10 More Movies That Are Strong With The Force
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…well, not that far away…a young filmmaker by the name of George Lucas created one of the most influential sci-fi-films of all time.
The film? THX 1138!
We’re joking of course. As the title of this post suggests, we are referring to Star Wars, the sci-fi spectacular that Lucas directed a few years after that low-budget gem.
Star Wars was a box office smash and it spawned countless ripoffs and more respectable movies that shared its spirit of adventure. It also spawned a massive toy line and numerous other merchandising opportunities for product manufacturers looking to make a profit off the back of Lucas’s movie!
If you’re a Star Wars fan and you are looking for similar movies, we’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top choices for alternate viewing.
As usual, let us know your thoughts about our picks in the comments below!
Dune (2021)
Adapted from the first novel in Frank Herbert’s Duniverse, this is another future-set movie that takes place in a distant galaxy. It even has a desert planet named Arrakis that is as sandy as Tattooine although it’s not as friendly due to the giant sandworms that pop up out of the ground to make a meal out of any passers-by. Tusken Raiders are no match for these!
Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides who, like Luke Skywalker before him, realizes he has a destiny to fill when he is called upon to save his home planet. In a plot point that is likely to be explored in a future Dune movie, Paul discovers he and his sister come from a secret dark lineage. This is something Luke also discovered, of course, when he found out who his real father was in The Empire Strikes Back.
Dune isn’t a rip-off of Star Wars as Frank Herbert’s novel was released in 1965. However, the two do have a lot in common, so it seems likely that George Lucas was inspired by the author’s works when he came up with his ideas for Star Wars.
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Guardians Of The Galaxy is similar to Star Wars in many ways, not least the fact that it features a team-up of characters that are called upon to save the universe, just like the space adventurers in Lucas’s movie. Drax is essentially Chewbacca, in size if not in hair length, Peter Quill is not unlike Han Solo, with his cool dress sense and heroic charm, and Gamora shares many of Princess Leia’s traits, including her fierce determination.
James Gunn’s movie also retains Star Wars’ sense of humour. When we hear Quill insult Rocket by calling him a “talking raccoon,” we are reminded of Princess Leia calling Chewbacca a “walking carpet.”
Nobody expected this first movie for the fictional superhero team to be so successful as the bonkers characters in the Guardians team were quite unlike any MCU heroes we had seen before. A monosyllabic tree? There’s a character that will never win the hearts of viewers, right?
There were those who thought the movie would be goofy and dumb, but like the naysayers who weren’t convinced about Star Wars before it became a box office sensation, those doom-mongering critics were proven wrong.
Spaceballs (1987)
Spaceballs is an obvious choice for this list as its basically a spoof on Star Wars, complete with a hissable (but incompetent) villain named Dark Helmet, its own version of the Force (the Schwartz), and a half-man half-dog named Barf who is clearly inspired by Chewbacca.
Mel Brooks’ movie wasn’t a hit with critics when it was released but Star Wars fans likely enjoyed it more than most due to the abundance of references to Lucas’s movie. An excellent comic cast including John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Brooks himself ensure the laughs keep coming, so while it isn’t the best movie the director has ever made, there is a lot of fun to be had for anybody watching this silly space opera.
The Last Starfighter (1984)
A sequel to The Last Starfighter is in the works apparently, which is something of a surprise considering this movie didn’t make much of an impact when it was first released. It’s still a decent movie however and in its story of a young teen who is transported to another galaxy and recruited to join a team of starfighters, there are clear similarities to Luke Skywalker’s journey into the stars.
The Last Starfighter tells a very human story with as much a focus on character as there is on special effects. The same can be said of Star Wars and its immediate sequels, although Lucas seemingly switched the focus when he made his prequel movies as he seemed to care more about the latest visual effects technology than writing decent characterizations for his heroes and villains.
Seven Samurai (1954)
In Akira Kurosawa’s epic drama, a group of vagabond warriors come together to protect a helpless farming village from an onslaught of marauders. While this isn’t an effects-laden space opera set in the future, it shares characters that are similar to those in Star Wars that helped protect the galaxy from the evil Imperial forces.
George Lucas has often cited Seven Samurai as a direct inspiration for his film, not only in terms of characters and plot themes, but in the way in which he used some of the editing techniques that Kurosawa pioneered in his samurai epic. If you’re a fan of Star Wars, you should check this film out, not only because it tells a cracking good story but because you may enjoy seeing the inspiration for Lucas’s blockbuster movie.
Battle Beyond The Stars (1980)
In this low-budget sci-fi movie, a farm boy recruits a band of mercenaries to save a planet that is on the verge of being wiped out by an evil tyrant and his armada of aggressors. Sound familiar?
Shad, the young farmer, is basically Luke Skywalker with Waltons star Richard Thomas in the role instead of Mark Hamill. One of the mercenaries is named Space Cowboy (George Peppard) who is clearly fashioned after Han Solo. And the main villain of the piece is named Sader (John Saxon), who will remind any Star Wars fan of Darth Vader, and not only because of the copyright-infringing name!
Battle Beyond The Stars is a definite copycat of Star Wars (with a few references to The Magnificent Seven thrown in) but despite its cheap effects and less accomplished cast, this will fill the hole of any Star Wars fan who wants a similarly fun movie set in a galaxy far far away!
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
In a list of movies like Star Wars, we have to include at least one of the sequels or prequels. Admittedly, a lot of them have divided audiences but for fans of A New Hope, they are must-see viewing because of their tie-ins to the original story.
Gareth Edwards’ movie is one of the best in the franchise. The events in the story take place one week before A New Hope, telling the tale of the heroes who stole the secret plans that enabled Luke and the Rebel forces to take down the Death Star in the 1977 film. These events are even mentioned in the opening crawl of Star Wars:
“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, and space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.”
This prequel to Star Wars later received a prequel of its own – the Disney+ series Andor – which gave further backstory to the events that happened before Lucas’s original space epic.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
JRR Tolkien’s novel wasn’t set in outer space but sources suggest it was another inspiration for George Lucas’s sci-fi classic. It’s easy to see the similarities between the two. Both Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars feature a robed mystical figure with incredible powers (Gandalf/ Ben Kenobi), they each have a young man setting out on a grand adventure (Frodo/Luke Skywalker), and both tell a classic tale of good against evil.
If you’re looking for an epic adventure movie like Star Wars, with a compelling cast of characters and its own unique mythology, you can’t go wrong with Lord Of The Rings. Peter Jackson’s movie is even grander in scale with special effects that caused as much astonishment as Lucas’s movie did when it was given its initial release.
The Black Hole (1979)
Without Star Wars there wouldn’t be The Black Hole. This was Disney’s attempt to replicate Lucas’s movie but while it’s certainly better than the Star Wars Holiday Special, it’s nowhere near as good as the movie it is inspired by.
The movie isn’t a bad one though. With a good cast, including Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, and Maximillian Schell, a loveable robot named V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (clearly based on R2D2), and starcruisers that are almost as impressive as those in Star Wars, this is a decent watch for anybody looking for another family-friendly piece of sci-fi.
Flash Gordon (1980)
Without Flash Gordon, there would be no Star Wars! We aren’t talking about the Flash Gordon movie, of course, as that was released after the 1977 film. We are referring to the original comic strip by Alex Raymond which was first published way back in 1934. George Lucas is a long-term fan of the early serials based on Raymond’s stories and similarities to those black-and-white tales can be found in Star Wars.
Before Lucas gave the world Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader et al, he attempted to secure the rights to Flash Gordon from movie producer Dino De Laurentiis. He was unsuccessful which is a good job really as we may never have had Star Wars if Lucas had focused all of his efforts on a movie about Flash. The voices of millions of merchandisers just cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced when we wrote that last sentence!
Flash Gordon is a terrific movie even though the special effects are a little dated now. Sam Jones is good value as Flash (even though his voice was dubbed over) and the movie features a villain in Ming the Merciless that is almost as dastardly as Darth Vader. Admittedly, Brian Blessed as King Vultan does get a little wearying (Blessed later turned up as another ruler in The Phantom Menace) but the propulsive movie score and fun action scenes just about drown out his incessant bellowing.
There we have it, our list of best movies that are similar to Star Wars. What do you think about our picks? Did one of your favourites make the list? Let us know in the comments below!