Star Wars – A New Hope
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$196 – 215MM V $236MM
Mythosis universal quests used
7
Audience appeal
37.62% – 41.58%
Script Score
1.20
Star Wars – A New Hope written and directed by George Lucas is one of the most influential movies of cinematic history. The plot structure is made by interweaving 7 mythological tales, unfortunately it has been reduced to a template of Hero’s Journey!
1. The invisible plot structure of Star Wars: A New Hope
1A. The script borrows 98% of its events from 7 mythological tales
Darth Vader’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders. The quest borrows events from the tale of Duryodhan in Hindu mythology. Duryodhan’s treacherous plans to reclaim the kingdom from his cousins is similar to Darth Vader trying to find the rebels.
Luke’s quest is driven by the desire for honour & loyalty. The quest borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Luke demonstrate unquestioned loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves for a cause.
Obi-Wan’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat. The quest borrows events from the tale of Noah in Abrahamic mythology. Both Noah & Obi-Wan look for a safe passage to protect others from a calamity.
Every human desire has two quests - a fulfilled one and also an unfulfilled one. Star Wars – A New Hope uses both quests for the desire of preservation.
Tarkin’s quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat. The quest borrows events from the tale of Kans in Hindu mythology. Both Kans & Tarkin a recognize a threat but fail to neutralize it.
Han Solo’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Han Solo are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart and sacrifice their interest.
R2D2 have an under developed quest, driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object. The quest borrows events from the tale of Jason in Greek mythology. Jason’s desire to find The Golden Fleece is shared by R2D2 trying to reach Obi-Wan.
Princess Leia’s has an under developed quest driven by the need to maintain stability and borrows events from the tale of Ram from Hindu mythology.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#24,882,156
Tales interweaved
Duryodhan, Kans, Noah, Hanuman & Valmiki
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Star Wars: A New Hope's plot structure: $196 – 215MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Star Wars: A New Hope
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Star Wars: A New Hope uses 5 universal quests of Vengeance, Honour, Accumulation and both quests of Preservation. The quests of Expedition & Order are sparsely used.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Obi-Wan mirrors the universal fulfilled quest of Preservation whereas Tarkin mirrors the unfulfilled quest of Preservation. Darth Vader mirrors the quest of Vengeance whereas Luke mirrors the quest of Honour. Han Solo mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Luke borrows 54% events from the quest for Honour. Darth Vader borrows 46% events from the quest for Vengeance. Obi-Wan & Tarkin borrow 29% & 33% events from their respective quests of Preservation. Han Solo borrows 28% of the quest of Accumulation.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Star Wars: A New Hope quest interweaving is 0.7 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Luke & Darth Vader:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Star Wars: A New Hope
The plot structure effectively uses as many as 7 mythological tales.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
1.20
Audience appeal
37.62% - 41.58%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Star Wars: A New Hope
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Darth Vader mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Darth Vader’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to confront offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
Quest 2: Luke mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Luke’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal to a clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Obi-Wan mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Obi-Wan’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 4: Tarkin mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Tarkin’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 5: Han Solo mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Han Solo’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
A strong plot structure with no gaps
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Star Wars: A New Hope is a subset of Mythosis plot structure # 24,882,156. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan, Kans, Noah, Hanuman & Valmiki.
Contact us for Mythosis plot structure # 24,882,156.
Tags: Jason, Hanuman, Noah, Duryodhan, Kans, Valmiki, Accumulation, Preservation, Honour, Expedition, Vengeance, George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd., 20th Century-Fox, 1977