Via Starwars.com:

THE STORY OF A BOY FORCED TO LIVE ON HIS OWN DURING WORLD WAR II WOULD COME TO INFLUENCE LUCASFILM’S STAR WARS REBELS.

Steven Spielberg has always been a large influence on Star Wars and his 1987 film, Empire of the Sun, is no different. Based on an autobiographical novel by J.G. Ballard, Empire of the Sun is set in Shanghai at the onset of World War II. It tells the story of Jim, a young English boy played by Christian Bale. He’s separated from his parents as the war begins and it shows his struggles to survive the war on his own. He’s thrown in with lowlifes like Basie and Frank, played by John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano, and then placed into an internment camp and left to fend for himself.

At a panel at Salt Lake Comic Con this year, Pablo Hidalgo remarked that Empire of the Sun was a huge influence on Ezra Bridger’s character and I thought that was a perfect opportunity to revisit one of my favorite Spielberg films.

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