George Lucas not only openly stated that his Rebels were the Viet Cong, but he also venerated the Soviet Union film system pretty recently for its freedom from commercialism, allowing more unconventional and creative films:

https://youtu.be/SWqvaMEFIdI?si=TLc4QLEQqsL0M_S7

In interviews around the release of The Force Awakens he said also said, "Of course, the only way you could really do that [make money] is not take chances. Only do something that’s proven. You gotta remember, Star Wars came from nowhere. American Graffiti came from nowhere. There was nothing like it. Now, if you do anything that’s not a sequel or not a TV series or doesn’t look like one, they won’t do it." He goes on to compare his selling of star wars to Disney, with selling his children to 'white slavers', which was a bit insensitive, but I suppose I'll allow the sentiment.