‘Krull’: the science fantasy of ‘Star Wars’ without the magic

Forty years on, “Krull” remains a flawed – but intriguing – effort to cash in on George Lucas’s galaxy far, far away.

Part of the movie poster from the science fantasy movie Krull (1983). From left to right: a beautiful princess with curly red hair, a prince with floppy blond hair beard and moustache wearing black gloves and holding up two small knives in an X, and on the far right is the prince and princess running away from a giant dome with lots of oval windows. Each image is separated by an arm of a giant glaive – a 5-pointed star-shaped weapon with curved blades at each point.
A “Star Wars”-esque movie with a fantasy twist. (Image credit: Columbia Pictures)
Luke Skywalker’s well publicized exploits on the Death Star were such a spectacular success that there was an air of inevitability when other Hollywood studios tried to make a “Star Wars” of their own. More remarkable was the fact that their subsequent efforts to milk the cash cow (or bantha, perhaps?) took such different approaches to outer space.

However, most of the wannabes ignored a crucial element of George Lucas’s extremely lucrative franchise – for all the spaceships, robots, and lasers, “Star Wars” was actually fantasy in sci-fi clothing, built around a hero whose quest revolved as much around magic (cleverly rebranded as “the Force”) as futuristic gadgets.

In the years following “A New Hope,” viewers were invited to experience the high camp of “Flash Gordon,” the overblown space opera of “The Black Hole,” and a Roger Corman-produced interstellar riff on “The Magnificent Seven” called “Battle Beyond the Stars.” “Star Trek” also got in on the act with the “2001: A Space Odyssey”-esque grandeur of “The Motion Picture,” while T.V. viewers were given a weekly dose of sci-fi in their homes courtesy of “Battlestar Galactica” (arguably one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time).

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Still from the science fantasy movie Krull (1983). Four evil-looking alien soldiers known as Slayers. They’re all wearing spiky black armor and horned helmets, whilst holding sword-like weapons. One soldier is holding a blade that is glowing with bright blue light.

That saber of light looks slightly familiar… (Image credit: Columbia Pictures)
Unlike most of its rivals, “Krull” pushed fantasy to the top of the mix. In fact, it effectively flipped the Lucas formula on its head, imagining a quasi-fairytale world where the minimal sci-fi quotient was fulfilled by some dodgy alien invaders. Indeed, if the producers had pitched the movie as “‘The Lord of the Rings’ with Stormtroopers instead of Orcs,” they wouldn’t have been far off the mark.

As it turned out, audiences either weren’t ready for Hollywood’s latest attempt to ride the “Star Wars” wave, or – more likely – simply not interested. “Krull” was a critical and commercial flop on its 1983 release, and even now, on its 40th anniversary, it’s hard to see exactly what the filmmakers were aiming for. Even so, if you can look past the over-earnest dialogue, the incoherent plotting, and the bizarre mishmash of genres, the movie still delivers its fair share of memorable moments. It even comes armed with a weapon worthy of a place alongside the best lightsabers in the arsenal of classic sci-fi ordnance.

Still from the science fantasy movie Krull (1983). A giant black fortress (an interplanetary spaceship/castle) lands on the desert-like terrain of the planet Krull.

The Black Fortress is home to the main antagonist, the Beast. (Image credit: Columbia Pictures)
Like “A New Hope,” “Krull” opens with a gigantic spacecraft flying over an unknown planet orbiting twin suns. This spacecraft is actually the Black Fortress, mobile base of operations for the all-conquering Beast who’s decided to make the planet of Krull (a name worthy of a prog rock album) his new home. We know this because elderly mentor figure Ynyr (Freddie Jones) has told us that “this, it was given me to know” in his preposterously portentous opening narration.

Then, as seamlessly as switching channels on your T.V.’s remote, the movie segues into territory more traditionally associated with a Disney cartoon. In a theme park-worthy fairytale castle, chosen ones Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) declare their undying love for each other, safe in the knowledge they are not brother and sister. But this most tender of moments proves short-lived, as the Beast’s Slayers (anonymous soldiers wearing Stormtrooper-esque plastic armor) turn up to crash the party. As Colwyn’s human soldiers do their best to fight off laser weapons with swords, the skirmish is such a hideous mismatch that it’s no surprise when Lyssa is abducted to become the Beast’s reluctant bride.