Filmmaker Nag Ashwin, whose science-fiction drama Kalki 2898 A.D. is a box office smash, recently revealed that he was inspired by two Hollywood films while making his film. However, it wasn’t Harry Potter.

During a recent interview with Zoom, Ashwin shared, “We grew up watching Marvel movies. I would say for Prabhas’ character, Guardians of the Galaxy was more influential than Iron Man. Of course, Star Wars is a huge influence. I love Star Wars, so it’s subconsciously a part of my aesthetics.”

Denying that Kamal Haasan’s character was inspired by Harry Potter’s main antagonist Lord Voldemort, Ashwin said, “Our reference was these old Tibetan monks, who are said to be 120–130 years old. Sir (Kamal Haasan) always referred to the picture of Dorian Gray (from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray). That was Sir’s inspiration. We didn’t have too many film references for that ancient look.”

However, the filmmaker shared an interesting fact about Kalki 2898 A.D. He revealed that Vinay Kumar’s character Sirius is inspired from the famous Harry Potter character Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman in the films).

Earlier, during a conversation with IndiaToday.in, Ashwin reacted to the comparison of Kalki 2898 AD with Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 film Dune. “I had never read Dune until right before the film came out, and I think it’s a beautiful work. And yes, I’m a huge Star Wars fan. So I might have made some subconscious references,” Ashwin said.

Kalki 2898 AD stars Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan among others. The film has grossed over Rs 507 crore in India and is making waves internationally as well. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala shared on X, “#Kalki2898AD has now joined the $16 million club #Prabhas #EpicBlockbusterKalki @PrathyangiraUS.”

The second part of Kalki 2898 AD has already been announced.