The Hero's Journey In Star Wars IV: A New Hope

The Hero’s Journey is a theory that was thought up by an American researcher, Joseph Campbell. This theory is widely portrayed throughout many Hollywood films including the Star Wars franchise, which is a well-known Hollywood film loved by many. The first Star Wars film: Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977), is directed and written by George Lucas. The main character and hero (the protagonist) is Luke Skywalker, who finds his way through the seven stages of the Hero’s Journey. The latest film: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (2015), is very similar in story line not only with the theory of The Hero’s Journey but it also seems to follow a similar sequence of events that unfolded in the first film released.

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In the first act of the films you can clearly see the Hero’s Journey start to take place with the 3 stages, Ordinary World, Call to Adventure and Crossing the Threshold. We start with stage one, ordinary world, where both films are similar. In Star Wars IV Luke Skywalker is an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle on the desert planet Tatooine. He becomes frustrated with the boring life the planet brings him and craves a bit of adventure in his life. In Star Wars II we have Rey who is also on a desert planet called Jakku. She

is awaiting her parents return. After being abandoned on the planet around the age of five she has grown up here all her life. It is clear to see that stage one of both films are very similar and this carry’s on throughout the film. In the last two stages of the first act we will continue to see similarities between the films. In stage two both movies have the main character meet up with their mentors and Rey meets BB8. Luke receives the message from Princess Leia who is pleading for help against the empire. In stage three Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed and he is now free to leave Tatooine and help the Princess. Rey finds Luke’s old Lightsabre and with guidance from Maaz she realises that she must look to the future not the past.
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At act two of the Hero’s Journey, more skills and information are unlocked with the two stages, Challenges and Obstacles, The Abyss/Dark Zone. On the planet of Takodana Rey is in Maaz’s complex which mirrors the interior of the cantina bar on Mos Eisly in the first film. While Rey is in there they get attacked by the first order and then a counter attack by the resistance. This is very similar in the first film released, Star Wars IV, where Luke and all his accomplices, including the now freed princess Leia, are in the cantina where their also attacked. Luke also watches as his mentor, Obi 1 Kenobi, gets slain as him and his friends escape. Luke must now face his greatest challenge, defeating the Death star. Rey has been drip fed bits of information, and like Luke, Rey now has to face her greatest challenge, facing Kylo Ren and defeating the Starkiller planet.

In the last act of the film we watch on as the main characters of the films finish there conquest and return home.

Luke is followed by the death star back to the rebel alliance. After the fleet sent to destroy the death star suffers many losses it is up to Luke with the help of the supernatural assistance of his mentor to destroy the death star. This follows the Hero’s Journey stage 5, the final conflict just like Star Wars VII. In this act Rey is able to tap into the force to temporally defeat Kylo Ren. Now able to piece together the map at the centre of the quest, Rey returns to Luke where he has been on his own for many years and gives him his lightsabre. In the other film, Star Wars IV, Luke has now matured and is rewarded as a

hero.

As expected, both of the films follow the Hero’s Journey theory and link together with very similar events that the main characters have to undertake during the film. We have learnt from these two films that the Hero’s Journey is a reliable theory and applies to many Hollywood classics and new releases.