The Case of Star Wars v Battlestar Galactica
ABC
In J.W. Rinzler’s book “The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” the author claims Universal gave a copy of the “Galactica” pilot script to Lucas in 1977 to inform him of their then-upcoming project. One of the things Lucas disapproved of was the show’s original title, “Galactica: Saga of a Star World,” which already made it sound very similar to his own work.
The similarities were likely not a surprise to Lucas, as two of his former “Star Wars” collaborators, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie and fellow ILM co-founder John Dykstra, took part in the show’s preproduction. According to Rinzler’s book, McQuarrie said that “Galactica” had become “a problem for George, because they had an emperor, stormtroopers, rocket fighters,” making it look like a copy of “Star Wars.” Dykstra also admitted possible guilt over creating similar effects in both works in Dale Pollack’s biography, “Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas.”
Why George Lucas Had Issues With The Original Battlestar Galactica Series
ABC
By Anthony Orlando/April 14, 2022 7:00 pm EST
Among the most glaring similarities that were cited in the case were that both stories featured a war between the “galaxy’s democratic and totalitarian force,” a “friendly robot” who aids the protagonists, and scene in a “cantina or casino” with music played by “bizarre, non-human creatures.” While some people may argue that writers take elements from other stories all the time without actually plagiarizing them, the fact that “Galactica” premiered just two years after “Star Wars” didn’t help in making it look less like a rip-off.
The Case of Star Wars v Battlestar Galactica
In J.W. Rinzler’s book “The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” the author claims Universal gave a copy of the “Galactica” pilot script to Lucas in 1977 to inform him of their then-upcoming project. One of the things Lucas disapproved of was the show’s original title, “Galactica: Saga of a Star World,” which already made it sound very similar to his own work.
The similarities were likely not a surprise to Lucas, as two of his former “Star Wars” collaborators, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie and fellow ILM co-founder John Dykstra, took part in the show’s preproduction. According to Rinzler’s book, McQuarrie said that “Galactica” had become “a problem for George, because they had an emperor, stormtroopers, rocket fighters,” making it look like a copy of “Star Wars.” Dykstra also admitted possible guilt over creating similar effects in both works in Dale Pollack’s biography, “Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas.”
The similarities were likely not a surprise to Lucas, as two of his former “Star Wars” collaborators, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie and fellow ILM co-founder John Dykstra, took part in the show’s preproduction. According to Rinzler’s book, McQuarrie said that “Galactica” had become “a problem for George, because they had an emperor, stormtroopers, rocket fighters,” making it look like a copy of “Star Wars.” Dykstra also admitted possible guilt over creating similar effects in both works in Dale Pollack’s biography, “Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Central District of California believed that both works were “only similar on the most general level of intellectual abstraction.” However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit didn’t share their opinion, stating there were plenty of similarities that both works “do in fact raise genuine issues of material fact as to whether only the ‘Star Wars’ idea or the expression of that idea was copied.”
Though the case was remanded, both parties decided to resolve it out of court. But this victory rang hollow for Universal, as they had already canceled “Battlestar Galactica” after just one season. But after three decades and a brief follow-up series in 1980, the franchise experienced a revival in the mid-2000s that continued its cosmic legacy.
