amalgamation of many genres and tales, together with (however not restricted to) science fiction, legendary fantasy, and the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. There’s additionally a complete expanded universe of historical past within the Star Wars galaxy that borrows from everywhere in the sci-fi canon, and has helped encourage simply as many future writers.

However should you take into account the time when Star Wars was only one tremendously profitable summer time blockbuster, it’s simple to know why Herbert might need had a bone to select. And because the years glided by, it’s clear that he thought fairly a bit concerning the topic, sufficient to rely the similarities between the titles.

“Lucas has by no means admitted that they copied a number of Dune, and I’m not saying they did,” Herbert mentioned in 1985, throughout a talking engagement at UCLA. “I’m simply saying there are 16 factors of id between the guide Dune and Star Wars. Now you’ve had stat — what’s it? It’s 16 instances 16 instances 16 instances… over 1, the percentages towards that being coincidence? There aren’t that many stars within the universe.”

Herbert’s pissed off quote stemmed from a query about whether or not or not Lucas ever purchased Herbert dinner — a reference to a long-standing joke of Herbert’s that even when Lucas didn’t blatantly steal his concepts to make Star Wars, he not less than owes Herbert dinner for the coincidence.

However Frank Herbert was one to lose out on a battle of pettiness. A yr earlier than that UCLA interview, he printed Heretics of Dune, the fifth guide within the collection and the second to final written by him. Late within the guide, which is usually about the way forward for humanity after the loss of life of The God Emperor, Herbert has a small, inconspicuous passage that actually appears like a reference to Star Wars. He doesn’t appear to have ever mentioned that formally, so we’ll allow you to choose:

Within the time of the Outdated Empire and even below the reign of Maud’Dib, the area across the Gammu Preserve had been a forest reserve, excessive floor rising nicely above the oily residue that tended to cowl Harkonnen land. On this floor, the Harkonnens had grown among the best pilingitam, a wooden of regular foreign money, at all times valued by the supremely wealthy. From probably the most historic instances, the educated had most well-liked to encompass themselves with fantastic woods fairly than with the mass-produced synthetic supplies identified then as polestine, polaz, and pormabat (latterly: tine, laz, and bat). Way back to the Outdated Empire there had been a pejorative label for the small wealthy and Households Minor arising from the information of the uncommon wooden’s worth.
“He’s a 3 P-O,” they mentioned, which means that such an individual surrounded himself with low cost copies comprised of déclassé substances.