Star Wars (franchise)

The Star Wars franchise is a landmark in science fiction, starting as a massively popular 1977 movie and progressing in sequels, prequels and other smaller spin-off films for over a span of more than forty years. It has also spawned a universe of TV series, comics, novels, toys, and more that continue to this day. Its influence on modern science fiction is incalculable, and the Transformers franchise has been no exception.

Involvement with Transformers

Generation 1

"Oh R2, I know he's probably braver than me, but you don't have to say it."

While no official connection between the two franchises existed in the Generation 1-era, Star Wars was a frequent influence on illustrators and production artists, who would slip Star Wars character designs into backgrounds or use Star Wars sound effects in animation. For example, an episode of the Victory anime shows Ewoks and Jawas among the inhabitants of an alien settlement, and the iconic droids C-3PO and R2-D2 make a very brief cameo in another episode.

In the American cartoon, the episode "The Gambler" features several visual references to Return of the Jedi, and the names and appearances of two film-actor characters (Harold Edsel and Karen Fishook in "Hoist Goes Hollywood") are plays off of the real-life Star Wars actors Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. In the audio production, the Star Wars sound-effect library was put to use throughout the series; for example, the TIE Fighter and Millennium Falcon engine-roars are commonly heard from jets and spaceships. Battle sounds include the swish and hum of a lightsaber and even the Death Star destroying the planet Alderaan. This sampling process even led to a bit of dialogue getting inadvertently reused: when a laser blast sound effect was lifted from a scene in The Empire Strikes Back in which C-3PO gets shot, a portion of the character's overlapping cry of "NO!" came along with it. Thus, when the sound effect was used in "Starscream's Ghost", "Only Human", and "The Rebirth, Part 1", Anthony Daniels' lingering yelp of "-O!" could be heard as well, thus giving him an unintentional, uncredited appearance.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Generation 1 Holiday Special.

In the Marvel comic series, the Dinobots are seen using a shuttle that looks very much like Boba Fett's Slave I, and the C-3PO design might have inspired some background characters in two issues. Incongruously, a filmmaker in another issue actually mentions the Star Wars movies. In a perhaps more tenuous link between the two franchises, CYRIL, the Editor Droid from the then-defunct Marvel UK Return of the Jedi comics, made a cameo in UK issue #99's Robo-Capers, as confirmed by Grimlock in response to a reader's question in issue #108's Grim Grams.

The Transformers: The Movie was marketed as "conceived in the epic tradition of Star Wars", and it's not hard to make comparisons between the two. The brash, young hero aided by a wizened elder in a quest to destroy a planet-killer with the last-minute assistance of a ghostly mentor? Somehow that seems a little familiar. The on-package bio for Springer, one of the movie characters, even described his sword as a "light saber", though it never remotely resembled the Star Wars weapon.

Universe

The exclusive toys at BotCon 2002 were branded as "Expanded Universe", which was clearly inspired by the Star Wars concept of the same name, indicating material not within the primary canon. After that BotCon, more toys and comics were produced in the same vein, but the name was shortened to Universe.

Attacktix

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

Hasbro launched its Attacktix figure-battle game using Star Wars characters, and Transformers soon followed. The figures were completely compatible in gameplay, and in fact an "Intergalactic Showdown" crossover pack pitted characters from the two franchises directly against each other. No fiction was provided to explain the circumstances; moreover, the Transformers involved came from multiple universes: the Unicron Trilogy, Generation 1, Universe, and (if Attacktix hadn't been cancelled) the live-action film series. And by the end, even Marvel Comics superheroes had joined the fray.

Crossovers

In 2006, Hasbro launched the Star Wars Transformers toyline, later rebranded Crossovers. Strictly speaking, this is only a "crossover" in terms of physical design, with Star Wars vehicles (or "mechs") turning into humanoid robots piloted by Star Wars characters. The story information in the bios and packaging blurbs only relates to the Star Wars universe, not Transformers.

The toys from 2006 through 2008 all feature little pilot mini-figures that sat in the toys' cockpits. Originally, this was done to make sure kids would not be confused and think that the giant robots were not piloted mecha but living robots like the Transformers. Starting with the Crossovers rebranding in 2009, however, the pilot mini-figures were dropped from the toys, and the "carryover" older toys were packed with the pilot figures already in the cockpits. Hasbro cited this as being both a cost-saving measure (thanks to rising manufacturing costs) and a move born of their discovery through play-testing that kids really weren't getting "piloted mech" and "living robot" confused ^[1] (also the likely reason such figures were not included for the Marvel Comics Crossovers toys).

Animated

Similar to the sound effects used throughout the Generation 1 cartoon, almost all scenes where Starscream or his clones appeared in flying, the podracer engine sound effect from The Phantom Menace was used for their jet engines.

Live-action film series

In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (the title itself uncannily similar to a Star Wars movie released just a few years earlier), R2-D2 appears hidden in a pile of "desert junk," making this his second film cameo appearance in 2009.

The marketing for the first Transformers live-action movie included an alternate-reality game that stated Reggie Simmons and John Ho had attended the premiere of Star Wars at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on May 25, 1977. However, this is of dubious relevance to the universe presented in the actual Transformers films, since the ARG also claimed that the Transformers movie was part of a counter-intelligence campaign by Simmons' Sector Seven organization to discredit claims of the existence of alien robots. Make of that what you will.

Fiction

TransTech

Star Wars is popular among the humans living on Axiom Nexus. In honor of "Star Wars Pun Day", Andromeda had Nightbeat do an R2-D2 impression on her ANN show. Rook's favorite film in the franchise was Episode II, and he was chilled to the circuits by the ending of Episode LXXIV, spoiled to him by a resident from the Malgus Cluster. Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/05/04

Toys

Attacktix

Intergalactic Showdown (Multi-pack, 2006)

• AT-RT with Clone Pilot
• Darth Vader
• Luke Skywalker

Crossovers/Star Wars Transformers

Bounty Hunters

• Cad Bane / Xanadu Blood | 2010
• Boba Fett / Slave 1 | 2006
• Jango Fett / Slave 1 (redeco of Boba Fett) | 2007

Galactic Empire

• AT-AT Driver / AT-AT | 2007
• Darth Vader / TIE Advanced Fighter | 2006
• Darth Vader / TIE Advanced Fighter (2-pack light-gray repaint) | 2007
• Darth Vader / Sith Starfighter (retooled redeco of Obi-Wan Kenobi) | 2006
• Darth Vader / Death Star | 2007
• Darth Vader / Star Destroyer | 2011
• Emperor Palpatine / Imperial Shuttle | 2006
• Emperor Palpatine / Imperial Shuttle (black deco) | 2009
• Imperial Trooper / AT-AT (Endor 'forest stain' deco) | 2009
• TIE Pilot / TIE Bomber | 2008

Jedi Order

• Ahsoka Tano / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2009
• Anakin Skywalker / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Obi-Wan Kenobi) | 2006
• Anakin Skywalker / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2008
• Anakin Skywalker / The Twilight | 2010
• Anakin Skywalker / Y-Wing | 2010
• Kit Fisto / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2009
• Mace Windu / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Obi-Wan Kenobi) | 2007
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (Episode III model) | 2006
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (2-pack blue repaint) | 2007
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2008
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (single-pack version of the blue repaint) | 2008
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (repackage of the first toy) | 2008
• Obi-Wan Kenobi / Jedi Starfighter (new retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2010
• Plo Koon / Jedi Starfighter (retooled redeco of Saesee Tiin) | 2009
• Saesee Tiin / Jedi Starfighter (Episode II model) | 2007
• Yoda / Republic Shuttle | 2010

Rebel Alliance

• Han Solo and Chewbacca / Millennium Falcon (combiner) | 2007
• Luke Skywalker / X-wing Fighter | 2006
• Luke Skywalker / Snowspeeder | 2007

Galactic Republic

• Captain Rex / AT-TE | 2009
• Captain Rex / Freeco Bike | 2010
• Clone Pilot / ARC-170 Starfighter | 2006
• Clone ARC Pilot / ARC-170 Starfighter (tigershark redeco) | 2006
• Clone Pilot / Republic Gunship | 2007
• Clone ARC Pilot / Republic Gunship (tigershark redeco) | 2008
• Clone Pilot / Republic Gunship (redeco and retool without gunner pods) | 2009
• Clone Pilot / V-19 Torrent Starfighter | 2009
• Clone Pilot / V-wing Starfighter (redeco and retool of Shock Trooper) | 2009
• Clone Commander Cody / Turbo Tank | 2007
• Lieutenant Thire / Republic Attack Cruiser | 2010
• Shock Trooper / V-wing Starfighter | 2009
• Y-wing Pilot / Y-wing | 2010

Confederacy of Independent Systems

• Battle Droid / AAT | 2009
• General Grievous / Wheel Bike | 2006
• General Grievous / Grievous's Starfighter | 2008
• MagnaGuard / MagnaGuard Starfighter | 2009

Sith Order

• Darth Maul / Sith Infiltrator | 2006

Star Wars/Transformers

• TIE Advanced x1 (Darth Vader) | 2018
• Millennium Falcon (Han Solo/Chewbacca) | 2018

Collaborative

• The Mandalorian / N-1 Starfighter | 2025

Notes

• While Transformers fiction is chock-full of Star Wars references, there is very little of the same in the opposite direction (outside of the Crossovers toys, of course). The only known direct reference is the name "Project Starscream", given to a plan by the Empire to breed super-soldiers.
• In a happy coincidence, the pilot figures from the pre-Crossovers Star Wars Transformers are about the same size as Diaclone pilot figures. This means that if one desires, they can be placed into the cockpits of the Diaclone-derived Transformers.
• Disney has owned Star Wars since 2012.

References

External links

• The Official Star Wars Website
• Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki