The Star Wars media franchise has been acknowledged to have been inspired by many sources, from literature to films and comics.
Animation
Hayao Miyazaki's works
- Michael Patrick Murnane compared the Kallidahin to creatures in Hayao Miyazaki's animated movie Princess Mononoke.[1]
- Ahsoka Tano was inspired by San, the female wolf-riding protagonist of film Princess Mononoke.[2] Ahsoka's facial markings were partially inspired by those of San.[3]
- Star Wars Rebels' look is inspired by the work of Hayao Miyazaki—a favorite of Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.[4]
- Mill Alibeth from Brotherhood was highly inspired by the titular character from Hayao Miyazaki's film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.[5]
The Walt Disney Company
- Film critic Roger Ebert and film historian Robin Wood noted that Darth Sidious' appearance resembled and Queen Grimhilde's witch form in the Disney's 1937 animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.[6]
- George Lucas cited Goofy, a comical Walt Disney cartoon character, as the inspiration for Jar Jar Binks.[7]
- Leslye Headland compared the story of Mae to Frozen.[8]
Warner Brothers
- Jaxxon was created in homage to Warner Brothers cartoon star Bugs Bunny who often addressed strangers with the generic nickname "Jackson" in his 1940s cartoons.[9]
- Pablo Hidalgo drew inspiration from Bugs Bunny in his choice of Coachelle as Jaxxon's homeworld. In the 1953 short "Bully for Bugs," Bugs asks, "Excuse me, can you direct me to the Coachella Valley and the Giant Carrot Festival…therein?" Hidalgo carefully mirrored this sentence during the article, also ending his in "therein." Additionally, Hidalgo drew references to another Looney Tunes short, "What's Up Doc?," when mentioning Jaxxon's former mercenary group, the Boys of Corus. These references to Bugs Bunny were not without precedent, as Goodwin also played up this relationship in Star Wars 16: The Hunter, naming two bounty hunters that were trying to capture Jaxxon as Dafi and Fud. These names were references to the Looney Tunes characters Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, who were constantly trying to capture Bugs.[10]
- Din Grogu's design was inspired by J. C. Leyendecker's baby designs and old Warner Bros. cartoon characters, which had massive cheeks on babies.[11]
Other animated media
- Durge's armor-less appearance was heavily influenced by the 1988 animated film Akira, and is reminiscent of the film's antagonist at the climax.[12]
- Director Genndy Tartakovsky stated that Sha'a Gi was inspired by the character Shaggy Rogers from the Scooby-Doo cartoons. This resulted in a similar appearance to that character.[13]
- The animation style of Star Wars: The Clone Wars film was designed to pay homage to the stylized looks of Japanese anime and the supermarionation of the British 1960s series Thunderbirds.[14]
- Star Wars Resistance's animations were based on the anime animation style,[15] with major inspirations being Robotech, Lupin the Third and the films of Hayao Miyazaki.[16]
- T0-B1 from the homonym episode was designed after classic anime characters.[17]
Art
- Set decorator Roger Christian designed the R1 unit R1-G4 in homage to the art of illustrator Chris Foss,[18] specifically a cover he had painted for a 1973 Panther Science Fiction reprint of Isaac Asimov's 1957 novel The Naked Sun.[19]
- Chewbacca's final appearance, based on a 1976 piece of concept art by Ralph McQuarrie, was in turn based on an illustration by John Schoenherr for George R.R. Martin's novelette "And Seven Times Never Kill a Man," published in the July 1975 issue of Analog. The Schoenherr illustration also includes a weapon that became an inspiration for Chewbacca's bowcaster.[20]
- According to a post for the official Star Wars: The Clone Wars Facebook page as well as the Trivia gallery for the episode on StarWars.com, a mural that appeared on the royal platform of the Sundari Royal Palace in "Shades of Reason", depicting a battle between Mandalorians and ancient Jedi, had a similar artwork style to the cubist artwork Guernica by painter Pablo Picasso.[21] According to The Clone Wars director Dave Filoni, there are elements of the Mandalorian mural that were intentionally designed to bear similarity to the artwork seen in Guernica.[22]
- According to Christian Alzmann, concept art of Kuiil holding IG-11's dead form was meant to evoke the Pietà, with Kuiil resembling the Virgin Mary and IG-11 resembling Jesus.[11]
Comics
Marvel Comics
- Roy Thomas stated that Hedji looked like a porcupine and that he took inspiration from a Marvel supervillain named Porcupine.[23]
- The Star Wars (1977) 53 and Star Wars (1977) 54 stories were made to recycle unused art for the canceled Marvel Comics series John Carter, Warlord of Mars, which was based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's space-fantasy warlord John Carter of Mars.[24]
- Doom's overall design is based on the Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom.[25]
- Wrecker was based on something akin to the Hulk from Marvel Comics.[26]
Other comics
- Jaxxon, and the Lepi species bear a remarkable similarity to the Larry Hama character of Bucky O'Hare who was also a large green rabbit.[27]
- The stories of Ewoks were often inspired by Pogo and the Uncle Scrooge stories.[28]
- The stories of Star Wars: Droids were inspired by the science-fiction stories of Jean Giraud—specifically The Airtight Garage.[28]
- The animation style of Star Wars: The Clone Wars film was designed to pay homage to the stylized looks of Japanese manga.[14]
- Character designer Takashi Okazaki of "The Duel" was also personally influenced by Lone Wolf and Cub.[29]
Commercials
- Lee-Char's name is a reference to Charlie the Tuna, the cartoon mascot of the real-world Starkist brand of tuna.[30]
Films
2001: A Space Odyssey
- Stuart Freeborn was influenced for Chewbacca by the monkey-man creatures that he recently worked on in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[31]
- The 9000 Z001 appears to be a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, as noted by Pablo Hidalgo, whereas 9000 refers to HAL 9000.[32]
- For creating AL-BRT-34-X3 for the West End Games' Star Wars Roleplaying Game (RPG) supplementary book Cracken's Rebel Operatives,[33] Mike Jackson was tasked with merging HAL 9000, from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, with the look of Imperial computers from the Original trilogy.[34]
- George Lucas designed the look of Polis Massa to be an homage to the look of the Clavius moon base in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[35]
- The set for the Libertine, as revealed in The Last Jedi's blooper reel,[36] included a refresher with instructions,[37] a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey.[38]
Akira Kurosawa's films
- When creating the characters of C-3PO and R2-D2, George Lucas looked to 1958 film The Hidden Fortress. The Hidden Fortress is told from the point of view of the peasants[39] Tahei and Matashichi,[40] who are the film's comic relief duo that travel Japan in the company of a General and a Princess, and, despite coming from the lowest possible social class, are privy to an adventure taking place on a grand level of international diplomacy. Lucas thus wrote C-3PO and R2-D2 into Star Wars as similar comic characters and narrators to The Hidden Fortress's peasants.[39]
- The Marvel Comics story arc from Star Wars (1977) 8 and Star Wars (1977) 10 was inspired by Seven Samurai.[41]
- "Bounty Hunters" was an homage to Seven Samurai.[42] The Kyuzo species' name was taken from one of the character names in the film.[43]
- Manny Jacinto was additionally inspired by Toshiro Mifune's performance as the warrior Kikushiyo in 1954's Seven Samurai.[44]
- The Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comic series was unfluenced by the work of Akira Kurosawa.[45]
- Leland Chee suggested to use "Asajj" as the first name for Ventress, naming her after the character Asaji from Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood.[46]
- For visual inspiration for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams looked at films directed by Akira Kurosawa.[47]
- Pedro Pascal prepared for the role of Din Djarin by watching Akira Kurosawa's samurai films.[48]
- Rick Carter's inspiration for Kijimi stemmed from the stone walls of 1958's The Hidden Fortress in particular.[49]
- Director Takanobu Mizuno described "The Duel" as bringing out the inspirations from Akira Kurosawa's films on Star Wars, with character designer Takashi Okazaki citing Yojimbo and Seven Samurai in particular.[29]
- In the short "The Village Bride" F became an observer and guest at Asu and Haru's wedding after happening upon them in the forest, which was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's 1990 film Dreams.[50]
- Leslye Headland was inspired for The Acolyte by the Japanese samurai film Yojimbo.[51]
- As a mystery thriller, The Acolyte was influenced by Kurosawa's film Rashomon, for its use of differing interpretations of the same events.[51]
Alfred Hitchcock's films
- Bryan Young, the editor of bigshinyrobot.com, drew connections between the episode "Senate Spy" and the 1946 thriller/spy film Notorious.[52]
- All four episodes of the last story arc of The Clone Wars: Season Five were named after various Alfred Hitchcock narratives.[53]
- "Sabotage" was named for 1936 film Sabotage.[53]
- "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much" was named for the 1934 film The Man Who Knew Too Much.[53]
- "To Catch a Jedi" was named for the 1955 film To Catch a Thief.[53]
- "The Wrong Jedi" was named for the 1956 film The Wrong Man.[53]
American Graffiti
- By George Lucas's own admission, the XJ-6 airspeeder bears a strong resemblance to a car driven by Paul Le Mat's character John Milner inAmerican Graffiti.[54]
- The idea of building a customized version of a vehicle with speed modifications in a garage with a mechanic, as seen with Din Djarin's N-1 starfighter, was inspired by the film American Graffiti.[55]
- Bonjj Phalfa's name and taunting of Fern is a homage to actor Harrison Ford's character Bob Falfa from American Graffiti.[56]
- The Mods are an homage to the film American Graffiti.[57]
Casablanca
- Kijimi City took inspiration from Nazi-occupied Paris and Michael Curtiz's 1942 film Casablanca of the Moroccan colony under Nazi-collaborationist French control.[49]
- According to Jennifer Beals , she and director Robert Rodriguez talked about Garsa Fwip being like the character Rick Blaine from Casablanca. Since Fwip was a woman, she had to step into that power in a different way to how Blaine did in his respective film, earning it over gaining it by virtue.[58]
Flash Gordon serials
- The opening crawl is an homage to the opening crawl at the beginning of each episode of the Flash Gordon film serials of the 1930s and 1940s.[59]
- Kevin Jenkins likened Leslye Headland's episodic structure of Star Wars: The Acolyte to the cliffhanger-based approach of the Flash Gordon serials,[60]
Frankenstein films
- "Savage is a lot like Frankenstein's creation. He's a monster, but you get brief glimpses of a real heart beneath the surface. He's a complicated character—I don't think he would have turned to the dark side without the manipulation of the witches. They use him."
- ―Katie Lucas
- James Clyne, Lucasfilm's design supervisor for Solo, came up with the arms' stiff movements of the Y-45 armored transport hauler, which were inspired by an image of Frankenstein's monster.[62]
- Concept art by Christian Alzmann was meant to depict what the artist referred to as a "Frankenstein moment," where Kuiil caringly puts IG-11 to bed. [11]
- For the short story "A Life Immortal" artist Grant Griffin decides to give it artistically a strong Dr. Frankenstein and Ygor vibe.[63]
- The story "The Dueling Monstrosities," told by Vaneé in LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales took inspiration from the 1931 film Frankenstein.[64]
- Marty Feldman's Igor in the comedy Young Frankenstein, possessing a small stature but a large personality, was an inspiration for Bazil.[65]
The Godfather
- For the death of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Lucas was inspired by a scene depicting an obese character's death in the 1972 film The Godfather.[66]
- In notes from 5 December 1994, Xizor was compared to the sneaky Virgil Sollozzo from The Godfather.[67]
- In the DVD commentary of Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas stated that the interwoven scenes of the proclamation of the New Order and the mission to Mustafar was a homage to the christening and assassination sequence of The Godfather, directed by his friend Francis Ford Coppola.[68]
- John Jackson Miller stated in production notes for the thirty-first issue of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series, released on July 23, 2008, that Darth Malak's immigration experience was inspired by the character Vito Corleone of The Godfather movies, who took the name of his Italian hometown when he came to the United States.[69]
- The first draft of the Solo: A Star Wars Story 's script described Dryden Vos like a sort of Tom Hagen, one of the main characters of The Godfather film series.[70]
Godzilla
- "They are in Attack of the Clones. They just look a little different. I had them redesigned to look a little more Godzilla-like for our purpose."
- ―Dave Filoni clarifies the connection between the stun cannon tank and the SPHA-T
A promotional poster for "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back", inspired by posters for kaiju films.
- George Lucas requested the rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi be "the best" Godzilla-like monster to ever be created, as recalled by Phil Tippett.[72]
- "The Zillo Beast" was an homage to the classic Godzilla movies. in the episode the clones Rod and Goji were named for classic Japanese film monster Rodan and the Japanese name of Godzilla, Gojira (ゴジラ).[73]
- The RX-200 Falchion-class assault tank featured in "The Zillo Beast" and "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back" was redesigned from the SPHA-T to better resemble the maser tanks from the Godzilla franchise.[71]
- Coined by series lead Dave Filoni, Gilas' name from "Padawan Lost" was derived from Angilas—more commonly known as Anguirus—, a character from the Godzilla franchise.[74]
Indiana Jones
- "The dance number in the episode was inspired by the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), where Willie Scott and a troupe of chorus girls entertain gangster Lao Che and his henchmen."
- ―"Hunt for Ziro"'s episode guide
The dance number in "Hunt for Ziro" was inspired by a similar scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
- Rex's chin scar was based on the blemish that actor Harrison Ford made famous in the Indiana Jones saga.[76]
- The musical number in Gardulla's palace in "Hunt for Ziro" was a tribute to the opening scene of 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.[75]
- Although not explicitly stated in the episodes, the guides revealed that Peteen from "The Disappeared" was also the Frangawl Cult leader, in a role that mimicked the character of Chattar Lal from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, from which the two episodes draw heavy inspiration.[77]
- According to Kieron Gillen, Aphra was conceived as the archaeological antithesis of Indiana Jones. The Ark Angel was named after the Ark of the Covenant, the title MacGuffin of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark.[78]
- The Summa-verminoth's death scene, in which its skin is ripped from its skull, was conceived by design supervisor James Clyne as a partial nod to the Indiana Jones franchise.[79]
- The scene of "Entombed" where Phee and Omega find the Heart of the Mountain inside Skara Nal was a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark. When Phee tries to take the Heart, the scene mostly replicates the iconic scene of Indiana Jones trying to take the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol from the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors while being seen by his guide Satipo, with The Bad Batch episode having Phee posing like Jones and Omega posing like Satipo.[80]
John Ford's films
- The name "Shinbone" from The Hunt Within: Valance's Tale was a tip of the cap to John Ford western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance—Shinbone was the town where Liberty Valance lived.[81]
- The name is also used with Shinbone blade in Bounty Hunters 3.[82]
- For visual inspiration for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams looked at films directed by John Ford.[47]
Metropolis
- George Lucas was inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis in writing Star Wars.[83] C-3PO's original appearance, visible in concept art by Ralph McQuarrie, was based on The Maschinenmensch, the robot from Metropolis.[84]
Pirates of the Caribbean
- Kiera Swan was a reference to the character Elizabeth Swann from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies played by Keira Knightley. Furthermore, the pirate-turned-bounty hunter's accomplishment of winning the Obsidian Sphere would be a reference to that franchise's pirate ship, the Black Pearl.[85]
- Qimir was played as a scoundrel archetype based on Johnny Depp's performance of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (2003–2017).[86]
Predator
- Hunter was inspired by the character of Billy Sole from the 1987 film Predator.[26]
- The episodes "Day" and "Night" were partly inspired by Predator.[87]
Steven Spielberg's films
- The design of the Kaminoans was inspired by the aliens from Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[88]
- Riff Tamson's death was a homage to the 1975 film Jaws, in which the titular shark is killed when Chief Martin Brody shoots an air tank lodged in the creature's jaws.[89]
- In the episode "Citadel Rescue" anoobas were kept in cages that were visually inspired by the velociraptor cages in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park.[90]
THX 1138
- The name R2-D2 was derived from the shorthand for "Reel 2, Dialogue 2," the heading on a cue sheet during the making of THX 1138.[91]
- The word "Wookiee" originated in THX 1138, in a line ad-libbed by actor Terry McGovern: "I think I just ran over a Wookiee."[92]
- The stormtroopers, and in particular, their armor, were partly inspired by the police droids of the underground prison facility in THX-1138.[93]
Willow
The Wizard of Oz
- In "Hunt for Ziro" when Ziro dies, he says "What a world, what a world!" in reference to a line spoken by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.[75]
Other films
The "Apocalypse Endor" variant cover of Star Wars Tales 14, inspired by the theatrical release poster of Apocalypse Now.
- George Lucas was influenced by a host of films in writing Star Wars, including Michael Curtiz's The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and Howard Hawks' Air Force (1943).[83]
- During the creation of R2-D2, the walls of the special-effects shop were lined with many posters of the robots Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the 1972 film Silent Running, who influenced the design of the character.[94]
- The visual design of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope was modelled on the costumes of the western genre.[95]
- The Royal Award Ceremony emulates, almost shot-for-shot, a similar scene in Triumph des Willens, a 1934 Nazi propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl. Both segments feature a large and enthusiastic crowd gathered in a ceremony hall bounded by columns, with a low podium where the leader stands—in Triumph des Willens, Adolf Hitler was the leader in question.[96] This similarity is unusual, as the Nazi references in Star Wars generally involve the Galactic Empire of Palpatine, whose authoritarian regime mirrors Hitler's Third Reich.[93]
- Roy Thomas stated that Hedji's name was inspired by a movie called The Adventures of Hajji Baba.[23]
- Film critic Roger Ebert and film historian Robin Wood noted that Darth Sidious' appearance resembled Death from the 1957 epic historical film The Seventh Seal.[97] George Lucas himself said that where realistically, and originally, Darth Sidious appeared in a dark color, the Dark Lord of the Sith was brightened-up in post-production to the extent where he became a white-faced figure that resembles Death, a fittingly spooky look desired by Lucas himself.[98]
- For the podracing scenes from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, George Lucas drew inspiration from the chariot races of the 1959 Ben-Hur film.[99]
- George Lucas is thought to have chosen the name "Jango" as a reference to the titular character of the movie Django.[100]
- The inspiration for the Geonosians' role as the ones assigned to construct the Death Star came from a scene in the 1994 film Clerks, in which the main characters ponder the lives of the "independent contractors" during the construction of the second Death Star.[101]
- Dooku has many similarities to Dracula, another role played by Christopher Lee. Both are villainous, erudite and sophisticated counts who wear a cape and dress in black.[102]
- Obi-Wan Kenobi's fight with the acklay in Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones was inspired by the 1961 movie Mysterious Island, in which a shipwrecked sailor battles a giant crab.[103]
- Cody was named as a tribute to the film serial character Commando Cody.[104]
- The XJ-2 airspeeder in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was based by George Lucas on the 1948 Tucker Sedan and intended it to be a reference to Tucker: The Man and His Dream.[105]
- The story of Lobar Aybock was inspired in part by Rocky Balboa, and his name is in fact a tuckerization of Sylvester Stallone's character from the 1976 boxing film Rocky.[106]
- The kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son in Star Wars: The Clone Wars film was inspired by the film Shogun's Shadow.[107]
- The ships used by Hondo Ohnaka and his pirates looked like flying sauchers from 1950s space films.[42]
- Coined by series lead Dave Filoni, Gilas' name from "Padawan Lost" was also derived from the 1959 film The Giant Gila Monster.[74]
- Sochek's name and tinted goggles are a reference to the character Walter Sobchak from the Cohen Brothers film The Big Lebowski.[108]
- The character of Mama from "Hunt for Ziro" was partially inspired by the obese vampire Pearl from the 1998 film Blade. The Ran-D housekeeper droids in the episode were an homage to the 1987 film Batteries Not Included.[75]
- The hestens' name from "Nomad Droids" is a reference to actor Charlton Heston due to his role in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. The tee-muss-riding Balnab attempting to catch the Hesten is a reference to the movie, which featured similar scenes.[109]
- While devising the story for Scoundrels, Timothy Zahn drew inspiration from the film Ocean's 11, starring Frank Sinatra.[110]
- In "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much" Ahsoka asserting her innocence to Anakin before jumping from a water pipe to escape capture is a reference to the 1993 film The Fugitive.[111]
- George Lucas envisioned the Bad Batch as a version of The Dirty Dozen with clones.[26]
- For visual inspiration for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams looked at films directed by Terrence Malick.[47]
- Phasma was named after the Phantasm horror film franchise, due to her armor's reflective chrome status resembling that of the Tall Man's spheres.[112]
- Snoke's final appearance was based in part on the horror movies of Hammer Films.[113]
Dolby Cinema exclusive poster of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, inspired by an iconic shot from 1962 The Longest Day.
- Poe Dameron's arc in Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi was influenced by war movies like Twelve O'Clock High and The Dawn Patrol, which explored the contrast between bravado and true heroism, "which is leadership."[114]
- Canto Bight was described by director Rian Johnson as "a Star Wars Monte Carlo–type environment, a little James Bond–ish, a little To Catch a Thief."[115]
- According to script writer Jon Kasdan, the film's crew wanted to evoke Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war film Paths of Glory for Mimban.[116]
- The character of Kathie Moffat of the 1947 seminal film noir Out of the Past was writer Lawrence Kasdan's early inspiration for Qi'ra.[117]
- One of the inspirations for Dryden Vos was the character Leo from Michael Mann's 1981 film Thief.[117]
- One of the early inspirations for the Y-45 armored transport hauler were the Recognizer from the 1982 cult film TRON.[117]
- Pedro Pascal prepared for the role of Din Djarin by watching classic Clint Eastwood Westerns.[48]
- For the art depicting the scene where IG-11 takes down the two scout troopers on speeder bikes, Ryan Church claimed he was possibly looking to a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western for inspiration and considered what film director Sergio Leone would have done with that moment.[11]
- The characters of Kijimi took on Western genre film aesthetics.[49]
- The Hong Kong Shaw Brothers Studio film Come Drink with Me features a sequence at an inn that forms the basis of the Lomi Usqi Noodle Shop at the opening of The Acolyte's first episode, "Lost / Found."[118]
- The fight sequence there between Jedi Master Indara and the assassin Mae pays homage to the martial arts choreography of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[119]
- For The Acolyte Headland based her cinematic influences more strongly on martial arts films such as Shaw Brothers and King Hu productions—naming Come Drink with Me alongside King Hu's 1971 film A Touch of Zen—that are "less global and galactic," with deeply personal missions in which the warriors felt "wronged" and had to "make it right."[120]
- Cinematographer Chris Teague cited the 1973 Toshiya Fujita film Lady Snowblood as an inspiration for The Acolyte's camerawork.[60]
- Indara was inspired by the character Trinity from the Wachowskis' The Matrix film franchise (1999—2021).[121]
- Leslye Headland compared the story of Mae to Kill Bill.[8] For the first episode, "Lost / Found," Headland described the characte as a mix of the character O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill.[122]
- Manny Jacinto compared Qimir's movements to the silent film works by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in the early 20th century[86] and was additionally inspired by Jackie Chan's performance as the martial artist Wong Fei-hung in the Hong Kong film Drunken Master.[44]
- The episodes "Day" and "Night" were partly inspired by Ridley Scott's 1979 Alien.[87]
- Brendok's mountain retreat was inspired by the 1947 British film Black Narcissus by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger—set at a nuns' mountain retreat in the Indian Himalayas.[60]
- For Coruscant and its Jedi Temple in Star Wars: The Acolyte, production designer Kevin Jenkins and visual effects supervisor Julian Foddy decided aligning moreso with the prequel trilogy's establishing shots with distinctive aesthetics echoing the 1971 William Friedkin film The French Connection.[123]
- Dan Gilroy thought that Syril Karn's final moment is akin to Alec Guinness' portrayal of epiphany—"what have I done?"—at the end of the 1957 David Lean film The Bridge on the River Kwai.[124]
- At the set of Palmo Plaza for "Who Are You?", Janus Metz and the crew discussed films serving as inspiration, including Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) and Romain Gavras' Athena (2022).[124]
Literature
Dune
- Paul R. Urquhart noted a parallel between the Man-Hutt in Rogue Squadron 25 and God-Emperor Leto Atreides II, a main character in Frank Herbert's Dune series.[125]
Sherlock Holmes
- Lucas' vision for Dagobah started out as a swampy and misty planet that would be similar to the setting of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was in Dartmoor, England.[126]
- Author Timothy Zahn has stated that Thrawn's character is a composite of various historical and fictional personalities, including Sherlock Holmes to name a few.[127]
J. R. R. Tolkien's works
- The stories of Ewoks were often inspired by The Lord of the Rings.[28]
- James Luceno compared The Hobbit's relationship with The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Cloak of Deception's relationship with the rest of the Star Wars saga.[128]
- Dave Filoni took Plo Koon into the direction of a Gandalf-like character, which The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy later thought of as the perfect route for the Jedi's personality.[129]
- In a 2009 article published on Suvudu, Fry noted that the creation of the Cairns was inspired by a map included with J. R. R. Tolkien's novel[130] The Lord of the Rings. The map in question illustrated the land of Mordor, including areas not visited by the novel's protagonists Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.[131]
- Smug's name from "Wookiee Hunt" was inspired by Smaug, the villainous dragon from the novel The Hobbit.[132]
- The episode "A Fool's Hope" was referencing a quote from Gandalf the White of The Lord of the Rings.[133]
Other literature
- Trantor was conceived as a reference to the city-planet of the same name in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.[134]
- Senior creature designer Ivan Manzella created an initial design for Strono Tuggs which reminded J.J. Abrams of the character Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. This idea then influenced the design of the character, with a costume design concept by creature concept designer Jake Lunt Davies and other concept art of the character, as well as the final design, including disfigurements and a hunched back.[135]
- Lawrence Kasdan envisioned a Dickensian childhood for Han Solo and a young girl before other main creative talents joined the project for Solo: A Star Wars Story.[136]
- Writer Cavan Scott decided to parody Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula for Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 2, given that Count Dooku actor Sir Christopher Lee was best known for playing Count Dracula in several Hammer films.[137]
Music
- George Lucas initially planned to use Glenn Miller for the cantina sequence in A New Hope, but the music cannot be used for his film. John Williams thus created something familiar, which Lucas described as "very Forties, yet very odd."[138]
- Xizor was first depicted in sketches by Michael Butkus — reportedly while listening the Batman soundtrack.[139]
- During the production of The Force Awakens, Ello Asty was named as a reference to the album Hello Nasty by the hip hop group Beastie Boys.[140] Taking note of this, Lucasfilm Story Group member and author of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, Pablo Hidalgo, named all other Abednedo that appear in The Visual Dictionary as references to the Beastie Boys: Roodown is likely a reference to the song "Root Down," Munica's to the album Ill Communication, and Brasmon Kee to the song "Brass Monkey."[141] The trend was later adopted by other authors. In the Marvel Comics series Star Wars: Poe Dameron, Sowa Chuan and Oddy Muva are likely named after the songs So What'cha Want and Body Movin', respectively.[142][143] In Chuck Wendig's Aftermath: Empire's End, Awls Ooteek evokes the album Paul's Boutique. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Slowen Lo, portrayed vocally by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is yet another reference to the Beastie Boys, this time to their song Slow And Low from the album Licensed to Ill.[144] Finally, in "Teach / Corrupt," the sixth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, Senator Isedwa Chuwant also refers to a phrase in the Beastie Boys song, So What'cha Want.[145] The name Abednedo itself is a reference to the song "Shadrach" from Paul's Boutique, which at a certain point namedrops the Biblical character Abednego.[146]
Theatre
- The number was inserted into the episode "Hunt for Ziro" had a headdresses have been compared to those found in Director Julie Taymor's staging of The Lion King musical.[147]
- Claudia Gray, having watched the musical Hamilton while writing her novel, was inclined to agree with a reader's observation that Bloodline's politics echoes the political debate between Alexander Hamilton's Federalists and Anti-Federalists.[148]
- According to director David Lowery, SM-33 is a reference to Smee from Peter Pan.[149]
TV series
Star Trek
- Goron's name is derived from the Gorn, an alien species from the 1960s sci-fi television series Star Trek.[150]
- When creating Jelucan, Claudia Gray named the world after Jean-Luc Picard, a character in Star Trek. In an interview, she mentioned that taking out the middle three letters of Jelucan and putting them at the end spelled "Jeanluc," as one of several Star Trek easter eggs she had put into her Star Wars works.[151]
Other TV series
- Due to his large, oval-shaped head, Ki-Adi-Mundi has often been compared to the Coneheads, the big-headed alien characters played by Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.[152] This reference was even featured in a Star Wars medium, when the clone instructor Kal Skirata disparagingly referred to him as a Conehead.[153]
- Genndy Tartakovsky pitched Star Wars: Clone Wars as having "a Band of Brothers-feel to it—where it's episodes of different battles and strategies during the Clone Wars."[154]
- Russo-ISC's characterizations and name alluded to David Caruso's role in the crime drama series CSI Miami.[53]
- Ello Asty's name served as a phonetic reference to J.J. Abrams' television show Lost.[155]
- One of the Dryden Vos character's influences was Don Draper, the protagonist of AMC's drama series Mad Men.[117]
- For Star Wars Resistance's setting, Dave Filoni was inspired by the sitcom Cheers.[156]
