Dune: A Star Wars' Blueprint

A long time ago, in two galaxies far, far away…

Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Two’ recently hit the big screen receiving overwhelming praise from audiences and critics alike. Compared to Villeneuve’s 2021 hit ‘Dune’, the stakes have only grown larger as the prophetic rising of Paul Atreides to the Lisan Al-Gaib comes into full fruition; I couldn't help but notice a proportionate amount of reviews going into ‘Dune: Part Two’ comparing the film to Irvin Kershner’s epic sci-fi sequel to Star Wars in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), a film beloved and cherished by all sci-fi dads across the globe. In all seriousness, with praise this high, I prospected that this new film would be an absolute marvel and to my mind, this matched it. In fact, it succeeded it in my eyes. The echoes of Star Wars resonating in the Dune discussion prompted me to delve into the similarities between these two epic sagas, only to discover a plethora of shared elements.

It became clear to me later that George Lucas must have had Frank Herbert’s Dune on standby as a writer’s block cure for Star Wars as the similarities are huge. Lucas boldly takes lots of elements of Dune on as his own into his very own sci-fi epic. Even Frank Herbert, himself, complained that Lucas stole from him.  He told an Oregon Newspaper in the 70s that he was “going to try very hard not to sue,” before cheekily adding that he found the first Star Wars film boring…Let’s go through the many similarities, shall we?

Paul Atreides and Anakin Skywalker - The Chosen One(s)

These characters both follow ‘chosen one’ character archetypes as they grapple with their destinies and navigate complex science fiction landscapes torn by both politics and war. Additionally, they both wield their own respective universes extraordinary powers with great strength. Both are much more powerful than their adversaries and allies —Paul with the Voice in the world of ‘Dune’ and Anakin with the Force in ‘Star Wars.’ 

Both Anakin and Paul in turn reject their true love in Chani and Padmé in the pursuit of what they believe to be their true goal. They both have a fall from grace as Anakin famously transitions to the dark side of the force but Paul's arc is a little more complex. As Paul receives visions of the future, he puts a certain plan into motion in pursuit of goals unknown to us but by doing this he acts out of character. At the start of Part Two, he is terrified his actions may start a Holy War; by the end of the film, his actions have caused that very war and he fully embraces this reality with little remorse. Whilst their motives are very different, they end up following similar paths in their separate universes.

Arrakis and Tattooine - The Desolate, Desert Planet

The most obvious example of blatant Lucas thievery would have to be in his creation of Tattooine. Perhaps, I am being a bit harsh with my labelling of this as 'thievery' as both planets do end up serving very different purposes in the narrative storytelling in both universes. But if we are really looking at it, both planets act as desolate, outlying planets in which our heroes are called into action. Arrakis and Tattooine also share in the fact they are both desert planets with multiple moons and harsh conditions and have strange similar characteristics like the Sarlacc pit of Tattooine and the worms of Dune. Both of these even have similar gaping mouths with long thin wire-like teeth. 

Due to the similar nature of both planets, moisture is an important factor on both planets: in Tattooine, Luke’s uncle runs a moisture farm and on Arrakis, the Fremen and other desert explorers wear suits that recycle their sweat and urine into drinkable water. It’s also notable to compare the machinery which people use to traverse both planets; the Jawa in Star Wars use large ‘sand crawlers’ and in Dune, similar machinery is used to gather spice. Even the Tusken Raiders, a desert-type race that exists only on Tattooine is similar to that of the Fremen.

Paul…I am your Grandfather 

Both main characters in Star Wars and Dune are direct descendants of the villains that they must fight against. Paul and Alia, being the grandchildren of the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Luke and Leia obviously being the children of Darth Vader. Come on George Lucas, Alia and Leia. They basically are mirrors of each other narrative-wise in both with them being the main character’s sisters and they even have very similar names.

Jedi Mind Tricks and the Voice - The Jedi and The Bene Gesserit

Even the Jedi Mind tricks of Star Wars act similarly to that of the Voice. Both are powers that are used to manipulate and persuade their opponents. The Jedi Order itself is no doubt influenced by Dune’s Bene Gesserit. Both are politically active groups in the universe, and they both emphasise a focus on a spiritual mind and body connection attained through rigorous training and discipline. They both have prophecy and destiny interwoven into their own respective stories. 

Duncan Solo - The Renegade

In Dune lore, Duncan Idaho is a character similar to that of Han Solo. Even Dune (2021)’s Jason Momoa who played the character said so. Duncan is a renegade character who although pledged to House Atreides, finds himself an outsider as he becomes an ambassador to the Fremen in an attempt to unite the Atreides and Fremen. 

The Empire and Imperium

And if it already weren’t similar enough, both Dune and Star Wars have intergalactic evil totalitarian regimes that rule their galaxy in The Empire in Star Wars and The Imperium in Dune. Both are headed by Emperors with questionable motives as well. And both stories in Star Wars and Dune are about a fight against and the collapse of these regimes.

And after all that I think it’s clear to see that Lucas is a visionary who has a unique and powerful vision that has NOT borrowed or stolen any elements from any other science fiction media…. In all seriousness, the narratives in both universes are wildly different and whilst there may be similarities, there are enough nuances and differences in both worlds and their respective lore and story that make both Star Wars and Dune so individually compelling, entrancing and rich in detail and scope.

Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Messiah’ will bring his Dune trilogy to an end and I, for one, cannot wait for this film as Villeneuve has the potential to create end one of the greatest science fiction trilogies of all time. Comparatively, Star Wars is in a rather dire situation as of present, with its last trilogy being a critical failure and Disney Star Wars television shows not making a really strong impact (besides maybe the exception of Andor and some of the Mandalorian). It’s a testament to Villeneuve and his careful construction of these films that there is now a resurgence of interest in Dune as a franchise at the moment but this is no doubt helped by the horrendous way multi-billion dollar Disney has mishandled Star Wars in recent years. If Disney had taken over Dune it would be likely we wouldn’t be having such a great time Dune in the pop culture zeitgeist at the moment.