# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/81 "2016-01-24T01:05:39Z")
They need to remake those movies and add these elements: A bigger death star Orphan girl on desert planet Young bad guy with black mask who looks like Vinnie Barbarino A guy kills his father A fight on a catwalk A big hairy alien Rogue smuggler Bar with lots of funny looking aliens And then everyone will love those movies! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/82 "2016-01-29T07:27:18Z")
Lorne, here’s my honest, humble question. What is Disney’s financial incentive for a major retcon? Because last I checked, the prequels made a ton of money and in no way prevented The Force Awakens from making a ton of money. If I had any power within the Disney organization and saw the kind of numbers the prequels did, my conclusion would be that the franchise is perfectly fine as it is and there’s no reason to rock the boat. And I would be proven right once the sales figures for TFA came in. Money talks, everything else walks. And given how much real clout hardcore geeks actually have when it comes to movies (there’s [a fine article](http://www.cracked.com/funny-4739-scott-pilgrim/) on this on Cracked re. Scott Pilgrim), as far as Disney as concerned, they can keep walking all the way down that short pier. I mean, I think Mace Windu went out like a chump too, but whaddya gonna do? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/83 "2016-01-29T15:05:04Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Show all six to some kid who’s never heard of them, and see what an unbiased critical assessment looks like. Speaking of that… I have a 4.5 year old son who’s just about the right age to think that these movies are the coolest thing ever. Problem is, I can’t decide where to start. Part of me says to start with Ep 4 (the original “Star Wars”) because it’s the one I saw at 4.5 years old and thought was the coolest thing ever. The more rational side of me says to start with Ep 1 and work my way forward, but I keep thinking that Ep 1 won’t hold his attention nearly as well as Ep 4 would- it’s more stage-setting for the next 5 movies than anything else. Any advice? I know that sooner or later he’ll end up seeing the prequels, so I’m wondering if I should show them in story order, or release order? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/84 "2016-01-29T15:09:12Z")
Don’t show him the prequels at all. If he sees them someday by other means, that can’t be helped, but at least don’t make the experience of the good movies worse. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/85 "2016-01-29T16:58:19Z")
Should Stalin have airbrushed out “counterrevolutionaries” from official government photos? Of course not! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/86 "2016-01-29T17:36:32Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Anyways, to my complete and utter surprise, she thought the prequels (we’ve only seen TPM and ATC) were GOOD. She even though Natalie Portman’s flat acting and Hayden Christian’s strange acting made sense in the context of the movie (I don’t agree with her, but she said that Portman is portraying the character of Queen Amadala in TPM as trying to act more adult than she is and therefore obviously comes off as fake and that in ATC, she does show plenty of emotion and that Hayden Christensen is portraying an awkward teen trying to impress a girl). I know she wasn’t saying it just to get on my good side, because we had an almost heated discussion about Portman’s and Christensen’s acting (I think the prequels are decent, but I hated Portman and Christensen - while she thought they did a good job and wanted me to point out where they were acting bad. We had to eventually agree to disagree on it). I’ve been saying this since the movie came out. Their story makes perfect sense if you bother to put aside your own issues and “wah, its not what I wanted!” and look at who the characters are–they are two socially retarded teenagers who act pretty much like socially retarded teenager who one of them was made a politician and ruler as a child and the other a former slave turned warrior monk. ---
**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 29, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/87 "2016-01-29T17:56:53Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I’ve been saying this since the movie came out. Their story makes perfect sense if you bother to put aside your own issues and “wah, its not what I wanted!” and look at who the characters are–they are two socially retarded teenagers who act pretty much like socially retarded teenager who one of them was made a politician and ruler as a child and the other a former slave turned warrior monk. It’s hardly a sense of, “Wah, it’s not what I wanted” that makes people dislike the prequels. It’s the fact that they’re inept films. In broad strokes, I don’t think anyone has much of a problem with Padme and Anakin. Although the fact that she meets him when he’s eight and she’s 16, is a bit creepery. Their love and relationship is accepted. It’s the lack of chemistry, terrible dialogue, and stupid plot that’s the issue. The problem with their relationship is that it’s nested in a film that feels like it was written by a former great who sat on his ass for twenty years and was rusty as fuck. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/88 "2016-01-29T17:59:05Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Don’t show him the prequels at all. If he sees them someday by other means, that can’t be helped, but at least don’t make the experience of the good movies worse. Bah, he’s not a fanboy. Kids love the prequels. Most people liked them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/89 "2016-01-29T18:03:04Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > It’s hardly a sense of, “Wah, it’s not what I wanted” that makes people dislike the prequels. It’s the fact that they’re inept films. The numbers prove you wrong. Look, I get it. When you fanboys saw A New Hope, it brought about a sense of wonder. 22 years later, you’re a different person, more mature. Mind you, yes- too much Jar Jar, too much Anakin. But the films were not aimed at the older fanboy. So sit in the corner and hate. You have plenty of company. The rest of us will just enjoy them. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/90 "2016-01-29T18:03:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Bah, he’s not a fanboy. Kids love the prequels. Most people liked them. Most people like trash. See Michael Bay’s career. You don’t have to be a fanboy to dislike the prequels. You have to pay attention. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/91 "2016-01-29T18:08:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The numbers prove you wrong. They certainly do not. If anything, your reliance on the numbers prove you can’t argue this without falling back to them. > [@](#): > > Look, I get it. When you fanboys saw A New Hope, it brought about a sense of wonder. 22 years later, you’re a different person, more mature. A New Hope is a fairly good film. Comparing it to any of the prequels is makes them look like trash. > [@](#): > > Mind you, yes- too much Jar Jar, too much Anakin. But the films were not aimed at the older fanboy. I get that you think you’re onto a tight argument, calling everyone who disagrees with you a _fanboy_, but it’s pretty weak. > [@](#): > > So sit in the corner and hate. You have plenty of company. The rest of us will just enjoy them. You are free to enjoy them. You liking utter trash doesn’t harsh my mellow. It’s just that when you post nonsense about them being _actually good_, I’d prefer to correct you. \<3 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/92 "2016-01-29T18:16:29Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > They certainly do not. If anything, your reliance on the numbers prove you can’t argue this without falling back to them. > . \<3 The Dude: _Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man_ Your argument seems to be “My opinion is that they are trash, thus they are. My post is my cite”. I make the same point, but back my opinion with hard numbers and cites. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/93 "2016-01-29T18:17:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Speaking of that… I have a 4.5 year old son who’s just about the right age to think that these movies are the coolest thing ever. > > Problem is, I can’t decide where to start. Part of me says to start with Ep 4 (the original “Star Wars”) because it’s the one I saw at 4.5 years old and thought was the coolest thing ever. The more rational side of me says to start with Ep 1 and work my way forward, but I keep thinking that Ep 1 won’t hold his attention nearly as well as Ep 4 would- it’s more stage-setting for the next 5 movies than anything else. > > Any advice? I know that sooner or later he’ll end up seeing the prequels, so I’m wondering if I should show them in story order, or release order? Show them in release order! Seriously, there’s no reason to show them in story order. Story order ruins a lot of the surprises in the original trilogy, and lots of the fanservice cameos in the prequels don’t pay off unless you’ve seen the original trilogy. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/94 "2016-01-29T18:21:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The Dude: _Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man_ > > Your argument seems to be “My opinion is that they are trash, thus they are. My post is my cite”. > > I make the same point, but back my opinion with hard numbers and cites. Your number doesn’t show what you assert it does. If you can’t understand that people will flock to spectacle, then I guess we’re at an impasse. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/95 "2016-01-29T18:34:09Z")
Look, it is certainly a fact that the prequels don’t deliver in the same way the original trilogy did. There are several reasons for this, but they just don’t. Are they objectively horrible horrible movies? Nah, they’re…OK. I guess. They have some clunky dialog and plotting, yes. But they have some good parts. Like, say, set design. And the creatures are pretty good. And some other stuff, if you let me think a while I could come up with more. But they sure aren’t magical the same way the original trilogy was. Now, were the movies commercial successes? Yes, yes the were. Should the new franchise runners pretend they never happened? No, no they should not. Should they ever bring up Jar-Jar in the new movies? There’s not much reason for them to, but if, say, someone mentioned Jar-Jar or something in a new movie, it wouldn’t ruin the movie just to hear the word “Jar-Jar” or see a Gungan in a crowd scene. Nor would it ruin the new movies to accept the plot outline or characters established in the prequels as cannonical. Luke and Leia’s mother was a Senator from Naboo named Padme in the prequels, it would be stupid to try to establish some other character. If the prequels had a boring and convoluted plot that doesn’t make them bad as a backstory to a new movie, the backstory can be boring and convoluted as long as it doesn’t result in a boring and convoluted actual movie up on the screen. ---
**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 29, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/96 "2016-01-29T18:42:15Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Look, it is certainly a fact that the prequels don’t deliver in the same way the original trilogy did. There are several reasons for this, but they just don’t. > > Are they objectively horrible horrible movies? Nah, they’re…OK. I guess. They have some clunky dialog and plotting, yes. But they have some good parts. Like, say, set design. And the creatures are pretty good. And some other stuff, if you let me think a while I could come up with more. > > But they sure aren’t magical the same way the original trilogy was. > > Now, were the movies commercial successes? Yes, yes the were. Should the new franchise runners pretend they never happened? No, no they should not. Should they ever bring up Jar-Jar in the new movies? There’s not much reason for them to, but if, say, someone mentioned Jar-Jar or something in a new movie, it wouldn’t ruin the movie just to hear the word “Jar-Jar” or see a Gungan in a crowd scene. > > Nor would it ruin the new movies to accept the plot outline or characters established in the prequels as cannonical. Luke and Leia’s mother was a Senator from Naboo named Padme in the prequels, it would be stupid to try to establish some other character. If the prequels had a boring and convoluted plot that doesn’t make them bad as a backstory to a new movie, the backstory can be boring and convoluted as long as it doesn’t result in a boring and convoluted actual movie up on the screen. I agree that the correct way to handle it would be to have the films referenced in broad outline. I’m okay with the idea, for instance that Obi Wan and Anakin canonically fought on Mustafar. But they should never show that asinine _surfing over lava_ scene, or the borderline retarded scene where, because Obi Wan is three feet higher than Anakin on a gentle slope, he’s won the day. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/97 "2016-01-29T19:26:48Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > Lorne, here’s my honest, humble question. > > What is Disney’s financial incentive for a major retcon? The major financial incentive would be that they can sell the “remade” prequels to people who didn’t like the ones Lucas made, _while still selling the ones Lucas made._ They’re already doing that with all the Expanded Universe stuff that they took out of cannon, but not off the store shelves. ---
**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 29, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/98 "2016-01-29T20:22:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The major financial incentive would be that they can sell the “remade” prequels to people who didn’t like the ones Lucas made, _while still selling the ones Lucas made._ They’re already doing that with all the Expanded Universe stuff that they took out of cannon, but not off the store shelves. Yes, but if you were the Star Wars franchise czar over at Disney, and you were planning on making another Star Wars movie, and two guys came and pitched to you, and one guy pitched remaking “The Phantom Menace”, only good this time, and the other guy pitched a whole new original movie, which one would you greenlight? I understand that a remake of the Prequels could be done, and the remade prequel trilogy could be a lot better than the Prequels. So what? It seems sort of like people are thinking that the existence of the Prequels as-is somehow detracts from future Star Wars moves. Which is justifiable, the Prequels harmed the brand. But remaking the Prequels doesn’t remove the harm done by the Prequels. You guys want the Prequels remade for artistic reasons–they sucked, and you want movies that don’t suck. But the answer to that is not to remake movies that sucked, it’s to make new movies that don’t suck. There is no financial reason to remake the Prequels. There is no artistic reason to remake the Prequels. There is no universe-building reason to remake the Prequels. There is no reason to remake the Prequels. Remaking the Prequels won’t remove the feeling you had when you watched “The Phantom Menace” and shed a bitter tear over Lucas destroying the legacy of Star Wars. Remaking the Prequels won’t make it like the Prequels never existed. To thoroughly mix some metaphors, if we want them to make new good Star Wars movies, there’s no sense tying a millstone around their necks by asking them to pick the flecks of gold out of the shit sandwich of the Prequels. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/99 "2016-01-29T20:34:53Z")
Show them in machete order (google it). ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481/100 "2016-01-29T21:28:08Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Show them in release order! > > Seriously, there’s no reason to show them in story order. Story order ruins a lot of the surprises in the original trilogy, and lots of the fanservice cameos in the prequels don’t pay off unless you’ve seen the original trilogy. This times a million-bajillion. Watch the lady in the denim shirts reaction to learning that Vader was Lukes father in this Elders React to Star Wars 7 video. Her reaction is at the 4 minute mark. The prequels would ruin the Vader reveal scene. And removing the prequels from cannon and thus history is about on the same scale as ISIS destroying thousands of years old buddhist statues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-disney-remove-the-prequels-from-canon/743481.md?page=4)