I had never heard of this rumor until this story popped up over at Slash Film. Apparently, the urban legend was that George Lucas was inspired by those large loading cranes you can see peppered all over the landscape when you look over the bay in the Oakland/San Francisco area. And if you look at that picture up there, you can definitely see a comparison. So is it true? Lucas himself was asked that very question and came back with a resounding “No”. Check out the full story as well as the debunking of another Star Wars/Bay Area urban legend. But I’ll tell you this, now every time I drive by those cranes, I’ll be seeing AT-AT’s like Don Quixote! Full story here!