If there’s any older fans out there who remember this time before the prequels, I’m curious if you could attest to what it was like during this time? Was the speculation more or less what the EU writers were hinting at? How shocking was it when these changes were made?
I’m old enough at least so that I was already a teenager when Phantom Menace came out, so I engaged in my fair share of speculation about the Star Wars backstory as told by Obi-Wan to Luke in A New Hope. I hadn’t read any of the EU material at that time, so the speculation was purely based off the OT and various playground rumors I picked up. I somehow knew that Anakin Skywalker fell into a lava pit while fighting Kenobi, which is how he became Vader. I was aware of the “OB1” idea that Kenobi was actually a clone - but I didn’t necessarily believe it. The basic assumption regarding the Clone Wars was that the clones were the bad guys - possibly associated somehow with Mandalorians - and they were fighting against the Republic (or maybe the early Empire). Anakin followed Kenobi on some “idealistic crusade” which was probably to fight for the Republic against the clones. Anakin and Kenobi were similar in age, and Anakin was known for his great star-fighter piloting skills. The Jedi Knights were kind of like Samurai who served the nobility (which is why Kenobi served Bail Organa.) Beyond that, I assumed very little.
I do remember assuming the Prequels would be much closer aesthetically/stylistically to the OT. And due to the mention of clones, I assumed the Prequels would have more of a “science fiction” angle to the story than the originals did. I also assumed that Alderaan and the Alderaanian royalty would play a much larger role in these stories. (The actual Prequels seem to have replaced Alderaan’s role with Naboo.)
There’s a fan-made plot synopsis/script outline that was circulating around in the 80s or early 90s which told the story of Episode 3. Obi-Wan is essentially the main character. The story also featured characters like “Lady Arcadia Skywalker”, who was Anakin’s wife, Bail Organa, and Captain Antilles. The story focuses a lot on the Alderaanian forces as Palpatine takes control of the Republic. There’s also a “Prince Valarium”, which indicates that whoever wrote this may have actually read (or at least heard details about) genuine early drafts of Star Wars. (They definitely read the ANH novelization at least.)
Anyway, this fan-made synopsis is close - both plot-wise and stylistically - to my vague expectations about the Prequels. At least, much closer than the actual Prequels that were released 1999-2005. I can’t say to what extent this fan-made synopsis was an amalgamation of pre-existing fan expectations, or to what extent it actually influenced fan expectations. I can’t even remember when or if I became aware of this plot synopsis as a child. But I can say with certainty that this plot synopsis is at least closer in spirit to what I expected from the Prequels.