I really do think people are over stating the few problems The Hobbit films have and understating the cluster frot the PT was.

I may not individually care that much about each and every dwarf in The Hobbit that much but I care more about them than any single clone warrior in the PT or any single Jedi Knight for that matter. And the main characters I definitely do care about.

Bilbo is still Bilbo, Gandalf is still Gandalf, I'm interested in what's happening to them regardless of knowing they will not be killed.

I found myself actively wishing Anakin and Padme would be killed before producing Leia and Luke. They weren't just flat characters they were sharp objects in my brainspace.

The fashion for disliking The Hobbit is like the bashing Quantum of Solace got after the almost identical Casino Royale and before the almost identical Skyfall. It's just a popularity blip.

I have no problem with an artist revisiting their work as long as the original is preserved and equally available to view.