George Lucas sets himself up for a multi-billion dollar franchise with the release of Star Wars: A New Hope more than 30 years ago. This was the first film to use 3D animated graphics and has raked in nearly $800 million internationally not accounting for the other five films, according to The Numbers. In short, the film is about conflicts between two opposing groups, featuring un-human like creatures, with a little taste of romance (between humans only). The Star Wars Saga is a master piece in itself and there's no need to further explain why it has been so successful.

Fast forward to today, and James Cameron writes and directs an alien love story entitled Avatar. Well, not really but watch the previews and you'll notice it incorporates stunning visual effects and an interesting plot that involves a paraplegic war veteran, Jake Skully (Sam Worthington), who is brought to the planet Pandora—not to be confused with Pandora Radio—in the form of a Na'vi as his avatar, hence the title of the movie. Na'vis are the humanoid species that occupy the planet which the humans have an interest for. He meets and grows a bond with one of the inhabitants, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and is faced with the decision to choose which side to stand for: the Na'vi people or his military unit.



So what might this film have in common with Star Wars? Here are 5 main similarities:

1) Visual Effects
Star Wars is known for the use of computer generated imagery in its films. The original three films had elements of CGI in them but the prequel trilogy kept the bar high to today's standards thanks to the Oscar-winning company Industrial Light & Magic. Avatar also rates high in terms of visual effects with the help of a New Zealand based company called Weta Digital. They have been involved in films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong (2005 film) and District 9 to name a few.

2) "ET Phone Home"
Both films consist of un-Earthly beings as part of their story and even though ET doesn't appear in neither of the films (though his cousins show up in Revenge of the Sith) these creatures are sure to keep audiences interested.

3) New Language Invented
It's no surprise that there are multiple languages featured in Star Wars but James Cameron wanted the Na'vi to speak their own language. So he hired a USC professor and linguistics expert, Paul Frommer, to make one from scratch. The language is a complete system and has more than 1000 words. Depending on how hooked fans become with the film, you might just hear people speaking the Na'vi language as proficient as fanboys speaking fluent Huttese.

4) Lucas vs Cameron
My money is on Cameron but if we're talking about film making, both are in high respects. James Cameron has directed films such as Terminator II: Judgement Day and the highest grossing film to date,Titanic, making over $1.8 billion and winning 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. George Lucas has a little bit more under his belt working on films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark in addition to the three sequels, the Star Wars Saga, and other projects spanning from video games to comic books.

5) Big Budget
In an interview between The Wrap and a Fox spokesperson, the budget for Avatar cost approximately $237 million to make and $150 million was spent to promote the movie. Star Wars: A New Hope on the other hand was worth a measly $32 million in production costs, but most recently Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith whopped in $115 million. Both films have invested a lot of money and have clearly built up hype amongst movie affectionados.

Renowned film critic, Roger Ebert comments on Avatar after watching the screening:

I felt sort of the same as when I saw Star Wars in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations.

The film is opening in 55 countries, 23 of which are today, before finally being released in the United States tomorrow on December 18. The film will be available in IMAX theaters in 3D.

Sources:
Avatar Official Movie Website
The Numbers
Rogerebert.com
Vanity Fair
The Wrap

Watch Avatar theatrical trailer here.