Since the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977, lightsabers, Wookiees and the trumpeting blare of Darth Vader’s imperial march have been bulwarks of western pop culture – so ubiquitous that it’s easy to forget the sci-fi classic comes from delightfully derivative roots.
Before the multimedia franchise that now spans 12 films, a television empire, theme park attractions and tie-in novels, Lucas was simply trying to adapt his favourite Flash Gordon comics. When that failed, he decided to create his own space opera, drawing from hodgepodge boyhood obsessions and romantic nostalgia for pirates, wizards and cowboys. The tense standoffs and backwoods desert towns of Star Wars were sourced from old-school Westerns; the ravaged kingdom, succession dramas and wheel of destiny were drawn from pulpy high fantasy. Add in a dose of samurai tropes, Buddhist beliefs and retro-futurist aesthetics and Lucas had stumbled upon something wholly new.
