InfluenceMEDIUM
Barsoom influenced Star Wars
Added by · 8 August 2026
The evidence
- Foundation : Barsoom was part of the pulp/planetary-romance tradition Lucas drew on when developing Star Wars. Most importantly, the earliest Journal of the Whills draft (which became Star Wars) directly parallels Burroughs's A Fighting Man of Mars.
- Genre : Barsoom helped establish the formula of science fiction + fantasy + swordplay + alien worlds + princesses + monsters + adventure that Star Wars adopted.
- Worldbuilding : Desert worlds, ancient civilizations, strange species, warrior cultures, exotic cities and a mixture of advanced technology with archaic societies are very Barsoomian.
- Narrative : The outsider hero entering an exotic planet, becoming a warrior, encountering alien cultures, rescuing/fighting for a princess, and participating in large-scale adventure are classic Barsoom patterns.
Discussion
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