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Five films that inspired Star Wars Storytellers
Akira Kurosawa is still a great inspiration for many filmmakers
Dario Brajko
March 06, 2025
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Akira Kurosawa is a true inspiration
Five films that inspired Star Wars storytellers
Image credit: StarWars.com
No filmmakers’ work has had more of an impact on Star Wars creators than Akira Kurosawa. Whether you’re heading to Tokyo or following Star Wars Celebration Japan news from home, watching some of Kurosawa’s filmography that inspired George Lucas and countless other creators will give you a better appreciation for the galaxy far, far away.
Lucas first became aware of Kurosawa’s work while he was in film school at USC. In an interview with the Criterion Collection, he talked about the filmmaker’s impact. “It’s hard to really appreciate the true genius of Kurosawa until you’ve seen a few of the films and then you’ve been able to see other films at the same time and be able to realize his visual style,” said Lucas. “I think he comes from a generation of filmmakers that were still influenced by silent films. The visual graphics and the framing, just the quality of the images, go a long way to telling the story and setting the mood. You’re not going to find a lot of filmmakers that have the facile quality with the medium that Kurosawa had.”
Here are five Kurosawa films that inspired Lucas and the modern generation of Star Wars creators.
More information how exactly each Kurosawa movie had an impact in Star Wars culture and storytelling, you can find on this LINK.
Quote of the Week
“The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie.”
More of Baby Yoda? Yes please!
Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian Season 4: “Yeah, I’ve written it already.”
New Star Wars movie in 2026, but also new season 4 of The Mandalorian?
In a recent interview with French entertainment news program BFMTV INSIDE clipped by lenicolasbehar on X, The Mandalorian creator and showrunner Jon Favreau discussed a fourth season of the show.
“Season 4? Yeah, I’ve written it already. We have to know where we are going to tell a fully formed story. So, we had mapped it out, Dave [Filoni] and I. And then slowly you just write each episode. So I was writing it during post-production, because all of it has to feel like a continuation and one full story.”
"La saison 4 est déjà écrite"
📽️On a croisé @Jon_Favreau avec @clairefleury1.
On a parlé de la saison 3 #TheMandalorian, de la saison 4 aussi, de #Ahsoka, #SkeletonCrew 🔥
#StarWars#Grogu@BFMTV_Inside— 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫 (@lenicolasbehar)
5:15 PM • Feb 20, 2023
Favreau also discussed how the duo had to account for other projects and how they would affect the show and vice versa.
The Mandalorian & Grogu will be released on May 22nd, 2026, and is directed by Jon Favreau, and produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, and Dave Filoni. source
Trivia!
Did you know?
"What is Jabba’s complete name?“
“Jabba Desilijic Tiure.”
Three writers and no movie
Steven Knight believes much of his work will be kept by George Nolfi
It is believed that Steven Knight stopped working on Star Wars because of his busy schedule and working on Peaky Blinders at the same time.
Steven Knight, out promoting his new series, A Thousand Blows, spoke with Liam Kelly at The Telegraph about his role as a writer on the New Jedi Order film, and what he expects to see of his contributions to Star Wars.
Knight, whose career was already on a firm upward trajectory by the time he created Peaky Blinders, continues to operate a packed schedule with the release of Maria in January, A Thousand Blows this month, the Peaky Blinders film in post-production, a new show in the hopper about the Guinness brewing dynasty, and a new film studio in Birmingham named Digbeth Loc.
Steven Knight promoting Peaky Blinders
Asked about his contributions to the New Jedi Order film, Knight commented:
“There’s a system, and when you engage with it, you know what it is. You do your bit, you turn in your draft or drafts, as I did, and then the system moves on…I fully expect that substantial amounts of what I did will be in the movie – who knows? But that’s the expectation.”
Knight’s comments come after the news surfaced about the current writer at the helm of the New Jedi Order film, George Nolfi. Nolfi is part of the third rotation of writers working on the film, which was initially pitched and worked on by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. We don’t know exactly how much writing, or rewriting, needs to be done on the script at this point; however, Knight’s comments appear to somewhat echo the comments of others on the status of the film, including both Nolfi and Daisy Ridley who both alluded to the fact that there’s a fleshed out story at this time.
It certainly seems like the wheels of progress are turning, albeit very slowly, as comments continue to trickle in with an increasing mention of a cohesive story and less ambiguity around “ideas” and “direction.” That said, there is still no production schedule or release date for this film at this time. source
Comic book of the Week
Legacy of Vader
Legacy of Vader 2 is the upcoming second issue of the 2025 canon comic book series Star Wars: Legacy of Vader. The issue will be written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard, and published by Marvel Comics on March 12, 2025.
Image credit: Marvel Comics
Publishers summary
RETURN TO TATOOINE!
KYLO REN seeks out the home planet of his grandfather, ANAKIN SKYWALKER!
The young tyrant must go up against GARDULLA THE HUTT and her guards…and a RANCOR!
What secrets of the past blow in the harsh sands of MOS ESPA?
Meme of the week
THE END
End of this week Wookiee mail!
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