Let’s face it: Star Wars shouldn’t have worked out. As it is, it was a sci-fi fairy tale made when the greater part of Hollywood was turning out dirty, character-driven shows like The Godfather, Chinatown, Rocky, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It featured a modest bunch of obscure on-screen characters (and Sir Alec Guinness) and a man in a leather suit. It starts with 20 minutes of robots meandering through a desert. Its fundamental villain is a space wizard.
However, Star Wars reinvented the whole Hollywood machinery. Without Star Wars, we most likely wouldn’t have Indiana Jones, the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the Harry Potter movies.
What’s more, it came so near never happening. Here’s how;
1. George Lucas had wanted to make Flash Gordon, not Star Wars
As a kid, Lucas cherished the old Flash Gordon serials that played before a film’s matinee shows, and later re-circulated on TV. After Lucas’ debut film, the sci-fi thriller THX 1138, failed in exciting viewers and critics, Lucas needed to make something that flaunted his more human side. Flash Gordon, which blended high-stakes experiences with very individual stories, appeared like an impeccable fit.
In 1971, while raising cash for American Graffiti, Lucas and his companion, Francis Ford Coppola halted by King Features Syndicate, which published Alex Raymond’s original Flash Gordon funny cartoon and claimed the rights to the character.
The reasons why Lucas and King didn’t achieve an understanding is misty. Lucas says that King needed Italian director Federico Fellini to rudder the venture, and wanted 80 %of the film’s gross. Star Wars maker Gary Kurtz reviews,
“They weren’t averse to discussing it, but their restrictions were so draconian that we realized right away that it wasn’t really a great prospect at the time.”
Either way, there was no deal made. If the deal had been made, Flash would’ve hit the wide screen three years sooner than he actually did. In addition to this, Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest would be non-existant.
2. Sci-fi wasn’t famous
Universal isn’t the only studio that passed on Star Wars. Initially, Lucas had a deal to make two movies with United Artists. Eventually, United Artists declined both. With respect to Star Wars, well, as indicated by executives sci-fi simply didn’t sell well.
Disney and Star Wars passed on Star Wars for precisely the same. They weren’t really wrong, either. Star Wars maker Gary Kurtz claims that Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey took seven years to profit. Finally, it wasn’t Star Wars that got the attention of 20th Century Fox president Alan Ladd, Jr. It was Lucas. As indicated by Lucas, Ladd stated that he loved American Graffiti and approved of whatever he did. In 1973, Lucas signed a deal to compose and direct Star Wars for Fox, and quickly got the chance to work.
