I believe the PT was the unrestrained vision of Lucas. He could do whatever and he wanted- and all you have to do it watch those documentaries to find no one questioned him.
The Disney films are a mixed bag, with TFA / RO clearly made for the fans and it (for the most part) working.
TLJ, on the other hand, is an exception seeing Rian Johnson leaving his mark on SW. for better or worse… as so many still debate.
Solo is a mixed bag. The concept of a Solo spinoff is so clearly an appeal to the fandom. It’s a tad insulting. But they completely missed their mark, because no one asked for such a spinoff. Then we have Lord and Miller who I predict added most the original stuff. But they were fired, and Ron Howard just made the most Star Wars movie they could do. TLDR: Made for the fans, but with a poor understanding of the fans. With a few new scenes.
Here’s where I get banned.😃
I would argue that SW 77 was made for the “fans”.
ANH was development hell. No one believed in this crazy idea Lucas was pitching. The Studio was against George forcing him to continuously rewrite the script to appeal to the “general audience”… aka the fans.
Empire was less so. Kurtz is still present but everyone has confidence in George. It’s a success and they move to ROTJ.
Jedi is questionable. Although George gained power, he was turned off his by child and wanted to wrap it all up. I would say on an equal level as empire… but for the wrong lopsided reasons.
Ranking
Most director’s vision to least
- The Phantom Menace
- The Last Jedi
- Attack of the Clones
- Revenge of the Sith
- Solo
- Empire Strikes Back
- Return of the Jedi
- Rouge One
- A New Hope
- The Force Awakens