A Timeless Quest: Star Wars as an Adaptation of The Quest for the Holy Grail Mythos

Legends about King Arthur are a recurring theme in Western culture. Reworked, reimagined, historicized, and fantastic, the last century has seen numerous versions of Arthurian myth across various media. Adapted as a whole, or just with certain elements, Arthuriana remains the source of themes and concepts constantly present in contemporary culture. This paper aims to examine how the traces of the particular concept of the quest for the Holy Grail can be found in the Star Wars movies parts I-VI, and to argue that such traces were put there intentionally, to tap into the audience’s expectations regarding myths and heroic stories, and thus to give space adventure the qualities of an ancient myth. This is possible due to the mutable and flexible nature of the Holy Grail itself, which functions as a vessel for new ideals and motifs as it has for centuries.