where did the idea for star wars come from
Star Wars
In 1971 , Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial , but could n't obtain the rights . He began developing his own story inspired by the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs . Immediately after directing American Graffiti ( 1973 ) , Lucas wrote a two - page synopsis for his space opera , titled Journal of the Whills . After United Artists , Universal Studios and Disney rejected the film , 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it . Lucas felt his original story was too difficult to understand , so on April 17 , 1973 , he began writing a 13 - page script titled The Star Wars , sharing strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa 's The Hidden Fortress ( 1958 ) . By 1974 , he had expanded the script into the first draft of a screenplay , adding elements such as the Sith and the Death Star . Subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film . 
In 1971 , Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial , but could n't obtain the rights . He began developing his own story inspired by the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs . Immediately after directing American Graffiti ( 1973 ) , Lucas wrote a two - page synopsis for his space opera , titled Journal of the Whills . After United Artists , Universal Studios and Disney rejected the film , 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it . Lucas felt his original story was too difficult to understand , so on April 17 , 1973 , he began writing a 13 - page script titled The Star Wars , sharing strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa 's The Hidden Fortress ( 1958 ) . By 1974 , he had expanded the script into the first draft of a screenplay , adding elements such as the Sith and the Death Star . Subsequent drafts evolved into the script of the original film .
In 1971, Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial, but couldn't obtain the rights. He began developing his own story. Lucas felt his original story was too difficult to understand, so he began writing a 13 page script titled The Star Wars.
In 1971 , Lucas wanted to film an adaptation of the Flash Gordon serial , but could n't obtain the rights . He began developing his own story inspired by the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs . Lucas felt his original story was too difficult to understand , so on April 17 , 1973 , he began writing a 13 - page script titled The Star Wars , sharing strong similarities with Akira Kurosawa 's The Hidden Fortress ( 1958 ) .