Originally posted by:Jumpman

With the addition of the Prequels, Lucas has created a generational gap in his Saga. I personally feel that that was going to inevitable anyway.

This is true, just like the new Superman will have its divisions from the Christopher Reeves movies, but in saying that, there is a reason IMO that the OT will always appeal to a wider audience.

The PT or the saga now 1-6 is really the character arc of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, cause that is exactly what Lucas wants the saga now to be viewed as, not as Lukes story anymore, not as rebels vs empire which was more prevailant in the OT days, but as Lucas says in the ROTS commentary, "The movies are meant to be watched 1-6 as the tragedy of Darth Vader."

The reason the OT appealed to a wide range of fans who necessarily weren't scifi diehards is because the characters were in one sense 'normal' or relatable to the common folk. The PT movies or the story of Anakin now really is more geared for a niche scifi audience, cause a character like Han Solo who was vastly popular in the OT days are really just a minor figure to the saga 1-6 now.

Lucas chose to focus the saga 1-6 now and the key players are: Luke, Anakin, Kenobi, Yoda, and Palpatine, as they in a sense are dominant figures in the 6 movies even though their screentime is sparce at times.

When watching the saga now 1-6, the parts of rebels vs empire are just minor plots to the real story in ROTJ: Luke/Vader/Emperor which is now the dominant scene in the saga rather then Luke blowing up the death star as that was probably a fav of so many fans even after the OT was finished.

Lucas changed the context of the OT movies now and there are essentially two stories going on in the OT, and for fans of the saga 1-6, the second half of ESB & ROTJ will be the real story, as most of ANH, the first hour of ESB, and the 40 minute rescue of Han at Jabbas Palace just wont fit into the real story of Luke/Vader/Emperor confrontation.

So what has happened now is Lucas is pinning on the saga for fans to fall in love with the Darth Vader story, not the other characters like Han & Leia or the rebellion/empire plot. To enjoy the saga 1-6, you have to be interested in Darth Vader/Anakin, you have to like that story, cause that is really what the saga is about now, and that will definitely limit the overall fans cause it is so cut and dry.

The OT was beloved by so many cause there was so many things you can follow for 3 movies: Han Solo being the coolest M-F'er in the galaxy, Luke being the ultimate good guy, Darth Vader being the ultimate bad guy, and Leia being a good role model for young girls, or simply falling in love with the good vs evil macro story of the rebels vs empire.

With the PT, you do have secondary characters and the rise of the empire, but that is all put out as the secondary story to Anakins, so what you will have in the future is a fanbase of Anakin/Darth Vader story lovers, and that is it, and that is why you have this huge division on line because there is a set of fans who love the Darth Vader story, but there is also this huge majority that think he got TOO much time, and the fact that the saga is his story now has turned them off.

I know it did for me cause Lucas originally did the PT as just a backstory on how Darth Vader came to be, but I never thought he would twist the OT story as a linear story of the Tragedy of Darth Vader, cause if he wrote The Original SW with that story in mind, I know I would have never been a diehard.