PT with new directors?

What if Lucas had chosen not to direct the PT?

Kershner made 'Empire,' widely called the best of the OT, which he claims was in line with Lucas's vision, but his directorial skills are evident in the film and the film is better for it. 

Lucas would still be in charge (they are his films) so the basic movies would be the same,  but with a director on set more interested in the act of directing and working with actors than Lucas admittedly is, and not distracted by all that was on Lucas's mind, maybe the PT wouldn't have the flaws that we all seem to think they have.

Who would have been the best choices? Here's my picks.

THE PHANTOM MENACE:
Directed by Ricard Donner

This childish action-adventure romp would benefit from a director who showed a deft hand with children's adventures (The Goonies) as well as combo action/humor vehicles (the later Lethal Weapon films). His epic credentials from Superman can not be overstated.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES:
Directed by Bryan Singer

Singer has a good eye for dark mystery (The Usual Suspects) as well as lush unapologetic romanticism (Superman Returns) both of which this film needs, and has shown he can balance a complicated action filled plot with stellar character developement (X2).

REVENGE OF THE SITH
Directed by Christopher Nolan

ROTS is a movie with a lot of plot going on with the fall of the Republic, Anakin's turn,  Padme's pregnancy and forming of the Rebellion (cut for time), a new villain introduced then killed (Greivous), and a mystery from Ep. 2 to clear up (Sypho-Dias, cut for time). Nolan, with films such as The Prestige and The Dark Knight shows the skills to balance a break-neck and convoluted plot with layers of complicated but emotionally rewarding thematic elements and still have the film work as an action packed adventure.

You'd need somebody other than Lucas to write them. And hopefully somebody other than Lucas to be in charge of the project. Plus different actors for some characters, notably Anakin in the later two films.

Personally I've thought for a while now that a good scenario would've been to have some sort of combination of Spielberg, Johnston, Darabont and Fincher, with no two prequels being directed by the same person. Maybe three of those guys could be the directors and the fourth guy would basically be the PT's Kasdan. Maybe it could go:

Episode I: Johnston

Episode II: Spielberg

Episode III: Fincher

Darabont could write the screenplays. Lucas would write the story, but maybe Frank would have some input. I guess McCallum would still produce. The directors would have final say on who the cinematographers would be, so for Spielberg that would obviously be Kaminski (which, seeing how his CinemaScope debut on Indy IV turned out, would work PEFECTLY).

Vaderisnothayden said:

You'd need somebody other than Lucas to write them. And hopefully somebody other than Lucas to be in charge of the project. Plus different actors for some characters, notably Anakin in the later two films.

 Lucas managed to get talented actors like Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman to deliver flat, uninpired performances. Even Harrison Ford complained about how little attention Lucas gave actors.

Do you suppose with a better director, one who wouldn't let "I hate sand" be a major plot point, your distaste of Christenson might be lessoned?

I'd love to see a Del Toro Episode I. Pan's Labyrinth shows that he works well with child actors and the somewhat whimsical, fantasy nature of the film would be well suited to his odd fantasy style. He could have made JarJar a very interesting character.

TheBoost said:

Vaderisnothayden said:

You'd need somebody other than Lucas to write them. And hopefully somebody other than Lucas to be in charge of the project. Plus different actors for some characters, notably Anakin in the later two films.

 

 Lucas managed to get talented actors like Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman to deliver flat, uninpired performances. Even Harrison Ford complained about how little attention Lucas gave actors.

Do you suppose with a better director, one who wouldn't let "I hate sand" be a major plot point, your distaste of Christenson might be lessoned?

Christensen even without Lucas couldn't do Anakin right. I've seen him act in other things. I know his acting. He's totally inappropriate for Anakin.

And Neeson did a good job in TPM. So did Portman. 

C3PX said:

In all honesty, would you really want to see a Del Toro episode one? Sure it would be fascinating I am sure, but would you really want to see his unique style make its way in to one sixth of a mainstream series such as SW?

Sometimes you love two different things for what they are, but it wouldn't be wise to mix them.

Yes.

You make good points but I think you underestimate Del Toro's versatility as a director. Maybe I'll reserve judgment until "the Hobbit" comes out but from everything I heard about it so far, it seems like Del Toro is quite capable of respecting the universe Tolkien and Jackson have created while still adding his own flair. I think he would able to tone down his signature style to fit the Star Wars universe.  On "The Hobbit", he has already made concessions stating that he is using a 2.35:1 aspect ratio rather than his signature 1.85:1. Also, he has stated that previously established locations like the Shire will be faithful to their Jackson counterparts. He seems interested in preserving continuity. Hellboy II: The Golden Army shows that Del Toro can direct a Star Wars-esque movie. This movie shared a lot in common with Star Wars, from the colorful and quirky main cast, the abundance of strange creatures, the humorous banter between the characters etc.

Another thing in Del Toro's favor is his love of practical effects like animatronics, puppetry and makeup. He has created a variety of interesting creatures in his movies using both cg and practical effects and seems to only use cg when necessary. No doubt Del Toro's episode I would feature and amazingly lifelike puppet Yoda, an interesting JarJar and a scene that's puts Episode IV's Cantina to shame. I have no doubt that Del Toro could do Star Wars.

AxiaEuxine said:

Out of curiosity why do you all "wonder if" endlessly about the prequels? You hate them, that isnt going to change. Its evident in any prequel edit Ive ever watched. Where most OT edits are much more carefully edited, in an attempt to make them better movies all prequel edits are designed to change them, to make them "better" movies and it shows. Every true prequel fan edit has been a jarring hack and slash job trying to turn the movies into something they are not.

 Now, I know that my PT-hate is considerably less than the average fan on these boards, but I like to 'wonder-if" because I love Star Wars so darn much, I wish the PT wasn't so flawed.

As for edits, I think Phantom Editor's work was brilliant. I admit TPM wasn't the film i was hoping to see, but even as the film it was, a childish adventure film, it was highly flawed.  Phantom Editor successfully made it a much better childish adventure film (albeit still with a really UNchildish plotline about politics and traderoutes).

I wish AOTC wasn't an awkward teen lovestory interspersed with a mystery that is never solved, but even if I loved awkward teen romances and unresolved mysteries, the film still had major flaws that Phantom Editor made less obnoxious.