In the new era of film punditry, it’s fairly commonplace for people to offer the latest and greatest “hot take” that is going to send Film Twitter into a tizzy. But never did we think that the latest “Star Wars” hot take would come from the legendary author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Margaret Atwood.
The 78-year-old Atwood was speaking to Variety earlier this week and she dropped some fire about “Star Wars,” linking the classic sci-fi franchise to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She describes how a 2000 opera of ‘Handmaid’s’ started with the Twin Towers being blown up. Of course, in 2001, that would come true, due to the terrorist attack.
“They didn’t get that idea from my opera, don’t worry. They got the idea from ‘Star Wars,’” said Atwood. “Remember the first one? Two guys fly a plane in the middle of something and blow that up? The only difference is, in ‘Star Wars,’ they get away. Right after 9/11, they hired a bunch of Hollywood screenwriters to tell them how the story might go next. Sci-fi writers are very good at this stuff, anticipating future events. They don’t all come true, but there are interesting ‘what if’ scenarios.”
Later in the week, Atwood was again approached by Variety, where she was asked to discuss this opinion more. Or, perhaps, to retract the whole take completely. Atwood doubles down and explains why she was right the first time.
“Flying a vehicle into a target to blow it up, okay. ‘Star Wars’ is fiction so he gets out but Japanese kamikaze pilots did the same thing, so it’s not a new thing and it’s not an original thought with me. I just thought people already knew that, but I guess some people are so young that they forgot about that,” says the author.
So, maybe she meant that the 9/11 terrorists were influenced by World War II? Or is she saying that the Japanese pilots influenced “Star Wars,” that then influenced the terrorists? Either way, Atwood has some thoughts about “Star Wars,” that’s for sure.
Margaret Atwood stands by her comment that "Star Wars" inspired 9/11 terrorists (Watch) https://t.co/9Ajg6XRPqi pic.twitter.com/COCIsN5c5M
— Variety (@Variety) April 13, 2018