10 Biggest (And Weirdest) Lawsuits In Star Wars History
5. The Force Is Too Strong With Battlestar Galactica
Though George Lucas and 20th Century Fox had very little faith in the film, it became apparent that Star Wars was a massive success almost as soon as it debuted in 1977. And where there's a massive success, there are copycats.
Wanting to have its own blockbuster space-set franchise, Universal went ahead and produced the TV series Battlestar Galactica, which debuted in 1978. Revolving around warrior robots, spaceships, and a galactic war, the similarities to Star Wars were readily apparent, something that Fox couldn't help but notice.
As a result, the studio decided to sue Universal for copyright infringement, but this move didn't have the result they thought it would. The Central District of California granted summary judgment, believing that Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica "were only similar on the most general level of intellectual abstraction."
Basically, they were both set in space.
The case was soon remanded and settled, and Battlestar Galactica was ultimately cancelled in 1979. It was later revived in 2004, going on to become one of the most critically-lauded TV shows of recent times. Take that, Star Wars.