Well Lucas sequel was supposed to show why Leia was so important. She is the Chancellor who restored the Republic and its Democratic government. But we didn’t get that in Disney, she is just a general of the new rebellion called the resistance for some stupid reason, while the Empire is called the First order because Disney wanted to do requels. With the Jedi VS Sith dichotomy/schism and rebels vs Empire again, instead of progressing the story and doing actual world building.
Han Solo backslides and becomes a failed smuggler, Luke becomes a fallen Jedi who has lost his faith. Leia tries to hold the rebellion together all on her own practically. Its just really bad.
Would Lucas sequels have had further retcons? We know of the insipid Darth Maul as the new emperor and big bad. The dumb idea of Darth Talon in the wrong timeline. And the Lucas lip service to Leia being the real chosen one.
Lukes story wasn’t at all sketched out for my liking. The idea he is colonel Kurtz character, why?
I do like the idea that Luke wasn’t 100% a failure at restoring the Jedi to the galaxy.
The prequels have all the elements of a tragedy, but fumble on some key details and dovetailing with the originals in a sincere way. Far too much headcanon is necessary, or a lot has to be explained by Kenobi being a liar or a bad narrator.
One needs outside the films lore or commentary from Lucas for it to make sense.
The way the Jedi are portrayed in the prequel is one of the worst aspects. And the way people have interpreted it as the Jedi stealing children, weird and political. Leads to things like the Acolyte. When it’s probably just people misinterpreting Buddhism. I don’t like the idea of Jedi as celibate ascetic monks because it doesn’t fit the originals or EU. But the Jedi were portrayed as being right. Anakin breaks his oath and bond and is never in the right. The Jedi are goodness and light, the Sith are evil. It’s not up to interpretation. They aren’t the good guys.
Though a part of the prequels problem, is trying to make Anakin an antihero. Making the Jedi seem like corrupt bureaucrats, shades of grey. When it should be black and white good and evil, like the OT. It’s all in the eye of the viewer, they are filling in the blanks, because Lucas did a hackneyed job of things. People start say was Anakin right, were the Jedi evil. They asked him to do bad things. to break the code. And we never get Anakin as the hero of virtue, who succumbs to the slow seduction of greed, desire for power. Someone you’d admire. Would think heck yeah that’s Luke’s father. At best we get the I’ll stop people from dying speech to Anakin’s moms grave. His greed at wanting to hold onto Padme which leads to her death. Lucas handles this pretty black and white. Anakin is a fault for not letting go. Yoda says to let her pass into the force, the shadow of greed, wanting to hold onto and miss someone.
And if you reiterate Yoda’s speech in phantom menace. fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. The fear of losing his mom, Anakin did fear. which he dreamed about, then happened. He also dreams of losing Padme. That is his greed. That furnace of his heart creates Darth Vader. So determined to prevent her death he makes it happen, he sets in motion.
You could have had a moment where he leads troops to victory in battle, is an amazing starpilot. Show him of a man of great deeds. The zeal he shows in leading the war effort in the Clone Wars is why Vader is fearsome and terrible. He is methodical. Maybe even have Kenobi and him have different philosophies on how to win the war. Anakin comes up close to the knifes edge of the dark side. Kenobi is a by the book, scriptural Jedi. Anakin’s loyalty is to Palpatine and The New Empire. An Empire forged to keep a confederacy of worlds in a galactic republic under control, because several start to secede. The Empire is the Republic rotted and corrupted. The politicians self dealing. The great war hero and general Skywalker, becomes the right Hand of the Emperor. The Dark Lord of the Sith.