Tony Atkinson
2 min readAug 29, 2021

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Aside from the distinct possibility that Dune is too dense a text to be converted successfuly into a film -it's potential as a GoT style TV series is clear - the tropes you mention are common enough to make the drawing of direct lines between the two uncertain.

When one considers, for instance, the 'Star Warts' theory which declares that JKR drew her inspiration for the Harry Potter books directly from Star Wars, so that Harry is Luke, Ron and Hermione are Han and Leia, Snape is Vader and Voldemort Palpatine, one sees how false contructs are drawn from a lack of awareness of older themes.

There is a superficial resemblance between Harry and Luke, a resemblance both share with King Arthur, Theseus, Perseus and even Moses. Children raised ignorant of their true parentage and destiny until adolescence or young adulthood. But there the resemblance ends. It is a common theme. Harry Potter as a character is clearly far more inspired by James T Kirk than Luke Skywalker!

The idea of Paul Atreides as a source for Anakin Skywalker is also stretching matters. Paul spends the entirety of the first novel trying to prevent the Jihad, but is always forced by circumstances (and often his own rigid Atreides morality) into decisions which make the Jihad inevitable. It is Anakins' impatience with and defiance of the Jedi code that pushes him into bad decisions and makes him open to the manipulations of Palpatine.

Ultimately, Star Wars is Space Opera, with the lines between Good and Evil ( the Force and the Dark Side) clearly drawn. Dune, on the other hand, is Science Fiction and as such takes a more nuanced and realistic approach, showing us a good man at the mercy of amoral forces (history, human nature, genetics) which he understands, but is ultimately incapable of escaping or controlling.

Finally, of course, we can say of both that the creators should have stopped at the end of the first novel/film trilogy. Sequels and prequels were both unnecessary and of inferior quality.

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Tony Atkinson
Tony Atkinson

Written by Tony Atkinson

Snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, walker of paths less travelled by. Writer of fanfiction. Player of games. argonaut57@gmail.com

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