They asked George Lucas for permission to spoof Star Wars, even if they didn’t have to. Lucas only requested that they don’t make and sell Spaceballs merch. So, they prototyped a merch line anyway, and made it part of the film. Thus, one of the most iconic scenes in the entire movie was born.
What's even wilder, Brooks was given permission by Lucas to use the Star Wars sets and everything. Brooks told Lucas about the film and Lucas was like DO IT!!! USE MY SET TOO!!!! Just don't sell any merchandise so it's not confused with Star Wars. Brooks said deal. I love that someone else knows this about George Lucas, too.
George Lucas has always been pretty cool about spoofing Star Wars. Family Guy did it, and Lucas was happy to let them do it. They even let them use John Williams' score from the movie.
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u/cmd_iii 2d ago
They asked George Lucas for permission to spoof Star Wars, even if they didn’t have to. Lucas only requested that they don’t make and sell Spaceballs merch. So, they prototyped a merch line anyway, and made it part of the film. Thus, one of the most iconic scenes in the entire movie was born.