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Which also leads me to another point, how come the prequels have next to no backstory?
The 'Prequels' were the backstory, which is why they don't really work.
Any good screenwriter will tell you that backstory is best left at just that. It gives charatcers and plot depth and meaning, but never really ahould be delved into. The Godfather II is an example were it did work, though.