The Secret Star Wars Homages You Didn't Notice In One Battle After Another

While Paul Thomas Anderson's new thriller "One Battle After Another" may not be lighting up the box office, it is finding acclaim with critics. The film, based loosely on a 1990 novel called "Vineland," follows militant revolutionary Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio), who embarks on a rescue mission after his daughter (Chase Infiniti) is kidnapped by government imperialists. 

Interestingly, some are drawing comparisons between "One Battle After Another" and "Star Wars." Leonardo DiCaprio, who almost played a major Star Wars character himself, has had similar thoughts, stating on the Big Picture Podcast, "I compared it to 'Star Wars' in a lot of ways."  According to the actor, all the character archetypes are there — the wise, sagely mentor, the damsel in distress, even the bounty hunters. "But it's saturated in [the] real world. The world that we live in right now. It's holding a mirror up to society." 

More than comparing it to "Star Wars," itself starting life as a Vietnam War allegory, DiCaprio sees the film's relevance vividly outside his window. "The fact that it's so incredibly topical to the world and the struggles that we're dealing with now in society. ... That there's extremism on both sides, and the conviction that all these characters believe in their ideology." And that's a theme that resonates loudly in both works, making the comparisons as powerful as they are apt.

While many have noted the striking similarities between "Star Wars" and "One Battle After Another," it's not only its story and themes that are drawing those comparisons. Leonardo DiCaprio has also acknowledged at least one visual influence taken directly from the galaxy far, far away.

"There's the weird 'Star Wars' theme to this movie," DiCaprio told USA Today in a joint interview with co-star Benicio del Toro. Thew "Titanic" star further explained how his character's look — with his distinctive black shades — was taken directly from an iconic "Star Wars" character. "I had this vision of these wraparound optical glasses like Boba Fett. Those are the ones I had to choose."

Beyond the visual influence, del Toro notes that the film's humorous elements — which "Star Wars" does so deftly — are also there, highlighting a scene where a trap door pops open unexpectedly through a hidden, rolling carpet. "That carpet rolling is funny, like the 'Three Stooges' or Buster Keaton," said del Toro. "[It's] that cherry on top," DiCaprio said, completing del Toro's thought. With humor, adventure, timely messaging, and a Boba Fett-inspired look, it's no wonder people are seeing shades of "Star Wars" in "One Battle After Another." As George Lucas himself would put it, "It's like poetry, they rhyme."