Right now, there is a lot of discussion going around about Frank Herbert’s Dune novels thanks to the recent release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. Dune has always been considered a masterpiece in the sci-fi genre with an expansive and ever-growing fanbase, just like Star Wars and both stories have a tight hold on their respective audience. However, what happens when one claims that the other has blatantly ripped them off?
While Frank Herbert was alive, he had a bone to pick with George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. The author was fully convinced that the filmmaker had totally and completely ripped off his Dune Chronicles to make the story of Star Wars, right down to the little details. In fact, he even seemingly took a jab at the film franchise in his fifth book in the series.
Frank Herbert Calls Out the Star Wars Franchise
Back in 1977, the Associated Press came out with a piece on Frank Herbert and his views on George Lucas’ Star Wars. According to the news piece, Lucas had said that the only similarity between the two projects “is that they both have deserts.” On the other hand, Herbert completely disagrees.
He told AP that an editor of Village Voice called him up asking if he was going to sue Star Wars.
“The editor of the ‘Village Voice’ has been calling me and asking me if I have seen ‘Star Wars’ and if I’m going to sue. I will try hard not to sue. I have no idea what book of mine it fits, but I suspect it may be Dune since in that I had a Princess Alia and the movie has a Princess Leia. And I hear there is a sandworm caucus and hooded dwellers in the desert, just like in Dune.”
Herbert is not the only one who believed that the Star Wars franchise had taken “inspiration” from his work. Fans who are familiar with both projects have pointed out several similarities in the two. These similarities include sandcrawlers, sandworms/sarlaccs, main characters learning that they are the descendants of the main villain, and so on. According to Herbert himself, Star Wars has 16 identical elements with Dune. In 1985, the author spoke at UCLA stating,
“Lucas has never admitted that they copied a lot of Dune, and I’m not saying they did. I’m just saying there are 16 points of identity between the book Dune and Star Wars. Now you’ve had stat — what is it? It’s 16 times… over 1, the odds against that being coincidence? There aren’t that many stars in the universe.”
On the other hand, Lucas never paid attention to Herbert’s claims and went on with his work, building one of the biggest franchises the film industry has ever seen.
Did Frank Herbert Diss George Lucas in his Book?
The Dune Chronicles encompasses a total of six books, ending with Chapterhouse: Dune in 1985. Before the swan song to the series, Herbert’s fifth Dune novel, Heretics of Dune seemingly took a dig at Star Wars. The author included a rather vague passage in the pages which read,
“In the time of the Old Empire and even under the reign of Maud’Dib, the region around the Gammu Keep had been a forest reserve, high ground rising well above the oily residue that tended to cover Harkonnen land. On this ground, the Harkonnens had grown some of the finest pilingitam, a wood of steady currency, always valued by the supremely rich. From the most ancient times, the knowledgeable had preferred to surround themselves with fine woods rather than with the mass-produced artificial materials known then as polestine, polaz, and pormabat (latterly: tine, laz, and bat). As far back as the Old Empire there had been a pejorative label for the small rich and Families Minor arising from the knowledge of the rare wood’s value…
…“He’s a three P-O,” they said, meaning that such a person surrounded himself with cheap copies made from déclassé substances.”
While Herbert himself never released an official statement confirming the suspicion, readers are convinced this was his way of getting back at Lucas and the Star Wars franchise.
Dune: Part Two is currently playing in theatres.
