C3PX said:
There are obviously intentional parallels between the two trilogies. But I'd have to strongly disagree with the idea that the "main point" of Star Wars was to meet characters that would be in the next two films. In many ways this was the intention of The Phantom Menace, but when it was made, it was clear there would be two sequels.

Yeah, the original film was made to be a stand alone piece. Lucas wanted to do sequels but he didn't know if he could. And they were prepared to do Splinter of the Mind's Eye as a low budget sequel instead of the films that got made.