The way the characters are caught up in a larger tale, enacting a script beyond their control, is reminiscent of Greek myths.

Anakin especially appears as an Oedipus fated to live out a predetermined destiny.

The Force has a will, and it exerts that will on a large scale to manipulate people and events, just as the Jedi and Sith manipulate people and objects on a smaller scale.

Of course, this novel is an adaptation of a script for a film, and some of the precedents are cinematic in nature. The dramatic podrace borrows heavily from the famous chariot race in Ben Hur. It is a modern tribute to the old classic from the slave racing, laps, and huge crowd to the racers being injured and killed by the villain pulling underhanded tricks.