Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett and the Dune books!
The Star Wars franchise is iconic not because it's jam-packed full of wholly original ideas, but because it draws inspiration from all sorts of pop culture and mythology. One can find the DNA of everything from Flash Gordon to Akira Kurosawa to Richard Wagner in the original movies. And let's not forget a little sci-fi novel called Dune.
If anything, Dune's influence on Star Wars is all the more palpable thanks to The Book of Boba Fett. Who knew Boba Fett and Paul Atreides had so much in common? With that in mind, we figured now was a good time to break down the similarities between the two franchises and why the Dune saga continues to shape Star Wars all these years later.
The comparisons between Dune and A New Hope are basically unavoidable, even for Dune creator Frank Herbert. In his 2003 biography Dreamer of Dune, Brian Herbert wrote of his father, "When Dad saw the movie, he picked out sixteen points of what he called ‘absolute identity’ between his book and the movie.”
George Lucas has never really acknowledged Dune as a major influence on his sci-fi universe in the same way he has films like The Hidden Fortress or the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials. However, Lucas did point out the most obvious similarity between the two in a 1977 Associated Press interview - the fact that both take place largely on vast desert planets.
Tatooine and Arrakis are all but mirror images of each other. They're both desolate worlds covered in sand and rock, and places where the natives have to find ways of surviving and harvesting water wherever and however they can. Tatooine may not be swarming with roving sandworms, but it is home to similarly terrifying creatures like the Sarlacc, the Krayt Dragons and that six-limbed beast seen in The Book of Boba Fett's first episode.
The similarities go well beyond the desert setting, however. Dune protagonist Paul Atreides shares a lot in common with Luke Skywalker, as they're both young men coming to grips with grand destinies and burgeoning superhuman powers. Dune has the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood; Star Wars has the Jedi Knights. Both have vast interstellar empires ruled by a despotic emperor. Both have a physically imposing main villain who relies on mechanical enhancements and turns out to have an unexpectedly close connection to the hero.
Star Wars even has a version of Dune's spice melange. Spice in the Star Wars universe seems to be a more run-of-the-mill illicit drug than a life-extending, consciousness-expanding elixir, but it's still a hot commodity that fuels an entire black market of mining and smuggling. And it's worth pointing out that Kevin J. Anderson, who has co-authored all of the Dune novels published after Frank Herbert's death, was the first writer to shed light on the infamous "spice mines of Kessel" in his Jedi Academy trilogy.
Tatooine and Arrakis are all but mirror images of each other.
The first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett have been set almost entirely on Tatooine, so perhaps it's fitting this series is reviving the "Dune vs. Star Wars" debate. Episode 2 manages to establish even clearer connections between the two franchises as it fleshes out the culture of the Tusken Raiders.
Essentially, the Tusken Raiders have become Star Wars' answer to the Fremen from Dune. The Fremen are desert nomads who live on the fringes of society. They're treated with fear and hatred by most of their neighbors, as the Fremen have a habit of raiding nearby settlements and making life difficult for the scattered settlements of Arrakis. The Fremen are also grossly underestimated by the Empire, viewed by most as savage brutes despite having a rich culture of their own and more proficiency with modern technology than anyone realizes.
All of this sums up what we've learned about the Tusken Raiders so far in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. The Sand People may have been cast as antagonistic figures in Episodes II and IV, but here we see a vastly different side of these desert nomads.
The Fremen/Tusken Raider comparison is even more apt now that we've seen Boba Fett become an honorary Sand Person. Episode 2 of The Book of Boba Fett basically casts him as Paul Atreides - a man rescued from certain death by desert nomads and recruited into their tribe. Fett learns their strange ways of surviving the harsh desert and how to fight like one of them. He passes their various ritualistic tests of manhood, just as Paul succeeds in fashioning his own crysknife and riding a sandworm.
In turn, Fett schools his new friends in the art of fighting the more technologically advanced desert smugglers. That's basically what happens with the Fremen. Paul trains them in the advanced martial art known as the Weirding Way, transforming an already battle-hardened tribe into the greatest fighting force in the known universe.
And while Tatooine may not have sandworms, it's hard not to be reminded of that ultimate Fremen rite of passage in Episode 2 - luring a worm and riding them using nothing but grappling hooks. In this case, Fett's training pays off when the Tuskens are able to climb aboard a speeding train and turn the tables on the spice smugglers.
None of this is to say Fett's story will always follow the same path as Paul's. If anything, Fett's arc seems to be moving in the complete opposite direction from Paul's. Once renowned as one of the most iconic villains in the Star Wars franchise, Fett has become a quasi-heroic figure since his return in The Mandalorian. His time among the Tuskens has given him the family he lost when his father was killed on Geonosis, all the while reinforcing his more honorable qualities.
Paul, by comparison, could hardly be described as a hero by the end of his story in the Dune novels. His actions spark an intergalactic jihad that claims over 60 billion lives. Paul even compares himself unfavorably to Hitler in Dune Messiah, and it's hard to argue with those numbers. He may be pursuing what he sees as the greater good for humanity (or the "Golden Path," as he calls it), but Paul is no hero. We'll have to see where Fett's arc ultimately leads by the end of The Book of Boba Fett, and if his recent turn toward the light is merely temporary.
It's also very possible we'll see his relationship with the Tuskens come back into play before the end of Season 1. We've seen that Fett doesn't exactly have the manpower to back up his claim as Jabba's successor. His criminal "organization" is literally just Fennec Shand, a grumpy droid and two dubiously loyal Gamorreans. Could Fett turn to his people for help during his inevitable showdown with the Hutt Twins? Will he be the one to transform the Sand People from wandering nomads to Tatooine's most fearsome army? Maybe there's reason to fear Boba Fett becoming Star Wars' answer to Muad'Dib after all.
Whatever happens, it's safe to say there's a reason the series is spending so long exploring Fett's recent past among the Tusken Raiders. The series has borrowed so much from Dune already that we can't help but wonder at the possibilities.
For more on The Book of Boba Fett, learn the history behind Episode 2's Wookiee character Black Krrsantan and brush up on all the Star Wars content coming in 2022.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...
The Star Wars franchise is iconic not because it's jam-packed full of wholly original ideas, but because it draws inspiration from all sorts of pop culture and mythology. One can find the DNA of everything from Flash Gordon to Akira Kurosawa to Richard Wagner in the original movies. And let's not forget a little sci-fi novel called Dune.
If anything, Dune's influence on Star Wars is all the more palpable thanks to The Book of Boba Fett. Who knew Boba Fett and Paul Atreides had so much in common? With that in mind, we figured now was a good time to break down the similarities between the two franchises and why the Dune saga continues to shape Star Wars all these years later.
Dune's Influence on Star Wars
The comparisons between Dune and A New Hope are basically unavoidable, even for Dune creator Frank Herbert. In his 2003 biography Dreamer of Dune, Brian Herbert wrote of his father, "When Dad saw the movie, he picked out sixteen points of what he called ‘absolute identity’ between his book and the movie.”
George Lucas has never really acknowledged Dune as a major influence on his sci-fi universe in the same way he has films like The Hidden Fortress or the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials. However, Lucas did point out the most obvious similarity between the two in a 1977 Associated Press interview - the fact that both take place largely on vast desert planets.
Tatooine and Arrakis are all but mirror images of each other. They're both desolate worlds covered in sand and rock, and places where the natives have to find ways of surviving and harvesting water wherever and however they can. Tatooine may not be swarming with roving sandworms, but it is home to similarly terrifying creatures like the Sarlacc, the Krayt Dragons and that six-limbed beast seen in The Book of Boba Fett's first episode.
The similarities go well beyond the desert setting, however. Dune protagonist Paul Atreides shares a lot in common with Luke Skywalker, as they're both young men coming to grips with grand destinies and burgeoning superhuman powers. Dune has the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood; Star Wars has the Jedi Knights. Both have vast interstellar empires ruled by a despotic emperor. Both have a physically imposing main villain who relies on mechanical enhancements and turns out to have an unexpectedly close connection to the hero.
Star Wars even has a version of Dune's spice melange. Spice in the Star Wars universe seems to be a more run-of-the-mill illicit drug than a life-extending, consciousness-expanding elixir, but it's still a hot commodity that fuels an entire black market of mining and smuggling. And it's worth pointing out that Kevin J. Anderson, who has co-authored all of the Dune novels published after Frank Herbert's death, was the first writer to shed light on the infamous "spice mines of Kessel" in his Jedi Academy trilogy.
Tatooine and Arrakis are all but mirror images of each other.
The Tusken Raiders vs. The Fremen
The first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett have been set almost entirely on Tatooine, so perhaps it's fitting this series is reviving the "Dune vs. Star Wars" debate. Episode 2 manages to establish even clearer connections between the two franchises as it fleshes out the culture of the Tusken Raiders.
Essentially, the Tusken Raiders have become Star Wars' answer to the Fremen from Dune. The Fremen are desert nomads who live on the fringes of society. They're treated with fear and hatred by most of their neighbors, as the Fremen have a habit of raiding nearby settlements and making life difficult for the scattered settlements of Arrakis. The Fremen are also grossly underestimated by the Empire, viewed by most as savage brutes despite having a rich culture of their own and more proficiency with modern technology than anyone realizes.
All of this sums up what we've learned about the Tusken Raiders so far in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. The Sand People may have been cast as antagonistic figures in Episodes II and IV, but here we see a vastly different side of these desert nomads.
Boba Fett as Paul Atreides?
The Fremen/Tusken Raider comparison is even more apt now that we've seen Boba Fett become an honorary Sand Person. Episode 2 of The Book of Boba Fett basically casts him as Paul Atreides - a man rescued from certain death by desert nomads and recruited into their tribe. Fett learns their strange ways of surviving the harsh desert and how to fight like one of them. He passes their various ritualistic tests of manhood, just as Paul succeeds in fashioning his own crysknife and riding a sandworm.
In turn, Fett schools his new friends in the art of fighting the more technologically advanced desert smugglers. That's basically what happens with the Fremen. Paul trains them in the advanced martial art known as the Weirding Way, transforming an already battle-hardened tribe into the greatest fighting force in the known universe.
And while Tatooine may not have sandworms, it's hard not to be reminded of that ultimate Fremen rite of passage in Episode 2 - luring a worm and riding them using nothing but grappling hooks. In this case, Fett's training pays off when the Tuskens are able to climb aboard a speeding train and turn the tables on the spice smugglers.
None of this is to say Fett's story will always follow the same path as Paul's. If anything, Fett's arc seems to be moving in the complete opposite direction from Paul's. Once renowned as one of the most iconic villains in the Star Wars franchise, Fett has become a quasi-heroic figure since his return in The Mandalorian. His time among the Tuskens has given him the family he lost when his father was killed on Geonosis, all the while reinforcing his more honorable qualities.
Paul, by comparison, could hardly be described as a hero by the end of his story in the Dune novels. His actions spark an intergalactic jihad that claims over 60 billion lives. Paul even compares himself unfavorably to Hitler in Dune Messiah, and it's hard to argue with those numbers. He may be pursuing what he sees as the greater good for humanity (or the "Golden Path," as he calls it), but Paul is no hero. We'll have to see where Fett's arc ultimately leads by the end of The Book of Boba Fett, and if his recent turn toward the light is merely temporary.
It's also very possible we'll see his relationship with the Tuskens come back into play before the end of Season 1. We've seen that Fett doesn't exactly have the manpower to back up his claim as Jabba's successor. His criminal "organization" is literally just Fennec Shand, a grumpy droid and two dubiously loyal Gamorreans. Could Fett turn to his people for help during his inevitable showdown with the Hutt Twins? Will he be the one to transform the Sand People from wandering nomads to Tatooine's most fearsome army? Maybe there's reason to fear Boba Fett becoming Star Wars' answer to Muad'Dib after all.
Whatever happens, it's safe to say there's a reason the series is spending so long exploring Fett's recent past among the Tusken Raiders. The series has borrowed so much from Dune already that we can't help but wonder at the possibilities.
For more on The Book of Boba Fett, learn the history behind Episode 2's Wookiee character Black Krrsantan and brush up on all the Star Wars content coming in 2022.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...