Via Starwars.com:

The films of Akira Kurosawa were a constant source of inspiration for George Lucas as he worked on the Star Wars films and today we’ll set our sights on the 1957 classic Throne of Blood.

Throne of Blood is Kurosawa’s samurai-era retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth and centers around Toshiro Mifune (originally in the running as Obi-Wan Kenobi) as Washizu, a general who is prophesied to become the lord of Spider’s Web Castle. His wife goads him to make the prophecy become true by killing his lord and assuming his place, but paranoia and evil overtake him and his reign is ended violently.

The main character is introduced in a forest boiling in fog that creates mystical visions, much like the entire surface Dagobah. This is where Washizu is told that he will one day succeed his lord to become ruler himself, by a vengeful spirit that vanishes mysteriously after her message is delivered.

Click below to read the full article.