16 things Star Wars stole from Dune that you simply cannot unsee
By Anwesha Nag
4. The Fremen and the Tusken Raiders
When I saw Dune for the first time without having read the book but having watched all of Star Wars, I said to myself, "These blue-eyed people are like the Tusken Raiders." Then I read the book and went on Google, and I quite understood why: it is because they almost are.
The Tuskens are one of the more obvious things George Lucas borrowed from Dune for Star Wars. But once again, like the desert and the spice, they don't contribute much to plot of Star Wars, whereas the desert-dwelling Fremen people are crucial to the plot of Dune. Moreover, the way Lucas painted the Tuskens as being viscerally primitive savages with barely-there human traits has garnered some heavy criticism over the years.
Denis Villeneuve does not make that mistake, nor can he afford to. The Fremen are essential to the story of Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet. Watching the movies from his perspective, we see that while the Fremen are indeed desert nomads who raid mining operations of the ruling Harkonnens, they do it for good reason, and are extremely proficient in technology, warfare, and the ways of the desert.
Lucas' oversight in the Star Wars movies was somewhat fixed inthe Disney+ show The Book of Boba Fett, where we see the Sand People take Boba Fett in after he survives the Sarlacc pit. Through his eyes, we learn about their culture, customs, and traditions, giving the indigenous tribe the proper identity they always deserved.
5. The Force and The Voice
The Force is the principal metaphysical energy in Star Wars, which is eerily similar to the Weirding Way of the Bene Gesserit in Dune, better known as The Voice.
Connecting all lives in the galaxy, the Force offers many abilities to its users, both the Jedis and the Siths. Among them is the power of telepathy or "Jedi mind trick" that lets the user manipulate other people's thoughts and actions.
The Voice is a similar power used by the Bene Gesserit to control others' actions using spoken words. However, the Jedis' mind control is done more subtly, with the recipients seeming to things of their own free will. In Dune and Dune 2, The Voice is presented as a strong force of command that compels people to act, even against their interests. One of the most powerful moments in Dune: Part Two is when Paul uses The Voice to silence the Emperor's Reverend Mother in the final sequence of the movie.