I've been MIA from this thread from a while. I've just posted a few ideas on the Unofficial Revisited Saga thread which people may appreciate here. They retread some familiar ground but are at least somewhat different to ideas brought up here before:
Obviously you already know my feelings about Hayden Christensen and that I think he should be recast with another Anakin but there's another reason for this as I believe it's prudent to completely get rid of Jake Lloyd and that we meet Anakin as a teenager of Luke's age.
He won't be a slave either and will be living with his mother and brother Owen.
One thing that will change is there won't be podracers anymore. Driving a mechanical 'chariot' at floor level does not say 'pilot' to me, and Obi Wan says Anakin was already a great pilot when they met.
I'm struggling with the details of what point in the films Obi Wan will meet him, but I believe it should play out something like this.
Obi and crew are stranded on Tatooine. Perhaps their pilot is injured/dead. In any case, they need a pilot rather than a ship part. They ask in a cantina/shop if there are any pilots they can hire. Someone (perhaps Watto redubbed or with new subtitles) pipes up that they know of one - the best in the sector. "Where can I find him" Obi Wan asks.
Cut to the T-16 and another ship racing eachother through Beggar's Canyon. It weaves in and out between spires and there's a little bit of banter between the two over radio chatter. They are either brothers (in which case this other guy will be Owen) or friends. The other guy taunts him and Anakin pulls off some tremendous maneuver through a narrow gap, only just avoiding being crushed.
"Woooooooooo" he shouts in triumph and exhilaration - except this won't be from an annoying little kid, but a young adult whom we've already warmed to as a bit of a rogue. Anakin should always have filled the Han Solo type role in these movies and his arc ought to have been maturing and also learning the code of the Jedi which would have allowed for lots of conflict and disagreements with Obi Wan along with bits of humour. What a missed opportunity!
Anyway, having Anakin fly the same ship that Luke plays with a model of in ANH makes that scene into a nice little nod to the prequels without being too blatant. It's the kind of subtle touch I just love seeing in a film and a really good non-hamfisted way of unifying the two trilogies. He's playing with the model, almost like he could be reenacting a race we've seen before. I think it could be a nice moment and a nice nod. Perhaps he realises his father once piloted one and he treasures it, perhaps he's oblivious. Who knows.
Back to the prequel era. Obi Wan warms to Anakin and realises he is force sensitive. He asks him to come away with him on an adventure as they need all the help they can get against this new threat. (The Sith/The Clones etc). This to me fits the bill of dragging Anakin on an 'idealistic crusade'.
Anakin leaves the planet with Obi Wan. His brother Owen won't be happy about it and a bit jealous that Anakin has the Force and he doesn't. This would explain his apparent dislike of Obi Wan in ANH as "just a crazy old man".
The most similar example of this type of thing being done elsewhere is in Harry Potter where Harry's Mother, Lily is accepted to go to Hogwarts and Petunia, her sister who is not blessed with magic, is secretly jealous but reacts with anger, calling her a freak.
I appreciate these ideas require a lot of refilming, but that's what this thread is all about :)