George Lucas is unarguably one of the best masters of science fiction storytelling, and the Star Wars saga only proves just how immensely talented he is. Not only has he created jaw-dropping storylines for this universe, but he has also introduced some of the most out-of-the-world characters. This also includes getting influenced by other universes and basing his own characters on them.
Surprisingly enough, Cad Bane, who is regarded as one of the most dangerous bounty hunters in this sci-fi universe, was created after Lucas was inspired by a character from Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy. But what’s iconic is that this particular bounty hunter is actually based on Lee Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes, the enigmatic character from the Clint Eastwood-starrer trilogy.
George Lucas Based Cad Bane on Lee Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes?
As it so seems: Yes. Yes, he did.
According to the official Star Wars blog (via Express.co.uk), one of the deadliest warriors in the galaxy, Bane is the result of an inspiration that the mastermind Lucas had after he watched the primary antagonist in the third film of the Dollars Trilogy, i.e. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Although surprising it may seem, it was Clint Eastwood‘s co-star Lee Van Cleef’s character Eyes that led to the birth of this particularly dangerous bounty hunter. And as unbelievable as many would find it, these two characters are more similar than one might expect.
The blog describes their similarities as:
“They both share the desire to disguise themselves as enemy forces (Eyes as a Union Soldier, Bane as a clone trooper) and they both wear iconic, wide-brimmed hats.”
Unarguably enough, that is as true as can be. But that’s not all: Besides being cold-blooded killers who are truly infatuated with money to the point of risking others’ lives for it, these two also play the same games with their victims by manipulating them mentally before harming them physically.
Needless to say, the blog further emphasizes this point. As Express.co.uk shares excerpts from the blog:
“Both Bane and Eyes speak with a knowing arrogance that comes from being lethal and intelligent.”
However, even these similarities aren’t all that practically connect these two characters to the core, for even their ends in their respective storylines have been more than just similar.
Cad Bane and Angel Eyes Even Have Similar Endings
While leading similar lives with similar personalities was one thing, George Lucas seems to have taken this “based-off” feature further up by a notch as both of these bounty hunters from the Star Wars saga and the Dollars Trilogy even face similar ends in their respective universes.
Just like Lee Van Cleef’s character is depicted as a brutal killer who heinously murders people before disappearing as mysteriously as he appears, Bane is portrayed in a similar manner, which has even earned him the title of being one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the entire saga.
Then there’s the end The Good, The Bad and The Ugly villain faces, which includes him getting gunned down after getting involved in a standoff. Unsurprisingly, this barbaric blue alien seemingly faces a similar end as Boba Fett stabs him in the chest in season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett.
However, there’s a plot twist here, because there’s a likely chance that the red-eyed formidable bounty hunter survived that attack and is still alive and may appear sometime later in the storyline, as fans have been speculating ever since (as per The Direct).
But no one knows that for sure as of yet, so we might as well call him a walking corpse.