Dune and Star Wars have long been the icons of science fiction in pop culture, though author Frank Herbert believed George Lucas took a lot of inspiration from Dune and blatantly incorporated them in Star Wars.
It’s not difficult to see why Herbert would think so because, between the two franchises, there are a lot of similarities. He did not get too specific about which parts he thought were outright copies though it was obvious the resemblances did not fare well with him.
The Parallels Of Star Wars And Dune
A fan from Reddit provided a list of the items that Star Wars supposedly copied from Dune, following Frank Herbert’s speculation.
- Princess Leia / Princess Alia
- Villain is the hero’s father / Villain is the hero’s grandfather
- Tatooine / Arrakis as desert planets
- The Sandcrawlers
- Moisture farmers / Dew collectors
- Spice Mines of Kessel / Spice as the most prized commodity
- Jedi Mind Trick / The Voice
- Jedi Bendu / Prana Bindu
- Vision of dying Obi-Wan appearing to Luke Skywalker / Vision of dying Pardot Kynes appearing to Liet-Kynes
- Trade Federation / Spacing Guild
- Luke Skywalker practicing with a lightsaber / Alia practicing with a sword
- Millennium Falcon barely escaping a space slug / Duke’s ornithopter barely escaping a sandworm
- Luke spying on the Sandpeople / Paul spying on the Fremen
- Repulsors / Suspensors
- Jabba / Leto II
Many would immediately notice the similarity between Princess Leia Organa and Princess Alia Atreides’ names and the fact that they are the sisters to the story’s protagonist. In Dune, Baron Harkonnen turns out to be Paul Atreides’ grandfather, who is also his greatest enemy. In Star Wars, the antagonist Darth Vader was revealed to be Luke Skywalker’s father. Interestingly enough, both Arrakis and Tatooine pride themselves as hot desert planets.
Dune is known for its spice trade, which is the most precious possession. The Kessel, on the other hand, is a mining world where workers extract spices. The ominous Voice that the Bene Gesserit uses serves as the counterpart to the Jedi Mind Trick, which harnesses power to manipulate people. Both Trade Federation and Spacing Guild are known space shipping transports.
The scene in the first Dune film where the Duke’s ornithopter was almost caught by the sandworm mirrors the Millennium Falcon’s near-death escape from a space slug. There are also similarities in the devices used to counteract gravity: repulsors in Star Wars and suspensors in Dune.
Frank Herbert Accused George Lucas Of Ripping Off Dune
While delivering a speech at UCLA in 1985, author Frank Herbert claimed a lot of subjects in George Lucas’ Star Wars movies were taken from his Dune novels.
“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.”
In 1977, the year the first Star Wars movie came out, Herbert told the Associated Press that he would try not to sue George Lucas since he could not tell which specific book fit into his speculations.
Dune: Part Two is now showing in theaters worldwide.
