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Your images of Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader and others in your Prequel Interpretations

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If you have any images of how you imagine these, or other, characters in the Prequel Era you have in your heads (or on paper!) please post them here! And also, if you could, list how far before the original SW film the image takes place. Also, if you want you can put up images of planets, settings, vehicles, buildings, technology, and any other characters from the era we were all robbed of with Lucas's "canon" versions. 

You don't have to put up images per say, but it would be awesome if any of you could. Descriptions will suffice if that's all you have! I personally am not that talented artistically so, for now, I'll go with a verbal depiction of the characters. 

I see a "young Anakin" (about 20-I hope none if us want the 8 year old we got in TPM!) looking a lot like Luke/Mark Hamil, except with darker and slightly longer hair. I see the older Anakin appearing more fatherly and benevolent (leading up to Sebastian Shaw's Force Ghost in ROTJ). Finally, I see Anakin slowly losing his humanity and becoming more Machine than Man with all of the injuries instilled upon him via the Clone Wars, eventually falling into the Volcano (or Nuclear Reactor) which necessitated the iconic life-preserving suit. 

I envision Obi-Wan already being middle-aged by Episode I and having shoulder length hair and being pretty muscular. Then by Episode II, I see him having shorter hair and appearing almost "verbatim" as he does in "Silent Drifting" from Marvel Comics. In Episode III, my Obi-Wan will show signs of being closer to his visage in the OT, now adopting a full body cloak. NOTE: My Episode I is 40 years prior to SW 77, Episode II being 35 years prior, and Episode III 20 years prior. 

The Emperor and Yoda (both making infrequent appearances) appear the same as they did in the OT. Puppet Yoda...NO CGI! He's 900 already by ROTJ so a few decades before that he shouldn't look much younger. The Emperor will appear like Clive Revill's Monkey Eyed Emperor from the OOT version of ESB in all hologram appearances, but just like Ian McDiarmid's ROTJ Emperor in all live appearances. 

Now for Your thoughts and Images of YOUR Prequels!!  

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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There's a Topps Trading Card from the early 90s that posits a pretty interesting picture of Young Obi-Wan even if it is just a drawn mock up of younger Alec Guiness:

 

I there's also some possible validity in having a young Anakin in some ways resemble a young Sebastian Shaw: 

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 (Edited)

I imagine Anakin - as a fourteen-year-old teenager, before Obi-Wan takes him as his apprentice - as looking rather lean, clean-shaven, with longish blond hair, in white/gray clothes similar to Luke's in ANH. Later, as a Jedi in his 20s, I see him more refined, with neater, combed hair and a simple close-fitting black outfit like Luke's in ROTJ, but with an overall similar lean physique. As an older man, though, in his 40s, I see him as heavier, with more muscle/fat, and more rugged; his hair is closely cropped, his skin weathered and scarred in places, he goes unshaven, and he wears heavy dark clothing reminiscent of Exar Kun's and Ulic Qel-Droma's robes. In every variation, I see Anakin played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

With Obi-Wan, as a young twenty-year-old man, just before he meets Anakin, I imagine him as he is pictured in most of the TPM concept art, with long black hair, in black robes, and clean shaven. As the years go by, Obi-Wan begins to look more and more like his ANH self, growing a beard as his hair grows shorter and grayer. I still picture Ewan MacGregor as the younger Obi-Wan.

I picture Mother Skywalker (Anakin's wife, not mother, BTW) as looking like a young Jane Fonda with red hair. I imagine her to have a rather innocent demeanor.

Palpatine I picture as a young, passionate, charismatic man, in his late 20s-early 30s, who seems to radiate with confidence. I picture him to look a lot like Gaspard Ulliel, but with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Mace Windu I see as being the same aloof prick he is in the films, but played by Djimon Hounsou rather than Sam Jackson.

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Woah. In all my years of being a Star Wars fan I have never heard ANYTHING about this card!! Wow! I am utterly shocked. When did this come out? Tell me more about this! Seriously...this is a GREAT find. 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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Intereating ideas, and I like the Mother Skywalker idea, however I see Obi-Wan being older and I don't think Leonardo Di Caprio would make for a good Jedi Knight turned Dark Lord, IMO. 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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I mainly picture Anakin as Leo because of rumours I've heard that he was once considered for the role in Ep. II, and because I think there is some similarity between him and Shaw in the shape of their faces. There's also the fact that I just don't want to picture the future Darth Vader as Hayden anymore ;-)
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Understandable. I wish there was a middle ground between Mark Hamil and Sebastian Shaw that I could find for the ideal Anakin...oh well! Hopefully there's a hidden pre-prequel TOPPS trading card of a "prequel" era Anakin out there somewhere (fingers crossed!) 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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 (Edited)

I imagine something like this. Just a quick sketch. (I now remember how out of practice I am.)

I gave him most of the Vader armor but with a cloth collar like Ben's in ANH.  Or maybe a pilot scarf thing. Originally I was going to have him in an ROTJ Luke-type outfit - that would work well too.  Or something like this:

Maybe he only wears what I drew after he starts to support the Emperor's New Order.

"Star Wars films are basically silent movies. And they're designed as silent movies, therefore the music carries a -- has a very large role in carrying the story, more than it would in a normal movie."  -GL

"NOO! NOOOOOO!!" - Darth Vader

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Great art there! Wow! That's how I imagine Anakin at the "end of his life" right prior to dawning the Vader armour. My only point of criticism is that maybe he looks a BIT too old in that picture. I guess I would have him with a bit more hair and a bit thinned out I guess. But that depiction is still very close to how he SHOULD have looked right before his fateful duel with Kenobi and his Fall. 

When we first see Anakin, YES, he should look like Mark Hamil in that picture except a tad more muscular, a bit taller, and with darker hair and a bit more masculinized face. But yeah I would have him dressed like Mark in that picture, and then adopting a uniform that is a cross between the ROTJ Luke garb and the suit he wears as Vader (which you kind of have Anakin wearing a prototype of in your brilliant sketch). 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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Just in case you guys don't know how MARVEL saw Obi-Wan having looked when he was younger.  In my mind, I see Obi-Wan appearing like this shortly before The Empire "assumed control" (lol Rush reference) of the Galaxy, and in the final year(s) of the Republic, right after The Clone Wars ended.  I like to imagine that Obi-Wan's journey to Bail Organa's (which is when this comic takes place) was taken so as to discuss the Rise of the Empire and the possibility of Tyranny, the end of the Jedi, and the Dawn of the Dark Times...

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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^That's probably one of the few stories set in that era that I actually consider canon these days.

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There aren't really any other depictions of that era that actually show it in a cohesive storyline narrative are there from before 99? Not counting references to the era in other stories in the EU, quotes from the older generation in the OT, and background info.  Are there any others at all?!? 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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 (Edited)

I don't think there are, or if there are, they are very few. There are mentions in Zahn's novels - cloning technology actually plays a pretty large role, one of the new characters is a founding member of the Rebel Alliance, etc, but it is all based on pretty much just what we were told in the OT (and is also limited based on what Lucas nixed from story proposals). The date of the end of the Clone Wars is 35 years before the battle of Yavin, though. (This came from LFL between the first and second books in Zahn's trilogy.) Children of the Jedi has a different date, if I recall. There are some other bits sprinkled throughout the rest of the pre-PT EU, but nothing super cohesive.  Or rather, it's cohesive in the same straightforward way as the clues in the OT. The Republic fought a war involving clones, Palpatine came to power, Anakin Skywalker was seduced by the dark side, the Jedi were extinguished. The mention in the ESB novel of Boba Fett's armor being originally worn by warriors defeated by the Jedi in the Clone Wars fed the idea that the Republic fought Mandalorian Supercommando clones in the Wars.  Important to note, there is no inkling of a grandiose metaphysical Sith plot to destabilize the Force. Vader is the Dark Lord of the Sith, Palpatine doesn't officially become one until TPM. And the balance/Chosen One thing comes completely out of left field in 1999. And there are dark siders active throughout the timeline, almost none of which are Sith. These dark siders may also have had something to do with the Clone Wars, as they pop up in that historical era in books like HTTE and I, Jedi.

Also, regarding Anakin's age: my mental image of him is heavily based on what I get from watching ANH, in which he is (/was originally) a separate character from Vader. Vader is clearly intended to be a younger character than Ben, a "boy." But Annikin (different spelling) is, I think, meant to be intermediate between this and Ben's age.

There was a big discussion of this on TFN one time, I'll have to try to dig it up. Basically it seems that Lucas had created two characters in ANH - Vader, who's definitely young, and Luke's father, for whom no age is given. But his attributes seem to be somewhat similar to Obi-Wan's, and in the script Blue/Red Leader says he met Luke's father, who was a great pilot, when he (Blue Leader) was just a boy - and that character is probably 45ish in the film. (This is in the scene that was partially restored in the SEs - here's bts footage of it being filmed, with part of the original bit audible.) If he's 45ish, and met Annikin when he was, let's say, 5-10 years old... Annikin was probably Luke's age (20ish, barring podrace-type shenanigans - I think Annikin and his journey were meant to mirror Luke and his in a lot of ways in the OT) 35-40 years before. So Annikin would have been 55-60 or so at the time of ANH (if he were alive). And he'd have been 30-35 when Luke was born. In ROTJ's script, Anakin is described as "elderly," and Shaw definitely looks close in age to Ben.

(There is some variability with those ages. Interesting that Obi-Wan did start out 30-35ish in TPM, and was de-aged when Qui-Gon's role was expanded - if I recall.)

I think that Anakin and Vader's ages differed from the beginning, and Lucas chose the older of the two possibilities when he first combined the characters. Later, he changed his mind and gave Anakin the younger age when he went to make the prequels.

 

EDIT: Just remembered, there's something in Marvel about Princess Leia having something to do with the clones or the Republic? I think this is in the issues with the Mandalorians? I've only seen oblique mentions, I don't know the details of this.

"Star Wars films are basically silent movies. And they're designed as silent movies, therefore the music carries a -- has a very large role in carrying the story, more than it would in a normal movie."  -GL

"NOO! NOOOOOO!!" - Darth Vader

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The MARVEL series has an issue which alleges that Leia was in the Senate...at the time of the Clone Wars.  As much of a fan of the old MARVEL comics as I am, I find this concept to be completely ridiculous, as that would have made the Clone Wars even more recent than Lucas's Prequels, which were already too close, chronologically, to the original Star Wars film IMO!  Of course, this doesn't really fit in with the way Obi-Wan and Luke talked about how the Clone Wars were such an almost "ancient" occurrence, which the rest of the EU makes appear even MORE ancient (in fact some sources directly use that aforementioned adjective to refer to Clone Wars era vessels!).  

And thanks for all that you posted. 

What I meant to say was that it seems like "Silent Drifting" (the Kenobi Marvel comic) may be the only full narrative of a story set in the Prequel era, as in involving direct dialogue/fleshed out characters/.etc.  The background info of the "More Civilized Age" is actually quite extensive from the Pre-Prequel EU (thankfully we have SOMETHING other than the Lucas doggerel!), but direct narratives...are lacking. 

However, that Marvel issue may not be the only instance of a full narrative of the Pre-Prequel as I haven't read any of the Archie Goodwin "Classic Star Wars" comics, NOT counting background info, details, and dialogue from the OT era ABOUT the PT era.  

It's a shame Lucas was so limiting from the beginning. We could have had full comics/graphic novels of good to GREAT quality detailing the youthful exploits of Father Skywalker and General Kenobi, the Clone Wars, the fateful Duel and Transformation, and maybe even an O.B. 1 fan theory "Infinities" like comic! 

But now it's up to people like us to create tales in this beautiful era, which was so horrifically lobotomized by Lucas and his Cronies.  

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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I think there is some RPG story/setting/adventure involving the aftermath of a Clone Wars battle, but I can't remember the title or any names of characters or planets involved.  I'll try to find it. (Might or might not fit into your "actual story" criteria.)

"Star Wars films are basically silent movies. And they're designed as silent movies, therefore the music carries a -- has a very large role in carrying the story, more than it would in a normal movie."  -GL

"NOO! NOOOOOO!!" - Darth Vader

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Back to the original topic, I'm totally perplexed and undecided as to how I would want Luke and Leia's mother to look like, be like as a character, or even be named. As much as I dislike the Prequel Films, I almost want to just call her Padme (although I'd ditch the "Amidala" for certain).  I think about her possibly looking like Carrie, or looking more noble like Natalie herself, or if she should look like a "retro" girl, or a modern looking actress (i.e. a Jodie Foster vs. an Emma Watson).  Recently, though, I've been leaning towards a Jacqueline Bisset visage, because she had a "retro" 1970s look, was very gorgeous, projected a very approachable and sympathetic demeanor (perfect for Anakin's wife/girlfriend!), and is more believable as Carrie Fisher's mother than Natalie Portman.

Can't you just see her with the iconic space-buns?!?

As to her character?!? Besides being a sympathetic, loving, and consoling woman, I kind of see her as being very fun, energetic, sweet, and adventurous (I mean, why else is she with a star-pilot and warrior who embarks on Idealistic Crusades?!?).  Also, it would make HER transform along with her husband, as she will eventually become the "beautiful...but sad" dying mother Leia recounts in Return of the Jedi. 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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The treatment I have has Carima Niwir (Mother Skywalker in my version) as a blond wrench wench type, who starts off cute, but messy looking because she's primarily a mechanic and freight worker who's friends with Anakin and is a fellow employee on the Spice Freighter. Have a young Debbie Reynolds in my head, though that's pretty much because of the actress's relationship to Carrie Fisher. 

Characterization she's the small town girl in over her head like her son while Anakin's much more the fierce and determined individual like his daughter. Her accidentally being dragged into Skywalker and Kenobi's adventure is what drives her much of her scenes with the former at first before their genuine appreciation blossoms again and grows beyond a friendship. In the long term she represents a crucial part of his humanity and its her apparent death allows him to be more more easily manipulated by Palpatine. 

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Star Wars Purist said:


There aren't really any other depictions of that era that actually show it in a cohesive storyline narrative are there from before 99?


I was actually taking the post-99 Clone Wars era material into consideration when I made my earlier post. Until recently, I was considering much of it as part of my personal canon, with just a bit of personal retconning to make it all work the way I wanted it all to work. Now, though, most of that has been - and probably will continue to be - discarded.

Not counting references to the era in other stories in the EU, quotes from the older generation in the OT, and background info.  Are there any others at all?!?


Zahn apparently wrote a short story called "Mist Encounter" sometime in the 90s that took place in the final days of the prequel era. I've never read it, though, so I don't know what the various tidbits he may give are. I've heard he's made some recent alterations to the text to bring it more in line with the PT, though, so if you're interested in ever reading this story, you'd probably want to get your hands on the older version.

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Oh, I actually have read it. It was included as a bonus in a paperback release of Outbound Flight.  I didn't remember it because that specific reprinted version of the novella "prequel-ized" the story, as they removed references to "The Emperor" to "Chancellor/Senator Palpatine" or so I believe, thus I remember it more as being a Lucas Prequel era story.  Hopefully, I will find the original version of the novella somewhere. 

-Someone, someday, needs to bring back the LIGHT SIDE to Star Wars.  Has anyone else noticed striking similarites between the character of Anakin/Vader and George Lucas, or is it just me? 

-It's called STAR WARS. NOT "Episode IV: A New Hope". Kids, get this straight.  

-Please read the Archie Goodwin daily SW comics: Too good to be forgotten! 

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Well, I grew up with the Prequels so it's kind of hard trying to get Ewen McGreggor and Hayden Christensen out of my head. But I did find these two fan-made images, which can give a pretty good idea if Anakin and Obi-Wan were played by younger versions of their original actors.

Star Wars Forensics - Anakin and Young Anakin and Obi-Wan

Screw lightsabers, I’ll stick with regular swords. At least they won’t blow up in my face like this franchise has.

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CWBorne said:

 

I there's also some possible validity in having a young Anakin in some ways resemble a young Sebastian Shaw: 

Definitely makes more sense than poor old Hayden...  :-/

The first actor who comes to mind is Christian. Bale...

Apart from rom looking simmilar enough to Sebastian Shaw, he's an amazing actor!!! He could definitely pull off anakin becoming Darth Vader.