# Should Disney Remove The Prequels From Canon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481 "2016-01-18T07:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/41 "2016-01-19T02:45:48Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Episode 4 dropped when I was a teenager, reared on crappy low-budget SF films, and the prequels happened well into my middle-age dotage, spoiled on decades of sophisticated CGI and expensive superhero flicks. > > Brace yourself. Sit down. Take a sip of water. > > The prequels weren’t all that bad an the original trilogy wasn’t as great as you remember. Show all six to some kid who’s never heard of them, and see what an unbiased critical assessment looks like. Correct. Good points. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/42 "2016-01-19T03:06:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The Dude: _Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man._ > Rotten Tomatos > > Epi 1. 56%. Grossed: $1,027,044,677 > II 66% and $649,398,328 > III 79% (which rates pretty good)$848,754,768 > > Only epi 1 gets a rotten tomato, and that barely. That’s an empty argument. If popularity means something is good, then I suppose you listen to little more than Justin Beiber. The films were trash. But, like the Transformers films, it was flashy trash, and people who don’t think about it very hard can like it. The prequels weren’t the worst films ever made, but they weren’t anywhere near good films. They had terrible writing, acting, direction, and effects. The plots themselves were inept. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/43 "2016-01-19T05:04:06Z")
Good post, **SoaT**. ---
**Author:** ![Lorne\_Armstrong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@Lorne\_Armstrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorne_Armstrong)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/44 "2016-01-19T05:45:03Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Episode 4 dropped when I was a teenager, reared on crappy low-budget SF films, and the prequels happened well into my middle-age dotage, spoiled on decades of sophisticated CGI and expensive superhero flicks. > > Brace yourself. Sit down. Take a sip of water. > > The prequels weren’t all that bad an the original trilogy wasn’t as great as you remember. Show all six to some kid who’s never heard of them, and see what an unbiased critical assessment looks like. Why would I want some kid, someone who was raised on Real World, Puff Daddy, and Jersey Shore, to tell me his opinion about cinema? Yes, the prequels were that bad. Tell me one thing that worked in them. The original SW had some clunky dialogue - nothing cringe worthy like the prequels, though - and some mediocre acting. Jedi failed on some levels but still had heart and it still had the final battle between Luke and Vader, to which the entire trilogy was building up. Episode V is as close to flawless as possible. It has nothing to do with nostalgia. OT - Harrison Ford PT - Hayden Christiansen Say what you will about TFA, it was still far better than any of the prequels. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/45 "2016-01-19T06:49:15Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > That’s an empty argument. If popularity means something is good, then I suppose you listen to little more than Justin Beiber. It’s perfectly reasonable of **DrDeth** to point out the financial success of the prequels, given that the OP suggested that these three wildly profitable films should be “wiped from the face of the earth” by Disney. Obviously that’s not going to happen; it would be one of the most idiotic business decisions of all time. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/46 "2016-01-19T06:51:39Z")
Star Wars isn’t art. It’s entertainment for the masses. So popularity has EVERYTHING to do with whether or not the prequels should remain canon. If the Star Wars Extended Universe had been as popular as the prequels, you can bet your ass Mara Jade and Thrawn would have been the centerpiece of the Force Awakens. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/47 "2016-01-19T08:25:49Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > It’s perfectly reasonable of **DrDeth** to point out the financial success of the prequels, given that the OP suggested that these three wildly profitable films should be “wiped from the face of the earth” by Disney. Obviously that’s not going to happen; it would be one of the most idiotic business decisions of all time. Absolutely, refunding all the tickets sold a decade and a half ago would be too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/48 "2016-01-19T10:49:13Z")
Well, we don’t get refunds for the first four Batman movies(or the 1966 movie) just because they finally got it really right with the Nolan trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/49 "2016-01-19T11:14:44Z")
I agree that we should just focus on the new movies (Episode 8, Rogue One etc.) It’s rather like how (in my opinion) the Lord of the Rings trilogy was magnificent and the Hobbit trilogy sucked\*. \*Because The Hobbit went through several stages of pre-production hell, including separate legal disputes between New Line Cinema, Peter Jackson, and Tolkien family members which complicated production. When MGM finally moved the project forward in 2008 more complications ensued when MGM entered bankruptcy and froze production, causing director Guillermo del Toro to step down after three years of pre-production. Later, it was almost cast out of New Zealand when several unions and guilds blacklisted the project and shooting was delayed again while Peter Jackson recovered from surgery from a perforated ulcer. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/50 "2016-01-19T11:15:42Z")
> [@Lorne\_Armstrong](#): > > Why would I want some kid, someone who was raised on Real World, Puff Daddy, and Jersey Shore, to tell me his opinion about cinema? Yeah, like those of us raised on The Love Boat, The Bee Gees and The Brady Bunch are such elite consumers. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/51 "2016-01-19T11:16:56Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, they have Ewan McGregor do one line as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Otherwise, did they reference the prequels at all? They mention clone troopers at one point, and I think we see Coruscant for like half a second before it gets blown up. But I think that’s it. Certainly someone who skipped watching the prequels and went straight from the original films to VII wouldn’t feel iike they were missing out on anything. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/52 "2016-01-19T11:21:18Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I think we see Coruscant for like half a second before it gets blown up. That wasn’t Coruscant. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/53 "2016-01-19T11:43:11Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Episode 4 dropped when I was a teenager, reared on crappy low-budget SF films, and the prequels happened well into my middle-age dotage, spoiled on decades of sophisticated CGI and expensive superhero flicks. > > Brace yourself. Sit down. Take a sip of water. > > The prequels weren’t all that bad an the original trilogy wasn’t as great as you remember. Show all six to some kid who’s never heard of them, and see what an unbiased critical assessment looks like. Thank you! I don’t know if hate’n on the prequel, is a requirement before you’re allowed to hang with the cool kids or what. But some folks just need to get the hell over it. Jeez! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/54 "2016-01-19T12:28:08Z")
I personally liked them all, although only Revenge of the Sith really measures up as a Star Wars film. But the other two are decent enough action/sci-fi movies. But I understand the fanboy anger. Lucas really didn’t do justice to his own creation. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/55 "2016-01-19T13:31:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > That wasn’t Coruscant. It was a space station? Anyway, canon schmanon. What difference does it ultimately make? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/56 "2016-01-19T14:32:08Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Why exactly would you want to remake the prequels? What would be gained thereby? > > Is it so you don’t have to live with the memory of how the prequels sucked, which destroyed your life? The prequels destroyed your life, making a new trilogy about the fall of Annakin Skywalker won’t fix that, even if the new trilogy didn’t suck. > > If you want more Star Wars movies that don’t suck, how about we ask them to make new Star Wars movies that don’t suck? Why force yourself to tell the story of the fall of Annikin Skywalker again? If you want a story about how a whiny crybaby kid turns to the dark side, ask for more movies with Kylo Ren. I think most people would not want another trilogy about the fall of Anakin Skywalker. Episode VII wasn’t about a whiny kid turning to the dark side, it was about what that whiny kid did after he had already turned. This is why I like Episode VII but not the prequels. The prequels would have been better if they were about the adventures of Darth Vader and how he helped build the empire, not about the fall of some whiny kid. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/57 "2016-01-19T17:25:02Z")
Yes, so remaking the prequels is a stupid, stupid idea. We’ve already seen that story, do we need to retell it, only this time try to do a better job? Why not just ignore the goddam prequels? If they suck so much, that is? You know, it’s fine to hate on the prequels. I don’t think they’re good movies, but they aren’t that bad, but if you disagree that’s fine. Hate them all you want, that makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is hating the prequels and wanting them to be remade. That’s fucking ridiculous. There’s not enough meat on the bones of the prequels to salvage into decent movies. The story sucks, the characters suck, the dialog sucks. Why would you try to make a good movie out of that wreckage? If you want decent Star Wars movies they’re trying to make new ones right now. The prequels are largely going to be ignored, except for the broad story arc, but we knew the story arc already from the OT, so there’s literally nothing to salvage from them. So they’ve already been de-cannonized. You’re not going to hear anyone in the new movies talking about Count Dooku or General Grevious or the Trade Federation. How does John Lassiter holding a press conference announcing the official de-cannonization of the prequels make you happier? They’re decannonized in all the ways that matter–they’re being forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/58 "2016-01-19T18:01:36Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes, so remaking the prequels is a stupid, stupid idea. We’ve already seen that story, do we need to retell it, only this time try to do a better job? I know it’s not going to happen, and even if I were in a position of authority at Disney I would not support the idea. But, as an academic exercise: the point would not be to retell the Anakin/Vader story, but better. Making _that_ the theoretical focus of the prequels–and casting the whole thing within the span of a single human lifetime–was their first and biggest failure (which is sayig something). Even if it had been done better, it takes away from the first two movies, and it makes the SW universe smaller. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/59 "2016-01-19T18:19:56Z")
Its already ingrained. Better to try to retcon and fix them than pretend they don’t exist. There’s too much co-mingled history already ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/60 "2016-01-19T19:08:01Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > It’s perfectly reasonable of **DrDeth** to point out the financial success of the prequels, given that the OP suggested that these three wildly profitable films should be “wiped from the face of the earth” by Disney. Obviously that’s not going to happen; it would be one of the most idiotic business decisions of all time. But all of the books like the Thrawn sequels, Jedi Academy, the Dark Empire comics, various video games, etc, also made a good deal of money, and yet Disney went ahead and wiped those off the face of the earth in the sense that they were explicitly removed from canon. Ultimately, is this “end-of-the-world” important? No. But for decades, Lucasfilm have themselves placed importance on canon, doing their best to make sure everything worked together without contradictions. Disney then decided to “throw out” a bunch of it, moving now non-canon stuff to a “legends” category, slimming down actual canon to a fairly narrow set of items–I don’t think it’s all that strange to discuss if future Star Wars films should be bound to the “Force as Mitichlorians” idea or if they can disregard it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481.md?page=4)