Has anyone considered incorporating other movies/TV shows into Star Wars? Not just in the shots used, but linking the stories together or substituting plot elements.
I think it'd be really cool to not only keep the good elements of the prequels, but to also tie them in with another story, science fiction or not. Stargate SG-1 in particular can have a similar tone to the OT at times, and uses a lot more practical effects. You could really use a lot of science fiction and fantasy for this purpose.
If we're talking really radical ideas, find two characters that fall in love and have them be Owen and Beru.

There are plenty of movies that are not very well liked, but have good effects or cinematography. You could have space battles from Star Trek films, or explosions from Transformers. There's no reason to limit the toolbox to what the prequels already have in them, especially since they don't match the style of what we're aiming for anyway.