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Bring back the cartoon network clone war miniseries. You know, the ones that looked like Samurai Jack? Those were cool.

 cincydooley wrote:
Sounds like a you problem, then.

More like a me and a lot of other people problem.

LordofHats is right though. Everyone everywhere was so stupid it makes me not want to care.

 Future War Cultist wrote:

 cincydooley wrote:
Sounds like a you problem, then.

More like a me and a lot of other people problem.

LordofHats is right though. Everyone everywhere was so stupid it makes me not want to care.

This is how I feel about Ep 1-3. Stupid everyone, everywhere, all the time.

But I realize the SW movies were made really to sell action figures to ten year olds. I watched Ep 4-6 when I was ten, so the movie magic worked on me.

I need to find someone who hasn't seen any of the SW movies, then have them watch all six and tell me if the quality of 1-3 is really that far below 4-6.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
Bring back the cartoon network clone war miniseries. You know, the ones that looked like Samurai Jack? Those were cool.

Yeah, I loved that.

I think the prequels should be left alone.

The problem I think has to do with Darth Vader, who is a very cool character, but I think he is much better as a supporting character/villain than an actual main character himself.

I do not want to see another set of movies treading along the same path of over exposing this character, just like I have had enough of Wolverine and Brienne of Tarth.

Have a mini-series that traces the Sith to their originator. A plotting, scheming mastermind concealed to the universe as a kindly, well spoken, well groomed, somewhat elderly man with a moustache and an insidious pet mouse...

An idea that came to me recently was to pretend that episodes 1-3 didn't happen, keep the clone wars show since it doesn't affect the movies too much and instead create a new movie called something like Vader or Kenobi: a Star Wars story, and tell it from after a certain point. The clone wars are over, the empire has been formed and the surviving Jedi are on the run with Vader hunting them down and killing them off until he meets obi wan. Star Wars movies always work best when we the audience are left to wonder about the details.

Or just, you know, accept that they're not going anywhere or changing and either ignore them or accept them or move on.

H.B.M.C is right. It's been nearly 20 years since The Phantom Menace. Hating for this long must be exhausting. Do something else with that energy.

 Future War Cultist wrote:
An idea that came to me recently was to pretend that episodes 1-3 didn't happen, keep the clone wars show since it doesn't affect the movies too much and instead create a new movie called something like Vader or Kenobi: a Star Wars story, and tell it from after a certain point. The clone wars are over, the empire has been formed and the surviving Jedi are on the run with Vader hunting them down and killing them off until he meets obi wan. Star Wars movies always work best when we the audience are left to wonder about the details.

I think we'll definitely get something like that down the line. McGregor is on record as being very open to reprising his role as Obi-wan, he's one of the more popular elements of the prequels and they're really pushing the III-IV period with the 2 announced Anthology films and Rebels. Obi-wan is a character you can tell a lot of interesting stories with and doesn't have a huge deal of stuff in book/comic form that they'd need to work around... I'd be amazed if we don't see an Obi-wan film in the next 10 years.

@ -Loki-

I've got plenty of energy and I do many things with it. And after I've done all of those things I've still got just enough left to talk about Star Wars, which I'm going to continue doing if it's all the same to you.

@ Paradigm

I didn't know McGregor was open to playing Obi-Wan again. That's great!

Yeah, there were some interviews around the time Disney picked up the franchise where he said he'd love to do it again, and he did record the uncredited line in Rey's vision in TFA. I'd love to see him get another go with a good script and a competent director.

So would I.

I understand the sentiment in the OP's post. We want better prequel movies. I was about halfway through my own 'improved' version before I deleted it to say something different.

Star Wars has a real problem with rehashing the same stuff over and over again. This wasn't just a problem with the prequels, it was also a problem with the new film, and to a lesser extent a problem with Return of the Jedi. Its a fantasy series set in outer space - the whole point of it is to show amazing new worlds and incredible characters.

Star Wars should make lots of new stories, some tied to the original Skywalker family melodrama, others with no connection. Let the prequels slowly become a half-forgotten relic, just like the Final Frontier is now a kind of curiosity to Star Trek fans, kind of buried by a long string of movies that just wanted to do their own thing.

 sebster wrote:
Its a fantasy series set in outer space - the whole point of it is to show amazing new worlds and incredible characters..

I'm actually rather hopeful that this is exactly what they'll do with the anthology movies. They don't have to tie directly into the trilogies and so can spin off in different directions, story-wise. We're already seeing that Rogue One is going to be a very different sort of movie to Episode VII... I find myself really excited to see where things go in the future, and having all different directors and crews handling things has all sorts of awesome potential.

Ignore the prequels, and bring out the original star wars withouth the nonsense added by Lucas in the consecutive versions, i am a big fan of the de-specialized versions

 insaniak wrote:
I'm actually rather hopeful that this is exactly what they'll do with the anthology movies. They don't have to tie directly into the trilogies and so can spin off in different directions, story-wise. We're already seeing that Rogue One is going to be a very different sort of movie to Episode VII... I find myself really excited to see where things go in the future, and having all different directors and crews handling things has all sorts of awesome potential.

I'm hopeful too, for exactly the same reasons. I'm also a little concerned, because they're still relying on a link to background detail from the original films. But I'm still more hopeful than concerned

Scrap them and let me write new ones.

For a start we are introduced to Anakin as a padawan already. He should already be a hero in order to concentrate on telling the story of his fall. We don't need to see the full Campbellian cycle, he doesn't need to come from a humble beginning. As a fully fleshed out and active hero in the universe he inhabits we only need to see his greatness in order to feel the tragedy of his descent into darkness.

xraytango wrote:
Scrap them and let me write new ones.

For a start we are introduced to Anakin as a padawan already. He should already be a hero in order to concentrate on telling the story of his fall. We don't need to see the full Campbellian cycle, he doesn't need to come from a humble beginning. As a fully fleshed out and active hero in the universe he inhabits we only need to see his greatness in order to feel the tragedy of his descent into darkness.

God yes.

Like I said, Star Wars works best when some of the story is told offscreen.

Also give him some of darth vaders mannerisms...have him say "all too easy" just once, so that we know he's the same person. Because I can't see how that whiny bastard grew up to be...well, Vader.

And, honestly, I'd have made padame the poor person and anakin the high born one. Or if not, at least make her poor. It helps to show how he's a good person.

Maybe when he's introduced he's already a pilot and warrior but he's got these strange powers he doesn't understand. Because honestly I'd have made the Jedi a secret and legendary organisation even at their height. So that the galaxy was in three frames of minds about them:

They're either not real, real but don't have mystic powers, or they are real and do have powers.

Makes some of the things people said about them in the originals more believable. And the number one use of the Jedi mind trick? To make people forget what they saw, like the pen from Men In Black.

xraytango wrote:
Scrap them and let me write new ones.

For a start we are introduced to Anakin as a padawan already. He should already be a hero in order to concentrate on telling the story of his fall. We don't need to see the full Campbellian cycle, he doesn't need to come from a humble beginning. As a fully fleshed out and active hero in the universe he inhabits we only need to see his greatness in order to feel the tragedy of his descent into darkness.

I would rather the focus was on Obi-Wan. Anakin sucks when he is stretched to more than a supporting character.

Well no not really. Anakin sucks when directed by Lucas and acted by Christenson. Both sucked at their jobs in those movies. But yeah I think McGregor was pretty good considering what he had to work with so seeing him more as Obi Wan would be great

 KingCracker wrote:
Well no not really. Anakin sucks when directed by Lucas and acted by Christenson. Both sucked at their jobs in those movies. But yeah I think McGregor was pretty good considering what he had to work with so seeing him more as Obi Wan would be great

You may be right, but I still think following Obi-Wans failure is much more interesting story than Anakins conversion to the Dark side.

Nothing yet. The Original Trilogy is much more in need of a re-make than the prequels. It by now is so old and so outdated, it is barely even watchable anymore. It is boring and feels awkward, like most movies from that era. Besides, the only actor in it that I liked is Harrison Ford. (Who couldn't like Harrison Ford?). And it had Ewoks in it. And they defeated the Stormtroopers... That was just horrible. Scrap the Ewoks please (or leave them in and just have them resist only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the Stormtroopers for the sake of grimdark)
The prequels were also mostly bad, but at least they have great effects that make them enjoyable to watch. I also feel that the basic storyline of the prequels is pretty promising, just really badly executed.

But mostly, I want them to leave both prequels and OT alone and just focus on making more new movies. Expand the universe instead of rehashing the same simple old stuff over and over again. Episode VII was really disappointing in that regard.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
The Original Trilogy is much more in need of a re-make than the prequels.

This is wrong.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
It by now is so old and so outdated, it is barely even watchable anymore.

This is also wrong.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
It is boring and feels awkward, like most movies from that era.

The wrong streak continues unabated.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Scrap the Ewoks please

I believe it was originally supposed to be the Wookies but it was overly expensive and problematic to execute.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
but at least they have great effects that make them enjoyable to watch.

The effects have held up even worse than the originals in almost all areas; it is wall to wall green screen and painfully obvious.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
I also feel that the basic storyline of the prequels is pretty promising, just really badly executed.

Any bad movie would be better if it were executed better. All this really says is that if things were different they would be different.

The prequel trilogy is best referred to as the official story of what happened, as opposed to the truth. This allows enough room for headcanon to retcon and fill in the blanks.

The Ewoks became more palatable to me when I properly realised they're a savage hunter and possibly warrior race. Ever wondered what meat they were serving during the feast at the end? Probably Stormtroopers. They were going to eat the protagonists after all. The nature > technology thing was annoying but it's hardly a unique problem. Come to think of it, isn't it the only time Stormtroopers are defeated by non-Luke\Leia\Han\Chewie\Obi-wan people in ground combat?

chromedog wrote:Disney won't own them until 2020.
And they won't own ep4 until Fox gives it up (they (Fox) retain the rights in perpetuity, but the rights to the rest go to Disney in 2020).

They'll probably leave them be.

I didn't know that, that certainly explains scrapping the Clone Wars series and not referring to the prequils. It's not a devotion to quality, it's a business decision not to promote something Disney does not 100% own. Like Marvel/Disney cancelling the Fantastic Four comic and sidelining the X-Men.

In that case certainly look for the era to be revisited in the 2020s, they'd probably do a side story at first but a remake is hardly out of the question. Phantom Menace is 17 years old now, it'll be 21 (old enough to drink!) when Disney gets the full rights. A 25th anniversary remake/revisiting seems logical.

But the question of what they will do is not what they should do.

I think we're in general agreement the Republic/Clone Wars era is worth another visit, but the prequels were Not Very Good.

So what are the options?

1-Complete reboot, remake.
2-Remake keeping major plot points
3-Ignore, work around

I'd be happy with any of the 3, what SHOULD Disney do... My general answer is #3, if you don't like a shared universe story just ignore it and work around. I don't spend much time telling people about my Junior High days, and somehow I get through life. Just don't bring them up.

But in this case I'd go with #1 because as I said the prequels were Not Very Good, bordering on Very Not Good or even Bad. And for movies I waited 15 years for Not Very Good is unacceptable.

So yeah, toss em out.

(OK, that's scary, the wait between Jedi and Phantom Menace was 15 years, 1984 to 1999, Phantom Menace was 17 years ago, does not feel the same at all).

 Future War Cultist wrote:
Like I said, Star Wars works best when some of the story is told offscreen.

I think every story works best when the exposition is left to the exposition A guy betrays his brothers and turns in to the big evil is a set up, not a story. They added the forbidden love stuff to turn it in to a story and it was contrived and just did not work.

Because honestly I'd have made the Jedi a secret and legendary organisation even at their height. So that the galaxy was in three frames of minds about them:

Yeah. The Jedi should have been mysterious and hardly believed even at the height of their power in the Republic. Even if Jedi numbered several thousand then consider the trillions of people living in the Republic, then only a few ordinary citizens, even on Coruscant, would ever see a Jedi, let alone see one use their powers. This wouldn't just make Han's comments in Star Wars more sensible, it would also make Jedi a lot cooler than they were in the prequels.

But now I'm back again thinking about making the prequels better. Dammit.

Iron_Captain wrote:Nothing yet. The Original Trilogy is much more in need of a re-make than the prequels. It by now is so old and so outdated, it is barely even watchable anymore. It is boring and feels awkward, like most movies from that era. Besides, the only actor in it that I liked is Harrison Ford. (Who couldn't like Harrison Ford?). And it had Ewoks in it. And they defeated the Stormtroopers... That was just horrible. Scrap the Ewoks please (or leave them in and just have them resist only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the Stormtroopers for the sake of grimdark)
The prequels were also mostly bad, but at least they have great effects that make them enjoyable to watch. I also feel that the basic storyline of the prequels is pretty promising, just really badly executed.

But mostly, I want them to leave both prequels and OT alone and just focus on making more new movies. Expand the universe instead of rehashing the same simple old stuff over and over again. Episode VII was really disappointing in that regard.

I have to disagree with you there Iron_Captain. Whilst their special effects obviously show their age I think they have aged far better than the prequels, which are so 90s it's painful. Real effects trump CGI 9 times out of 10 in my opinion. As for boring and awkward...say wha?!! I've been watching the originals on TV and they're riveting from start to finish. The prequels have flash but no substance. The levelling of acting, dialogue, character development and interaction etc. in the prequels is...well, garbage.

The Ewoks were unfortunate though. I will agree on that.

If they do go back to the clone wars era, I'd like them to try and make the aesthetics look more like the originals. It's hard to explain but ever notice how everything in the prequels looks more sleek and advanced than the originals despite supposedly being set in the past? And the ships are all bright colours when later ships are usually grey/white? Clone troopers look far superior (and more colourful) than the later stormtroopers. Things like that don't sit well with me.

 sebster wrote:
Yeah. The Jedi should have been mysterious and hardly believed even at the height of their power in the Republic. Even if Jedi numbered several thousand then consider the trillions of people living in the Republic, then only a few ordinary citizens, even on Coruscant, would ever see a Jedi, let alone see one use their powers. This wouldn't just make Han's comments in Star Wars more sensible, it would also make Jedi a lot cooler than they were in the prequels.

But now I'm back again thinking about making the prequels better. Dammit.

Yes exactly! Me, I think that the relationship between the Jedi and the republic should have been similar to the one between Batman and Commissar Gordon. By that, what I mean is only the chancellor and the very top government and military officials know about them, and they ask the Jedi to help but ultimately the Jedi only answer to themselves (but in a good way, you know?) To the vast majority of people in the galaxy they're a myth or legend. Which makes the later attitudes to them we've seen more believable.

And they shouldn't have been on Corusant. They should be in secret places all over the Galaxy.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Nothing yet. The Original Trilogy is much more in need of a re-make than the prequels. It by now is so old and so outdated, it is barely even watchable anymore. It is boring and feels awkward, like most movies from that era. Besides, the only actor in it that I liked is Harrison Ford. (Who couldn't like Harrison Ford?). And it had Ewoks in it. And they defeated the Stormtroopers... That was just horrible. Scrap the Ewoks please (or leave them in and just have them resist only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the Stormtroopers for the sake of grimdark)
The prequels were also mostly bad, but at least they have great effects that make them enjoyable to watch. I also feel that the basic storyline of the prequels is pretty promising, just really badly executed.

But mostly, I want them to leave both prequels and OT alone and just focus on making more new movies. Expand the universe instead of rehashing the same simple old stuff over and over again. Episode VII was really disappointing in that regard.

Clearly

Rogue One will be the closest thing of a prequel reboot we'll get.

 Future War Cultist wrote:


If they do go back to the clone wars era, I'd like them to try and make the aesthetics look more like the originals. It's hard to explain but ever notice how everything in the prequels looks more sleek and advanced than the originals despite supposedly being set in the past? And the ships are all bright colours when later ships are usually grey/white? Clone troopers look far superior (and more colourful) than the later stormtroopers. Things like that don't sit well with me.

I do think that the Chrome and Colour Asthetic does work for the prequels. The Republic is supposed to be a glorious society that has experienced years of peace. In contrast, the original series focuses on the outer, poorer regions of the Empire, after a war and 20 years of an oppressive regime. Imperial stuff is going to look practical and military, while rebel and independent stuff is going to look rather run-down and battered. Republic stuff is more focused on looks, and hence the bright chrome, paint, and smooth lines.