Jamie Foxx Explains How Star Wars Inspired Him To Star In Project Power

Star Wars may be coming in for more criticism than ever before during the Disney era, but at this point, nothing is able to dent the franchise’s reputation as a cross-cultural and multi-generational saga that’s remained at the forefront of the public consciousness for over 40 years. And with new audiences discovering the series on an annual basis, it looks to set remain that way for a long while yet.

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood are well-known Star Wars aficionados, with Kevin Feige admitting that his approach to creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe was heavily influenced by George Lucas’ brainchild, which now seems ironic given that the next batch of adventures set in a galaxy far, far away will reportedly be looking to the MCU for inspiration.

On the surface, you won’t find many similarities between Star Wars and Netflix’s Project Power, the streaming giant’s new superhero thriller that’s already dominating the most-watched list and looks set to be the latest in a long line of in-house smash hits that have been arriving on a consistent basis over the last few months. However, star Jamie Foxx revealed in a recent interview that the iconic sci-fi franchise was actually one of the major influences behind his decision to sign on.

“We had to connect before anything crazy happens. When I look at Star Wars, which to me is a case study of movies, the reason Star Wars is great is not because of the lightsabers but because of Luke Skywalker. It’s great because of Han Solo, this band of people, even if they were ordering food it would still be interesting.”

Project Power does a solid job of establishing the mythology and building the world around the characters before eventually going all-in on the effects-heavy action, and while it isn’t exactly going to be mentioned in the same breath as A New Hope, it does at least remember to tell a story that audiences can invest in instead of relying solely on a cool concept and big set pieces, which is a problem many other blockbusters tend to suffer from these days.