Star Wars’ Barely-Hidden World War II References
And where the franchise should go next
As somebody who enjoyed the original Star Wars trilogy as a young child, completely soured on the franchise as a young adult when the prequels came out, and has rekindled his love for the films in recent years with the sequels and “anthology” films Rogue One and Solo, it’s been intriguing to read predictions about where the Star Wars universe will go next.
A Boba Fett anthology film now appears to be in the works, and there’s been much discussion of an Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff, which would allow Ewan McGregor (whose dead-on Sir Alec Guinness impression was one of the few redeeming features of the prequels) to reprise the role of Luke Skywalker’s original mentor.
However, few today remember that the original Star Wars trilogy was, in so many ways, an allegory for World War II. I’ve never met a fellow historian who wasn’t fascinated by this, and fond of uncovering the franchise’s many nods to both ancient and modern human history. World War II references abound throughout the original films, as well as the prequels and sequels. Virtually everything about the Galactic Empire appears to be lifted from the rise and fall of the Third Reich — from Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power through a weak democratic system to the Albert Speer-eque architecture of…
