45 Years Ago, James Cameron Helped Make A Disastrous Star Wars Rip-Off Every Sci-Fi Fan Tried To Forget

James Cameron’s first major step into the world of science-fiction saw him work on a Star Wars rip-off that has turned into a cult classic over the years, but many would rather forget. Jim Cameron has gone on to become one of the most celebrated and influential filmmakers in history, earning the position of the second-highest-grossing director ever – just behind Steven Spielberg – thanks to his work on the likes of The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and the Avatar film series. Everyone starts somewhere, though, and Cameron’s early projects weren’t nearly as successful as his later works.

Before he made his move into directing with the reviled Piranha II: The Spawning – which he has renounced – in 1982, and the much more popular The Terminator in 1984, James Cameron worked instead in other roles. He was a production assistant on Rock ‘n’ Roll High School in 1979, and then joined producer extraordinaire Roger Corman’s New World Pictures as a model maker and art director. This saw him become involved with one of the biggest cult classic sci-fi movies from the 1980s, but you might have forgotten Cameron was even involved with this divisive movie.

Battle Beyond the Stars Was One of James Cameron’s First Movies

Regularly referred to as a rip-off of Star Wars, which released its first instalment, A New Hope, in May 1977, Battle Beyond the Stars hit theaters only two months after the Star Wars franchise’s sophomore movie, The Empire Strikes Back. James Cameron worked on Battle Beyond the Stars as an art director, earning his salt before making the move to directing only two years later. The movie received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, but was still a moderate box office success and earned a number of award nominations, including one for its innovative special effects.

This would start James Cameron’s career in special effects as it meant to go on, as he has since become well-known for using groundbreaking special effects techniques. It’s just a shame the starts of his career are tied to this divisive movie. Inspired directly by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai from 1954, and its 1960 Western remake, The Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Stars also clearly took notes from Star Wars. It delivered the space opera story of a young farmhand, Shad, who is hunted by a tyrannical warlord and realizes his destiny as a galactic savior and ruler – sound familiar?

James Cameron’s Work With Roger Corman Gives Him a Connection to the Fantastic Four

While Battle Beyond the Stars might have taken its story from Star Wars, with Richard Thomas’ Shad following in the footsteps of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, James Cameron’s work with Roger Corman also gave him a connection to another legendary sci-fi project. James Cameron had moved on from Roger Corman by 1994, which meant that he didn’t work on Corman’s live-action adaptation of Marvel’s First Family. The Fantastic Four, produced by Corman and Constantin Film president Bernd Eichinger, ultimately went unreleased, but bootleg copies released in the years since have turned it into another Corman cult classic.

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The cast of The Fantastic Four from 1994 might not have received the recognition they deserved at the time for bringing Marvel’s First Family to live-action for the first time ever, but they have now. Alex Hyde-White, Rebecca Staab, Jay Underwood, and Michael Bailey Smith all made cameo appearances in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which brought the Fantastic Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025. Roger Corman became a low-budget icon back in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, but many have forgotten James Cameron’s affiliation with the divisive filmmaker.

James Cameron Has Perfected the Space Opera Over the Last 45 Years

While his work on Battle Beyond the Stars might have been forgotten, James Cameron has since perfected his sci-fi skills. The Avatar film series, which kicked off with Avatar in 2009 and most recently continued with 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, has really been a passion project for James Cameron. Boasting a message pushing for more environmental protection, the Avatar franchise is perhaps Cameron’s most important work, but it again repeats a similar storyline to the likes of Star Wars and even Battle Beyond the Stars.

Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully realizes he was destined to travel to Pandora and put his skills to use saving the world from the tyrannical Colonel Quaritch and the Resources Development Administration (RDA). Just like Luke Skywalker and Shad, Jake Sully saved his people and became a prominent and legendary figure. Avatar: The Way of Water continued his story perfectly, and the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash will expand the film series into new avenues, and future projects will develop James Cameron’s influence even more. Battle Beyond the Stars is long behind him, thankfully.

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