The man himself, George Lucas
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Lucas on evolution of Empire, EPISODE III

While talking up his latest installment in the STAR WARS saga, EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES with this week's TIME, writer/director George Lucas outlined in broad strokes the evolution of the Empire as he sees it, and the real-world examples he used for inspiration.

In the piece, Lucas explained, "All democracies turn into dictatorships but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolph Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea... what kinds of things push people and institutions into this direction."

He also drew parallels between Anakin's evolution into Darth Vader in the prequel trilogy, and the fall of the Republic.

"That's the issue that I've been exploring [in EPISODE II]," Lucas said. "How did the Republic turn into the Empire? That's paralleled with: How did Anakin turn into Darth Vader? How does a good person go bad and how does a democracy become a dictatorship? It isn't that the Empire conquered the Republic, it's that the Empire is the Republic."

He also goes on, again, to hint at the horrors to come in EPISODE III, which sees Anakin going fully to the Dark Side.

"The next film is really dark," Lucas said. "The issue is, Will people stand for it? But I've got to tell the story."