Star Wars fans have been doing a few double takes after spotting a strange resemblance between what’s happening around the globe right now and one of the films.
The link people are drawing comes from the very first setup of the prequels, The Phantom Menace.
With the familiar score kicking in, the opening crawl declares: “Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying systems is in dispute.”
Back then—and for a long time after—many viewers teased that choice of plot hook, especially since it was the first new Star Wars film since Return of the Jedi.
In a universe packed with aliens, space wizards and criminal underworld figures, a dispute over taxation sounded far less thrilling than lightsaber clashes, Force powers, or starfighter battles.
But with Trump’s war in Iran now grinding on, and one region becoming a flashpoint of major international tension, some are arguing that Lucas accidentally echoed the future in that opening premise.
In The Phantom Menace, the Trade Federation begins by blockading a planet, with the standoff escalating as preparations for invasion build.
What once felt like dry political background is now being compared to events surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s an essential shipping corridor through which a significant share of global oil moves, and the US and Israel’s war in Iran has reportedly involved threats to shipping in the strait—creating serious disruption.
Alongside the trade-route parallels, some have also made jokes comparing Trump to characters from the franchise, with Jabba the Hutt most frequently mentioned.
I know Star Wars is technically set in the past but I can't help but feel that George Lucas predicted the future by showing us a stupid trade war and a big fat slimy orange worm that forces itself onto women. pic.twitter.com/UiLP1sVgc8
— Brandy Bryant 🏳️⚧️ (@InkMasterbator) March 13, 2026
Sharing the idea online, one person wrote: “I know Star Wars is technically set in the past but I can’t help but feel that George Lucas predicted the future by showing us a stupid trade war and a big fat slimy orange worm.”
The force is unusually strong with him. pic.twitter.com/hAoNxjENTD
— Overfit Quantitative Strategies (@OverfitQuantit1) March 13, 2026
Others stretched the comparison even further, pointing to an “army of droids” by referencing modern drone warfare.
And this isn’t the first time people have connected Trump-era policy to The Phantom Menace opening, either.
Tariffs—one of the US president’s signature policy areas—feed directly into the same kind of conversation, since they deal with how goods are taxed as they move between countries.
There’s an obvious irony in the idea that someone as supernatural and terrifying as Darth Vader could ultimately rise out of something as bureaucratic as a trade dispute—but recent politics has reminded plenty of people that real life can become stranger than fiction.