Star Wars was always intended (for certain values of “always” and “intended”) to be a series of trilogies, including prequels. Until they came out, fans liked the idea of prequels and we’re super excited when they were finally announced. Everyone seemed to think there was plenty of backstory that needed to be told. Disney clearly sees plenty of room for additional stories in the universe, given the non-trilogy movies they’re releasing besides Episodes VII - IX.
So the idea of SW prequels seems to be a good one, but the execution was terrible to such a degree that I think they hurt the brand as a whole, and many elements (like midichlorians) undermined what made the first series good and would hamper future storytelling if they aren’t simply ignored to the point of being decanonized.
Disney could simply pretend the sequels don’t exist except for box sets and collectibles aimed at completists, or they could officially decanonize them, in which case it would make sense to do good prequels that actually live up to the potential. There are great stories to be told about Anakin Skywalker and his descent into Darth Vader, but they can’t be told as long as the prequels are canon.
Is there anything in Disney’s legal agreement with GL that would allow him to prevent Disney from redoing them? Could they do it quietly by making prequels that aren’t titled “Episode I” etc., and don’t blatantly contradict the GL prequels, but that clearly fill the role of showing the backstory hinted at in the OT only without being shitty? Maybe something like a trilogy comprising the rumored young Han Solo movie, a live action cinematic Clone Wars movie about young Obi Wan and Anakin, and, oh, say maybe one about the rise (or fall) of Palpatine, which would then replace the original prequels in boxed sets, etc?
I feel that the prequels went a little too far back in time, especially the first one. The original trilogy was all about the characters. It feels like the prequels focused too much on political maneuvering and the early days of Anakin Skywalker. What I really wanted was Darth Vader in his suit and with a red lightsaber, doing his evil things and voiced by James Earl Jones. Instead we got Jar Jar, Darth Maul, and Qui Gon Jin, who were all forgettable characters I just couldn’t find myself either loving or hating. It’s been a while since I’ve watched episode 1, but does Darth Maul even speak at all? Even if he did, his character was nowhere near as interesting as Vader from the original trilogy.
The animated series The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels are doing that job to a degree. They managed to make Anakin’s descent into darkness seem logical and follow a more realistic path, and see Palpatine’s machinations in greater detail.
I would love to see better prequels, but I really doubt that would happen.
No idea on the legal side of it, but I really hope that in another decade or so, the Prequels could be reimagined so that they don’t suck.
What someone needs to do is delete the following: Anakin growing up on Tatooine from a slave (and being an immaculate conception), owning (and building) C3P0, any mention of Midichlorians, Yoda hanging out in an office tower all day, the whole cast of “bad” characters GL invented with all the effort of his morning bowel movement, etc.
Basically, all the stuff that was just bad storytelling.
The Phantom Menace was severely overhyped. It would always have disappointed. No matter if it had been like Citizen Kane.
Attack of the Clones was a film which had to do and tried to do too much. It had to introduce Anakin, show his relationship with Padme and Obi, introduce the start of the road which led to Empire, the Clone Wars… it could have been six hours long.and still not covered it.
I still feel that the whole trilogy would have been better if he had made Revenge Of The Sith episode 1, and if episodes 2 and 3 had dealt with the Clone Wars, with Darth Vader in all his evil bad assness and maybe even a teenage or early 20s Han Solo in episode 3. I guess I just missed those kinds of characters in the prequels
This is the problem with the entire concept of the prequels. Making Anakin the main character ruins the mystique of Vader, even if you do it well and give him a compelling arc. Vader is intimidating because he doesn’t show up much, you don’t really know what he looks like under the mask and you don’t know much about him other than some tidbits from Obi-Wan. Pulling the curtain to the side spoils it.
In my vision of the prequels, keeping with the Republic serials feel, the main characters would be Captain Antilles and Princess Leia. I could see Darth Vader being the main baddie, but I think it would be much better to have him spoken of but never seen, building him up for the “big reveal” at the start of Ep IV (or the end of Ep III, because people would insist). No mention of Anakin whatsoever, and it certainly isn’t his story. It’ (meaning Star Wars) is the story of the founding of the New Republic, as witnessed by a pair of hapless [del]peasants[/del] droids.
I don’t think audiences today would accept it, partly because it wouldn’t provide the kind of backstory people want–no Anakin, no Obi Wan, no Clone Wars, and certainly no Yoda! Those are all stories that could be told elsewhere, but they simply are not part of any series of which ANH is episode 4. You don’t include the boyhood of King George in a movie about Valley Forge.
IMHO, anyway. There are an infinite number of possibilities that would be better than what we actually got, and many of them could actually be good. Shouldn’t Disney at least try? (For financial as well as artistic reasons.)
The Clone Wars cartoons show that it’s possible, even without officially decanonizing the prequels, but they aren’t a live action cinematic trilogy, and they aren’t going to replace the GL prequels as far as Disney is concerned.
Nooooooooo!
We would only end up with two sets of prequels that you hate instead of one.
Personally I don’t think they are that bad and their biggest crime is they aren’t as good as the originals but if you don’t like those movies just never look at them again.
Maybe go back further for the adventures of young Mace Windu narrated by Samuel L. Jackson or how Palpatine got his evil groove but don’t keep trying to milk that dry cow.
Are you talking about the kind of small town where Tom Sawyer saves an undersea kingdom of fish monsters from an army of robots or the kind where Sheriff Andy Taylor quests for a hidden planet to unravel a vast conspiracy bent on taking down the government?
I wouldn’t say anything if someone described Gone With The Wind like that but of the many many real criticisms of the prequels I don’t see how that is one of them. And even if it was I don’t see how it would be a bad thing.
Alright, I see where you’re coming from.
However, the original did that by making Luke, Leia and (I won’t spoil it) all related.
The prequel went too far with shoehorning in R2-D2 and C-3PO and making the Emperor a grandpa that magicked people into existence (meaning they are some sort of fairy folk or something).
But I did like the Boba Fett lineage and how Jango was a challenge for a Jedi.
I agree with this. Vader’s entrance in A New Hope was one of the greatest bad guy introductions ever IMO. Focusing on how Anakin became Vader does spoil his entrance and actions later on.
I don’t really see that. I mean, yeah, as the prequels were actually made, it spoils Darth Vader, but that’s only because the prequels were really bad. Humanizing Darth Vader is not, I think, inherently damaging to the character’s initial appearance, and could help make his eventual redemption an easier sell, by giving you a sympathetic starting point that you can root for him to return to. The Clone Wars cartoon does a good job of demonstrating this by making Anakin a genuinely likable character, such that his fall feels genuinely tragic. Done right, it adds depth to the character. As it exists now, of course, it badly undercuts Vader as a villain.
I do think you need to start with Star Wars before you go to the prequels, though, just so you don’t lose that wonderful first impression of him boarding Princess Leia’s ship.
Anyway, my only concern about remaking the prequels would be that, if it were successful, they might think about remaking the orignals, too.
When all’s said and done, there is a limited number of Star Wars films that will ever be made. I’d rather they used them to tell us stories we haven’t seen before.
