I think that inserting a "device" or a specific explanation for Palpatine's transformation is going too far. Star Wars walks the fine line of science fantasy best when the mystical elements are handled in a more offhand manner that kind of just asks you to roll with it. It's why the midichlorians were such a betrayal of the mythology.

I don't think you need to actually explain HOW palpatine's appearance changes......I just think it will work better if its clarified that the scared face is his true visage, and the human face is the deception. If the sith lighting does anything.....it merely forces the truth to be revealed. There are many ways to do that, including having him appear scared but in shadow beforehand in some manner.

jonathan7 said:

Sepharih said:

The biggest problem I foresee with this is that it might wind up removing whatever tension there is in the podrace since the viewer effectively has no idea who Anakin is as a character or why they should care about him.

One of the big problems with the Pod-race I think though is there is a lack of tension anyway, there was never a point that I didn't think Anakin would win. It's a point the Phantom Editor makes in his commentary of Attock of the Clones. That the Prequels are a bit like a bad horror film, you already know what's going to happen there isn't any suprises. Where as the OT I think often surprised you... (Well at least until RotJ).

Well in fairness, that's a weakness inherent in almost any sort of prequel.....but I don't know if this would really help matters or just exacerbate them since you've removed most of Anakin's character development. Maybe in the end it *would* be a stronger and more appropriate characterization to focus on Ani as the daring and bold Pilot, rather than the altruistic youth. It's just a concern I would have.