5 great movies influenced by Star Wars

Check out productions to celebrate the franchise’s special day

On May 4, Star Wars Day is celebrated, since the pronunciation of the date in English (may the 4th) is similar to the phrase “May the Force be with you”. To celebrate the date, we have gathered below 7 great films that were influenced by the space franchise (via Screen Rant).

ALIEN – THE 8th PASSENGER (1979)

Ridley Scott has spoken several times about the influence of the George Lucas franchise in the Alien films, especially in the first one. At the time, he would make another feature, but changed his mind when he left the cinema: “I had never seen or felt audience participation like that. When the Death Star appeared, I thought I couldn’t do Tristan and Isolde [next project], I had to find something else ”, said the director to Deadline. After that, he received the Alien script and accepted the project.

TOY STORY 2 (1999)

Much of the influence here is due to Pixar’s own origin, which emerged as a digital division of Lucasfilm. Thus, the Toy Story features are loaded with references to Star Wars. The clearest, however, is in the second animation, which shows Buzz Lightyear discovering that he is the son of the villain Zurg in the best “Yes, I am his father” style.

AKIRA (1988)

Director Katsuhiro Otomo had several influences for Akira, as Blade Runner, but Star Wars also appears on that list (via Star Wars). It is possible, for example, to compare the government’s stance in Akira with the Empire’s attitudes in the galaxy. Tetsuo’s telekinetic powers have also been compared to the Force several times.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1 (2014)

Director James Gunn discloses several things about Star Wars on his social networks (today was the day of special posters) and has also revealed how the story of Luke, Han and Leia impacted his work: “Star Wars is the film that allows Guardians of the Galaxy be Guardians of the Galaxy, ”the director told the Associated Press during the release of Vol. 2.“ I didn’t try to make a film like Star Wars, but I wanted to make a film so that children and adults around the world would feel the that I felt when I saw Star Wars in my childhood ”.

STAR TREK (2009)

When J.J.Abrams directed the new Star Trek movie, it didn’t take long for it to be confirmed in Star Wars. But he is not the only fan of the franchise who has worked in the history of Kirk and Spock. In 2008, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman told Wired that, despite the controversy of talking about Star Wars and Star Trek at the same time, “we have to bring more Star Wars to Star Trek (…). I want to feel the space, the speed and all that stuff ”. The result of this inspiration was the new Star Trek trilogy, whose most recent film was released in 2016.