What’s funny/sad is the willingness I see elsewhere to believe it without even considering it’s probably clickbait. Like you said, George has better things to do with his time these days, like that museum he’s building in Los Angeles.
Where were you in '77?
What’s funny/sad is the willingness I see elsewhere to believe it without even considering it’s probably clickbait. Like you said, George has better things to do with his time these days, like that museum he’s building in Los Angeles.
I believe HelloGreedo said it best when it comes to rumors.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
It is extremely interesting though, isn’t it? How some fans now would be begging for George to have a hand at the script, when that idea would be a joke 10 years ago.
It is extremely interesting though, isn’t it? How some fans now would be begging for George to have a hand at the script, when that idea would be a joke 10 years ago.
I agree.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
If they wanted his input they would’ve contacted him beforehand, not after. The idea that Lucas could help them make sure there won’t be a fan backlash is what really tells you this is bs.
It is extremely interesting though, isn’t it? How some fans now would be begging for George to have a hand at the script, when that idea would be a joke 10 years ago.
Since ROTS the prequels have slowly mutated from just movies, into ideas of movies, to ideas of memes. Now the internet has absorbed the whole thing and slowly spews out Palpatine image macros that have no relevance to the actual reality of movies that are below average at best. Meanwhile George’s position as “genius creator” remains unchallenged in a way that many will believe his now Disney branded version of events. Interesting? Maybe. But not surprising. People are weird and fickle.
It is extremely interesting though, isn’t it? How some fans now would be begging for George to have a hand at the script, when that idea would be a joke 10 years ago.
Since ROTS the prequels have slowly mutated from just movies, into ideas of movies, to ideas of memes. Now the internet has absorbed the whole thing and slowly spews out Palpatine image macros that have no relevance to the actual reality of movies that are below average at best. Meanwhile George’s position as “genius creator” remains unchallenged in a way that many will believe his now Disney branded version of events. Interesting? Maybe. But not surprising. People are weird and fickle.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
Since ROTS the prequels have slowly mutated from just movies, into ideas of movies, to ideas of memes. Now the internet has absorbed the whole thing and slowly spews out Palpatine image macros that have no relevance to the actual reality of movies that are below average at best. Meanwhile George’s position as “genius creator” remains unchallenged in a way that many will believe his now Disney branded version of events. Interesting? Maybe. But not surprising. People are weird and fickle.
Having gone from a child to an adult during this time period, I’m trying to go back and figure out what exactly changed between then and now. I kinda want to try and lay out a timeline of sorts.
So between 1999 and 2005, we had the releases of the prequels. The films didn’t do well critically, and while some fans liked them, a lot of fans who grew up with the OT didn’t. While I remember a lot of grade school kids my age liked the films for what they were, the kids who didn’t have an interest in Star Wars just didn’t say anything about them. I do remember though a lot of stuff from the early 00s days of the internet that did make fun of the prequels, like flash animations of Jar Jar, the “George Lucas raped my childhood” song, etc.
My memory isn’t the best during this time, so maybe someone who was already an adult in the 2000s could get a sense of the atmosphere better than I can. But it does seem like during the time, the kids still enjoyed the prequels, but the OG fans and critics alike were generally disappointed in them, while the movies came and went for general audiences (they still made $$$). I would definitely say during this time it was popular to hate the prequels. I also think the quality of the films probably encouraged disappointment toward George regarding the Special Editions as well as his refusal the release the unaltered OT.
This drastic change of attitude, though, I think can be seen just in the past 10 years.
In 2009 and 2010, RedLetterMedia released the Star Wars Plinkett reviews that went viral on the internet. Also, you had other media like the movie Fanboys (2009), about Star Wars fans wanting to break into Lucasfilm and watch The Phantom Menace so their terminally ill friend can watch it before he dies (the film ends with them in the theater on opening day with one of them asking, “What if it sucks?”), and you also had the documentary The People vs George Lucas (2010). A lot of this content at the turn of the decade, combined with the rise of social media, reignited the criticism toward the prequels. It also is during a time where the was little Star Wars content beyond The Clone Wars which were in their weaker, earlier seasons at the time.
But interestingly, I think the dialogue started to change again just within 5 or so years. Just a few years later, we found out Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, and they were making Episodes 7, 8 and 9. I remember people being a little skeptical about Star Wars becoming “Disney-fied”, I remember a lot of jokes about Jedi Mickey Mouse, but I generally seem to remember people being happy about it.
During that time gap, a few things had been beginning to happen. One, The Clone Wars had began to come into its own as a show, and were bringing back a lot of adult fans, and I also believe it began to recontextualize the prequels for many people. And second, a lot of the kids who grew up with the prequels were becoming adults, like myself. So during the build-up and anticipation for the new films, there began to be a lot of videos that were going back and looking at the prequels from a different perspective. You had videos like this, “Are the Star Wars Prequels Secretly Brilliant?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2BNdF_NCVQ&t=406s
Suddenly some people were starting to spread the idea that the prequels weren’t so bad. After TFA came out, it seemed most critics, a lot of fans, and general audiences really enjoyed it ($$$$$$), but there were some fans who were quick to call it a New Hope rehash, probably its biggest criticism. People started comparing it to George’s “world building” in the Prequels and Clone Wars, and this only increased with how divisive The Last Jedi ended up being. You have people who really hate the new movies use George’s lack of involvement as a way to discredit the new films, or they will continuously praise George and his brilliance. the r/prequelmemes subreddit was also created in 2016, so after the TFA release.
But, I really think fans just use George as a weapon for their arguments and their opinions. I vividly remember people talking about how George betrayed his own vision with the Prequels and the Special Editions. The idea that the fans understood Star Wars better than its creator, that he had lost his touch, was a very common opinion. But now, people are saying that because the new movies lack George’s creative touch, that they are no better than “fan fiction”. You see what I mean?
And this leads us to now. I have no idea what this will mean for IX. I’m genuinely curious if JJ can do something that can please both the people who like the new movies and who don’t. If JJ and Chris have figured something out to do that, I will honestly think they’ve done the impossible. I think the safe bet though is that if you don’t like TFA and TLJ, you won’t like Episode IX. BUT, I would still encourage those people to give it a chance because I could be totally wrong (and I hope I am).
But I will be curious to see how people look back on this trilogy in 10-15 years. Honestly, with how fast social media moves now, I wouldn’t be surprised if people look back it in a better light even within 5 years. But I think with several years worth of extra content, and being able to watch the films back-to-back without years of anticipation and speculation, people will look back at them differently (especially with the voices of an adult Gen Z included). Also, if other media turns out to be popular with both sides of the fence, really like The Mandalorian and the new trilogies, people might start giving Disney-Lucasfilm Star Wars a fairer shake. It might be an optimistic view, but maybe a lot of the hate will stop when we leave the OT behind.
I’ve always been a fan of the prequels and thought George’s overall vision was divine. My only issue is the refusal to release the original versions of the OT on Blu Ray, but I totally get it with how he was treated. People need to put themselves in other people’s shoes. Why would George release something people want if all they do is say he defiled their childhoods, all because George wanted to revolutionize film making with a property he created? The same goes for now. Why would George come back to a property everybody practically forced him away from, because they claim the new films once again defiled their childhoods? If George is actually advising or anything for IX, then I think it would be beneficial, but I wouldn’t want him to because fans would probably still hate on his choices.
I really think there’s a subset of the community that will always be extremely hostile to the Disney stuff. All those 2 hour YouTube videos on why TLJ is the worst thing ever that have more than half a million views seems to be evidence of that. I don’t think the people who have bothered to sit through all that would suddenly drop their hate of Disney Star Wars simply because of a tv show or spin off film. Strangely, there’s also a political aspect as well. Many think it’s not just that the Disney films suck, it’s that they’re SJW propaganda because Holdo has purple hair and there’s a message against war profiteering or something. That makes it even more difficult to reconcile their dislike of the sequels, because it’s not just a matter of the films themselves, but also a matter of the viewer’s actual political identity.
How would you feel about a spirited appearance from Anakin if they made Hayden kinda/sorta resemble Shaw, and portrayed him as something like 40?
Creeped out?
How would you feel about a spirited appearance from Anakin if they made Hayden kinda/sorta resemble Shaw, and portrayed him as something like 40?
I wish Lucas didn’t change Anakin’s appearance at the end of Return of the Jedi, but since the Special Editions are canon, it would probably be Hayden Christensen. They could add a little bit of aged makeup on his face to make him look a bit aged than his appearance in Revenge of the Sith.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
The easy way out is if he’s a hologram or something. Wasn’t there a bit in one of the novels where Artoo played back a recording of Anakin and Padme for Leia? If he’s still carrying Leia’s Help Me Obi-Wan message around after all these years…
Where were you in '77?
I wouldn’t mind Hayden in some gentle age makeup. Not to look 70 or anything, but at least older than ROTS.
As someone who doesn’t think Anakin should have a force ghost, I would not be happy regardless of appearance. That being said, controversial opinion, but if he appears it should be Hayden, but just how he looks now, nothing crazy.
As someone who doesn’t think Anakin should have a force ghost, I would not be happy regardless of appearance. That being said, controversial opinion, but if he appears it should be Hayden, but just how he looks now, nothing crazy.
I still think a scene between Luke, Anakin and Kylo Ren in Episode IX could work really well. Granted, that a special appearance by Anakin would be fan service, but this would be fan service used right where it plays a role in the story and character arcs. I personally strongly dislike fan service in movies, but it can be done right. Some good examples include Yoda’s appearance in The Last Jedi and R2-D2 showing Luke Leia’s original message.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
If Hayden shows up I’m out.
Or at least it’ll knock the movie down a few pegs for me.
Dom, I’m curious why you feel Anakin shouldn’t have a ghost. Do you mean at all, or just in the ST? Would you have preferred he not in ROTJ either?
I liked the concept they almost went with in TFA, having Anakin shift between the light and the dark in his appearance. He might also be the only one Ben might listen to, given his Vader worship.
It would be really disturbing if a cast off dark side persona took on a life of it’s own. A Vader apparition without any good left in it.
Where were you in '77?
Dom, I’m curious why you feel Anakin shouldn’t have a ghost. Do you mean at all, or just in the ST? Would you have preferred he not in ROTJ either?
At all. Giving Anakin a ghost feels false and unearned. Part of ROTJ’s fairy tale happily ever after ending which in my mind doesn’t match the complexity of the character, oddly enough especially so post-PT.
I would find a conflicted Anakin ghost distasteful, as it would severely undermine the ending of ROTJ, which has always been one of my favorite things about SW.
JEDIT: Dom, you make a fair point about the realism, but I do like it a great deal for the archetypical value. It’s more about Luke at that point than Anakin per se. I suppose it’s one of many things that pervade SW with more symbolic value than realistic or intricate.
I liked the concept they almost went with in TFA, having Anakin shift between the light and the dark in his appearance. He might also be the only one Ben might listen to, given his Vader worship.
It would be really disturbing if a cast off dark side persona took on a life of it’s own. A Vader apparition without any good left in it.
It’s an interesting idea to have a Anakin/Vader hybrid ghost, but it’s a little too far fetched for me. I think you could introduce Dark Side Force sprits, but I believe it needs to be done right, rather than doing it just because it seems cool. Very much like why Lucas gave Yoda a lightsaber in the prequels. Plus, Anakin’s already been redeemed. Having a hybrid Light and Dark side ghost would feel like backtracking for Anakin as a character, especially since he’s now dead.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
I liked the concept they almost went with in TFA, having Anakin shift between the light and the dark in his appearance. He might also be the only one Ben might listen to, given his Vader worship.
It would be really disturbing if a cast off dark side persona took on a life of it’s own. A Vader apparition without any good left in it.
It’s an interesting idea to have a Anakin/Vader hybrid ghost, but it’s a little too far fetched for me. I think you could introduce Dark Side Force sprits, but I believe it needs to be done right, rather than doing it just because it seems cool. Very much like why Lucas gave Yoda a lightsaber in the prequels. Plus, Anakin’s already been redeemed. Having a hybrid Light and Dark side ghost would feel like backtracking for Anakin as a character, especially since he’s now dead.
The name’s Lawson. Noah Lawson.
I would find a conflicted Anakin ghost distasteful, as it would severely undermine the ending of ROTJ, which has always been one of my favorite things about SW.
JEDIT: Dom, you make a fair point about the realism, but I do like it a great deal for the archetypical value. It’s more about Luke at that point than Anakin per se. I suppose it’s one of many things that pervade SW with more symbolic value than realistic or intricate.
For me it’s not a matter of realism. It’s a matter of character and story, and I feel it’s fitting for neither. Maybe after ANH it would be okay, but ESB expands beyond mere fairy tale and simple black and white morality. The dark side is serious business and in my mind it’s stronger if Luke has to live without his father as a reminder of where that path takes you than being able to chat with him whenever. Anakin’s death is a lot more effective if we know this is the only chance either of them actually got to speak with each other. For Anakin, after the PT and the “tragedy” of Darth Vader, it feels very wrong for Anakin to turn around and end up with the “cheating death” that sent him down the dark path in the first place. In my mind there’s no poetic justice when he’s 100% forgiven for his misdeeds so easily.
I think it’s just a way to try to recapture the excitement and elation of the throne room finale of ANH, but by this point the saga has evolved and gained a depth that doesn’t support the sort of non-bitter totally sweet celebratory ending of ROTJ.
To bring this back on topic, if IX has an over the top fairy tale happy ending, I don’t think that’s the emotion I’ll necessarily be feeling.