The Strangest Star Wars Comparision You Will Ever Read

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I may be overselling this.

So, I was thinking about Finn from the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, the Stormtrooper who becomes one of the heroes. A lot of people say he had wasted potential and I'm inclined to agree. When I hear the concept for the character, the first thing I think of is "morally conflicted villain," but he isn't that at all. That's more Kylo Ren's thing. Finn never believed in the First Order and really doesn't do anything we normally associate with Stormtroopers before he switches sides. So what is his role?

Then I thought, you know who he reminds me of? Cornelius Hackl from "Hello, Dolly!" (The character who sings those two songs they later used in "Wall-E.")

Bear with me:

Here is a man who works for a boss so mean that he's never gotten a day off. Finally, he snaps and abandons his post, accompanied by a male friend. He gains the help of a powerful woman and pretends to be something he's not. Later, he visits a fancy location where a lot of rich people hang out. And then he finally gets to kiss a girl for the first time.

So I had to skim over a lot of plot points to make this comparison work, but considering how disparate "Star Wars" and "Hello, Dolly!" are, I still think it's not bad.

In "Last Jedi," they kind of try to give Finn the Han Solo-style arc of going from being "selfish" to devoting himself to the Rebellion/Resistance. But I don't think it's as satisfying because, like Cornelius, Finn has been pushed around all his life and he's never gotten to get out and live! Then, he gets to go to a casino planet and he's like, "Wow, what a fun place!" For the first time in his life. And Rose is like "No, look closer -- actually, all the most depressing things in the universe are happening right within view!" Can you imagine if that happened to Cornelius when he finally went to New York City?! I know Cornelius wasn't on a serious mission to save Space Democracy like Finn was...but, still!

With Han's arc in "A New Hope," it's more satisfying, because he's not only "selfish," he's clearly been living this way for some time and he thinks everyone who doesn't think like him is a fool. In that sense, he's more like the character of Horace Vandergelder from "Hello, Dolly!" A character so stubborn, he needs the intervention of an equally forceful character like Dolly Gallagher Levi (or Leia) in order to change.

Whereas Finn is more of a pushover. He does get a couple of Cornelius' triumphs. He gets to tell off his boss. He gets to kiss the girl. (Doesn't get a relationship with her, though, as Rose is effectively written out of the story after that). But in "Rise of Skywalker," he's pretty much reduced to yelling "REY!! !" and becoming sort-of Force Sensitive.

Maybe if Finn had gotten to leave and find himself and then decided to come back to the Resistance on his own, it would have made for a more satisfying character arc?

Anyway, if nothing else, there's a weird comparison for you.

16 reasons why Star Wars and Harry Potter are secretly EXACTLY the same.

May the 'orphan fighting evil with magic pointy sticks' be with you!

1. Important orphan is hidden by bearded gent so evil forces won't find him.

2. Important orphan grows up not knowing he's important but wishing he was
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3. Ah, but his adopted parents totally know his secret, the swines!

4. Old friends of real parents come to help him find his destiny, acting as exposition device and non-speaking sidekick .

5. Meets female companion on the way who's way more badass than him.

6. You think she'll hook up with him but she gets with his funny mate instead.

7. Orphan meets up with the old bearded gent who becomes his father figure.

8. Bearded father figure helps orphan learn ways of ancient magic with big wands.

9. Orphan finds he has a natural gift for important things despite no training.

10. But evil forces are searching for him, with eyes on the ground.

11. Meanwhile, orphan larks around having tussles with the bad guy's underlings.

12. Bearded father figure faces down bad guy in a battle of red and blue lasers.

13. Father figure is killed, but it's for the greater good.

14. Orphan finds out baddy has a personal connection with him.

15. Orphan faces big, electric-firing baddy in hand-to-hand combat.

16. Orphan wins and everybody's happy.


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^ That's all well laid out, but it doesn't surprise me that "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" have similarities. They're both modern updates on the classic hero's journey. And who did the filmmakers of "Harry Potter" turn to for the musical score? John Williams. They knew what was up.

Ursula Le Guin wrote about fellow fantasy author JK Rowling, "The only thing that rankles me is her apparent reluctance to admit that she ever learned anything from other writers."

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J. K. Rowling may have many virtues, but originality does not seem to be one of them.

As mentioned, I think this is kind of inevitable, given that they're both retelling the same kind of age-old story.

Also, Ron being Han Solo is a bit of a stretch, other than him being the male friend. I don't really see Ron as an older, cynical, slightly dangerous loner who eventually comes around to liking the hero.

BTW, I don't think the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy was deliberately copying from "Hello, Dolly!" In fact I think the trilogy could have benefitted from copying from it! However, I do think Lucas deliberately borrowed from films that were popular in the 80s and 90s for "Phantom Menace," such as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" -- fully animated character with long ears interacts with human characters and comically annoys them with his antics -- and "Home Alone" -- smart little kid character outwits adult bad guys.

I consider Severus Snape to be a closer fit to that description than Ron.


"There is no such thing as a new idea.  It is impossible.  We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.  We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.  We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages." -- Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review