Did Star Wars Copy Dune? A Sci-Fi Ripoff Conspiracy Explained

All art borrows from other art, and that's doubly true when it comes to genre fiction. The world of sci-fi is a constantly growing pile of references, homages, and callbacks. No matter what medium a story is written in or who pens it, it's bound to pull inspiration from its predecessors. Of course, some inspiration is more obvious than others, as in the case of George Lucas' "Star Wars" and Frank Herbert's "Dune."

The question of "Star Wars" ripping off "Dune" has been around ever since Darth Vader first appeared on the silver screen back in 1977. It wasn't Vader himself who drew the most direct comparisons, but numerous other aspects of the film seemed borrowed or at least loosely adapted from Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel. In all fairness, though, pretty much every major sci-fi (and even fantasy) story crafted in the immediate wake of the first "Dune" novel (1965) pulled from Herbert's complex world of sandworms, future sight, rebellion, and space politics. It was a common point of comparison for many subsequent sci-fi stories, but that doesn't mean that Lucas didn't also take particular inspiration from the book. Or, at least, it's always seemed that way.

While Lucas has largely avoided the topic over the years, Herbert had some strong words for "Star Wars" back when it first premiered and took the world by storm. In the interest of science, let's take a look at some of the ways "Star Wars" clearly borrows from "Dune," as well as some ways in which it sets itself firmly apart.

The first and most obvious comparison between "Star Wars" and "Dune" is that they both feature barren desert planets in prominent narrative roles. In "Dune," it's Arrakis, colloquially the titular Dune, while in "Star Wars," it's Luke Skywalker's home of Tatooine. It's easy to look at the Dune Sea in "Star Wars" and think of Herbert's universe, and things get even more similar when you account for the Sand People and the various monsters of Tatooine, like the krayt dragons and the Sarlacc.

While neither of those are exactly sandworms, per se, and while the Tuskens never get anywhere near the level of character development or narrative significance as the Fremen of "Dune," it's hard not to see them as at least somewhat derivative of Herbert's creation. The big difference, of course, is that Dune is the most important planet in the galaxy because it's the sole source of the spice melange, which is what makes space travel possible in Herbert's universe. For that reason, though the planet itself is practically inhospitable to outsiders, it's of huge political importance.

Tatooine, by contrast, is only significant because of its ties to the Skywalkers. Sure, Jabba the Hutt runs a galactic criminal empire from the planet, but it's still mostly a backwater world used by smugglers and thieves that has little to no relevance on the galactic stage. And while Tatooine is known for its role in the galactic "Star Wars" spice trade, that spice is very different from the kind featured in "Dune."

In "Dune," spice is the axis on which the whole universe revolves. In large quantities, it can induce levels of future sight, which is what allows the navigators of the Spacing Guild to safely pilot vessels across the stars. In "Dune," any machines that can mimic the mind of a man — computers, in other words — are prohibited. Hence, these enhanced humans must fulfill the role of navigational computers for space travel to be possible. In the case of Paul Atreides and other leading characters, spice has other, more extreme effects, such as the ability to see across all of time and space. You know, just normal stuff.

The spice in "Star Wars" surely took its name from "Dune." There's no question there, no matter what anybody at Lucasfilm might say. However, it's a far less consequential substance, and one whose very nature has been disputed and changed many times over the years. Spice is first mentioned in the original 1977 film in a reference to the spice mines of Kessel, which were later developed as the galaxy's primary source of the substance and run by the Pyke Syndicate. But while Kessel is certainly the poster planet for spice, it's not the only source like Arrakis is, and there are many different varieties of spice in "Star Wars."

George Lucas has been pretty clear at different points that Spice was meant to be a drug, hence why it required smugglers to carry it across the galaxy. However, in efforts to make Han Solo seem less like a drug dealer to the "Star Wars" family fanbase, some books and other stories have claimed that the substance also has positive properties and that it's only through specific chemical processes that it becomes dangerous or truly illicit.

Narratively, there's a lot of common ground between "Dune" and the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Both stories show a galaxy ruled by a cruel and vindictive empire that utilizes specialized military troops (the Sardaukar in "Dune," the stormtroopers in "Star Wars") to enforce its will. Both follow young male protagonists descended from galactically significant family lines who unlock rare supernatural abilities that they use to topple the regime in power. Both Luke and Paul work alongside a militarized rebel faction in order to do this. You can even make the "secret evil parentage" comparison, as Luke's discovery that Vader is his father mirrors Paul's revelation that he is the grandson of baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

The key difference is that "Star Wars" holds true to the classical hero myth, while "Dune's" entire purpose is to subvert it. By leading the rebellion and overthrowing the emperor, Paul becomes the very thing he once fought against — a dogmatic leader to a violent regime. Luke, on the other hand, gets to end the original "Star Wars" trilogy as a true hero. While his later life and the government he helps form get some nuance added in the Disney sequel trilogy, none of what happens there really compares to the abject darkness that comes to surround Paul in the later "Dune" books.

While George Lucas has never said much on his "Dune" influence one way or the other, Frank Herbert spoke out multiple times about the similarities between the two franchises. "I will try hard not to sue," Herbert told the Associated Press after the release of the original "Star Wars" in 1977 (via Polygon). "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 carcass and hood dwellers in the desert, just like in Dune." In 1985, after Lucas had completed his trilogy, Herbert spoke again on the matter, saying, "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.'"

Herbert even included a "Star Wars" diss in a later "Dune" book, where the author uses the phrase "three P-O" to refer to "cheap copies." The context is a bit complicated, but the target is clear. It is arguably the natural write of authors to take umbrage when their ideas help inspire even more commercially successful franchises. However, given how popular "Dune" was in its day and has continued to be, Herbert didn't really have much to complain about.

Yes, "Star Wars" borrows heavily from "Dune" in numerous ways, but it arguably borrows more from many other sources. Samurai films, World War II dogfighting movies, Westerns, and old sci-fi serials all directly inspired Lucas and his collaborators. The concept art of Ralph McQuarrie, Colin Cantwell, and others — art that defined the distinct aesthetic of "Star Wars" — was full of both contemporary military design allusions and the shining futuristic architecture of Golden Age sci-fi, an era that preceded "Dune."

While Paul Atreides and the Jedi share a supernatural level of prescience, the Force and its implementation are completely different from the arcane aspects of Herbert's world. The franchises' forms of space travel work in a completely different way, and, as a result, the natures of the two galaxies are dramatically unalike. While both properties pepper in a healthy dose of fantasy to augment the science fiction, they borrow totally different things from that supplementary genre — ducal systems and other medieval political hierarchies in "Dune," and wizards, hermits, and farm boys in "Star Wars."

The mark of any great genre story is its ability to condense a soup of clear inspirations into a homogenous whole that feels unique. As derivative as "Star Wars" is in many respects, it nails that assignment. Otherwise, you wouldn't have so many different corners of the fandom screaming about what does and does not "feel" like "Star Wars" every time a new project comes out from Lucasfilm.