There were a lot of attempts to cash in on Star Wars, most were far more blatant than BG - I remember watching The Black Hole in the cinema as a kid and being struck by how much it drew “inspiration” from Star Wars (which was OK with me as I was desperate for more). My favourite is still Battle Beyond the Stars.
And Silent Running? I do love that film and can definitely see the DNA of Huey, Dewey, and Louie in R2. However, Lucas drew elements from all over the place, like Flash Gordon and Kurosawa, it’s the way he managed to weave all those threads together that was the impressive feat and the cash-ins just took their inspiration from Star Wars (and a bit of the Magnificent Seven).
There were a lot of attempts to cash in on Star Wars, most were far more blatant than BG - I remember watching The Black Hole in the cinema as a kid and being struck by how much it drew “inspiration” from Star Wars (which was OK with me as I was desperate for more). My favourite is still Battle Beyond the Stars.
And Silent Running? I do love that film and can definitely see the DNA of Huey, Dewey, and Louie in R2. However, Lucas drew elements from all over the place, like Flash Gordon and Kurosawa, it’s the way he managed to weave all those threads together that was the impressive feat and the cash-ins just took their inspiration from Star Wars (and a bit of the Magnificent Seven).