Would you stand for a Star Wars reboot?

Cafe Society
21

Hell, no -

I think I am one of the few people on the planet that think Lucas got it right in the beginning and remained true to his original vision every time he returned to it.

There is no denying that there is room for improvement in the prequels (my main complaint being the length of the pod-race in The Phantom Menace, and that some of the revisions to the original trilogy are subtractive rather than additive, but the most common criticisms are rooted in a total misunderstanding of what Star Wars was meant to be.

Star Wars is an ode to the Republic sci-fi serials of the '30s and '40s. It’s supposed to be nostalgia, taking the essence of these films and fleshing it out and polishing it up for modern audiences, but meant to be kiddie fare at its heart. Most of the whining about how later efforts fall short of the mark are rooted in people being less receptive to the juvenile roots of the franchise after they mature - they honestly thought that the original movies were full of gravitas.

A reboot would either ignore the roots of the franchise (and therefore not be good Star Wars at all,) or meet with the same sort of criticisms Lucas did.

Even me, I have a hard time with “Han was unambiguously defending himself.” Hell, in original drafts, he and Chewie rifled through Luke and Obi-wan’s things while they slept - I see his character become simpler and simpler from conception to realization, leaving an interesting character arc behind in favour of being a bland White Hat from the beginning. I can’t really get behind it, but it’s true to the source material - more so than the fleshed out character.

Jar-jar? He is meant to appeal to kids - just like R2-D2, jawas, and Yoda, and Ewoks. A harder sell when you are 30, and nostalgic for the very serious (but actually non-existent) films you remember from before your puberty.

Do I want to see Star Wars as imagined by someone who knows only that Boba Fett is bad-ass but has no idea who Commando Cody is? No.

Star Wars is supposed to be corny, fun, and occasionally sublime. I don’t really trust anyone else to understand that. Any other asshole is going to try to make a serious movie out of it, and that would just be sad and embarrassing.

22

Yes! Why not? The original movies will still exist. Granted, odds are a reboot would be terrible, but I’d be curious to see someone else’s interpretation of it.

23

I think what I’d rather see is all the talented people, time, and resources that would be necessary for a really good reboot go into an entirely new science fiction or fantasy project instead.

Something as completely original as Star Wars was back in 1977. No reboot, no novel or comic book adaptation, and nothing from a toy line or video game. Just a brand new, high quality series.

I would much, much rather see that, than any kind of reboot.

24

To an extent, I agree. I realize that Star Wars was meant to be an old sci-fi serial homage.

Lucas also included some more high-brow inspirations like Campbell and Kurosawa for “A New Hope”. So fans’ expectations for the following films were probably set a little higher than for your average Saturday afternoon serial.

I also think the sixteen-year wait between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Phantom Menace” also raised expectations to a very high level.

Personally, I thought he should have stopped tinkering and just kept cranking the films out. Like the old serials.

Ages ago there was the rumor that Lucas was originally planning nine movies. If he had made three more films in the sixteen year break, the fans would have probably been more forgiving for his misses, while still appreciating the hits.

25

Interesting. My opinion is exactly the opposite. The prequels had far *too much *gravitas. Give me one word to describe the original trilogy and I’ll choose fun. They were a hootin’ hollerin’ roller-coaster ride of fun. And that sense of fun is what’s missing from the prequels – Jar Jar notwithstanding.

As for a reboot, sure, why not? It might suck, but we’d still have the originals, so no harm done. It’d be intriguing to see a new filmmaker’s take on the story. I actually enjoyed the *Star Trek *reboot (so sue me!) and BSG was well-done, so it’s possible.

26

You are forever more dead to me.

:stuck_out_tongue:
And no, I don’t really think I want a reboot. Can we have some other movies in the universe? I’d be cool with that, like in the Old Republic as mentioned. Can’t you make a movie of KOTOR? I think it’d be a cool movie, even if everyone and their brother in the gaming community knows it was her sled, lots of people don’t.

27

I remember rumours of nine films too - I might be misremembering, but I thought I’d heard them before RoTJ was released, and that there were to be three prequels and another three sequels. It *must *have been at that point, because another three sequels don’t really make sense after the RoTJ wrap-up.

28

Anyway, I’d tolerate a remake, once Lucas is dead and gone.

29

Can I make that my sig?

30

COUGH* Clone Wars show COUGH

Nah but seriously check it out, I like it better than the real prequels.

31

They do have plans to bring a Star Wars live action TV series sometime in the near future. It is set in the era between the trilogies. They cannot get it done because…Lucas wants it to be CGI heavy and that is not a good thing for prime time TV.

I actually think they could pull it off, if they try a six or seven episode stand alone season like Spartacus Gods of the Arena.It could concentrate a bit on certain areas, say the Great Jedi Purge, or Darth’s hunt for the identity of the guy who blew the Death Star hell? But a multiseason, live action series? Nah.

32

Be my guest. I’m quite serious though - he’s made such a pig’s ear of the franchise, someone else needs to sort it out, after there’s no more chance of him interfering.

33

Actually, I intend to, but I’m very cautious about what TV I watch, and I only really watch a handful of shows. American TV goes on forever - I wish they had shorter seasons or even considered making a show with only 6 or 10 episodes to start with. Instead, they milk every possible dollar.

So I’m not that fond of TV shows, is what I’m saying. I wish there was a movie.

34

I hear that. I’ve never understood the knee-jerk antipathy people have to remakes of things. If it’s done poorly, you still have the original, if it’s done well, you have twice as much awesome.

35

I distinctly remember reading it in a magazine article (IIRC it was “People”) hyping “The Empire Strikes Back”. It wasn’t a direct quote from Lucas though, it was just in the description.

Also, IIRC, the same article mentioned that the next film was going to be called “Revenge of the Jedi”.

36

and the “revenge” was nixed because vengeance wasn’t a jedi-like quality.

37

Had Anakin and Obi Wan’s relationship been that of a real friendship, with Anakin always being the risk-taker to Obi Wan’s by-the-book, yet very likable with real chemistry, then it would’ve been a character structure to pin the whole prequels on, remained more faithful to what Kenobi described of them in the first film, and would’ve made his turn to the dark side that much more heart wrenching to witness.

Instead we got flat, void characters in some CG version of CSPAN. CGSPAN?

38

With Kenobi always muttering to himself, “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit . . .”

39

I was thinking the same. But hey, I would’ve taken Lethal Weapon in space way over what we ended up with.

40

Speaking as someone who’s never really been a big Star Wars fan…no, absolutely not. Not unless you’re doing something like a spinoff “Elseworlds”/“Ultimates” version, ancillary and separate from the main canon.

And, personally, I don’t think there’s enough wrong with the prequels that couldn’t be fixed by just redubbing with some new dialogue. Possibly with a few new actors, here and there.