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Star Warsnearly destroyed Dwight Schrute’s favorite show, by getting into a five-year-long lawsuit. The sci-fi television seriesBattlestar Galacticaoriginated in 1978 and was created by Glen A. Larson. Although the show lasted for a few years, it slowly took the shape of a brand of its own and has expanded in the form of several TV series, movies, books, comics, etc. ever since.
WhileBattlestar Galacticaenjoyed its own share of success, it’s undeniable thatStar Warsachieved a level of success that reached far beyond the stars, making it a cultural phenomenon on a much grander scale. The trouble in Paradise arose when a fight between George Lucas and a former employee got way out of hand and landed them in court disputing over plagiarism. Here’s why.
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WhyStar WarsSuedBattlestar Galactica?
Although evidently, both the iconic hit 1970s science fiction masterpieces essentially took inspiration from many classics of the genre, plagiarism was the main concern for the dispute.Star Warstook the iconic series to the court citing it has significantly copied elements from the blockbuster movie. AndGeorge Lucassuspected a VFX artist, John Dykstra to be the main culprit. After being fired fromStar Wars,Dykstra took charge as the supervisor of the special effects pilot of the originalBattlestar Galacticaseries.
He then went on to establish his own visual effects company, directly competing with ILM which did not sit right with Lucas. Consequently, Lucas also hinted that Dykstra also used a few technological innovations pioneered at theStar Warsset on his own project. Thus it can be said that the lawsuit by Fox againstBattlestar Galacticalikely stemmed from the fine line between creative inspiration drawn from genre tropes and the use of similar techniques by Dykstra on both projects. They also eventually claimed that the television series potentially ruined their TV market.
Also Read:“Where does all this sh-t go?”: Star Wars Actor’s $532.5M Disney Film Was Inspired By Strange Combination of Steve Jobs and a Trash Compactor
How DidBattlestar GalacticaFight Back?
During the court proceedings, Universal countered by asserting that George Lucas’ ‘brainchild’had drawn inspiration from several pre-existing science fiction works that Universal had licensed. Works such as such asBuck RogersandFlash Gordonwere presented as the evidence. This argument aimed to demonstrate thatStar Warswas not exceptionally unique in its central conflict, and it was true, at the core of itStar Warsdid share a striking resemblance to both the 1930s project. So much so, that even everyone’s favorite R2D2 also wasn’t safe, and was claimed to be a copy of the friendly robots fromSilent Running.
And a common string that bound all three forces really made it clear what was the fuss really about. The intricate connection of Dykstra’s involvement inSilent Running, Star Wars,andBattlestar Galacticaeffectively dispels any concerns of plagiarism among these works, and the court seemed to agree stating those were “only similar on the most general level of intellectual abstraction.” Although it can’t ever be clearly stated who copied who, both are timeless iconic pieces of work that fans continue to enjoy to this day.
Also Read:Daisy Ridley Almost Lost the Biggest Role of Her Career in Star Wars Because of Carrie Fisher’s Daughter
Source:Screen Rant
Sampurna Banerjee
Articles Published :1804
Sampurna Banerjee is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, and she’s written over 1,700 articles! She covers everything from celebrity news to the latest superhero buzz, streaming shows, and fan theories. If it’s trending in pop culture, Sampurna’s probably already on it.When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her rewatching The Office (again), getting into debates about Marvel’s timeline, or diving deep into Christopher Nolan movies for the hundredth time. She’s not just writing about entertainment, she’s living it.
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George Lucas
