logo Sign In

Ways to Do the Prequels with No Spoilers for the OT.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I'm reposting something I originally posted in this thread:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Would-it-have-been-possible-to-make-the-PT-in-the-late-90s-early-00s-in-a-way-that-synced-up-with-the-OOT/topic/16670/

Many have said that it would have been impossible to have good prequels without showing the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader, but I disagree. It is true that there would have been less tragedy since we wouldn't know it was Anakin, but here's how I would have liked to see the PT done:

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are friends during the first movie. In it, the Republic falls during the Clone Wars and the Empire is formed. We learn details like the fact that Obi-Wan has had previous apprentices (but they are not named). One of Obi-Wan's former apprentices joins the Empire, so we suspect that he is Darth Vader until Episode V. Anakin marries a woman and she becomes pregnant.

In the second installment, Anakin's darkness is hinted at. About halfway through the movie, we discover that someone named Darth Vader is rising up through the ranks of the Imperial Army (or something of the sort). When we get to see Darth Vader, he is cloaked and hooded with his face hidden, so we don't find out who he really is. Anakin's darkness is hinted at throughout the movie (but is never so obvious that we can readily connect Darth Vader with Anakin). Latish in the movie, we see a hooded figure kneeling before a hologram, but we can't see the face of the person in the hologram (since he is the Emperor, and his reveal would be spoiled if his face was shown). We can't see the face of the hooded figure, and his name is not given, but he is instructed to kill Anakin Skywalker. Then comes the volcano battle. Anakin is defeated and killed (or so we are led to believe) by the hooded figure, who is masked throughout the whole thing. The movie ends.

In the third movie, Darth Vader is still hooded and cloaked the same way as before, but he now has a mask that is reminiscent of the mask we see in the OT. Darth Vader begins hunting down the remnants of the Jedi order. At some point, he duels Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan manages to dismember Darth Vader's right arm and escape. He then visits Anakin's wife on Alderaan, who has given birth since the first movie. She entrusts Obi-Wan with the care of her son (she has had twins and doesn't want to give them both up, but we don't learn this until ROTJ). Obi-Wan is by this point the last of the Jedi  besides his former master, whom we next see Obi-Wan speaking to on a swamp planet, though his master is hidden from sight. Obi-Wan tells him that Darth Vader's fighting style is familiar. His old master tells him to hide away on a remote planet until the time is right. We see a spaceship heading towards a desert planet and the movie ends.

It could have been done, it just wasn't....

Author
Time

Please share your ideas here as well. I'm curious to see what people can come up with. There are naysayers who disagree that the movies could be any good without spoilers for the OT, but I think that if the PT was done vastly differently than it was, it could have been pulled off.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

As I've mentioned elsewhere, Darth is initially a seperate character from Anakin in my canon.

The adopted son and second apprentice of Ben, Darth is eventually swayed by Anakin into leaving the Jedi and becoming a Sith. Eventually, the two Sith have a showdown with Ben, but at the last minute Darth has a change of heart and turns on Anakin, causing them both to take the plunge into a river of radioactive waste.

Only one of them survives and manages to crawl out of the river. His features heavily obscured by his burns and the lack of close-ups, it's impossible to tell if this survivor is Anakin or Darth. Palpatine and/or some of his men show up and rescue him and take him back to Coruscant for immediate surgery. Over the next couple of months, this survivor goes through a series of surgeries to graft bionic parts onto his ravaged body and heal what is left of his organic self, and he eventually emerges as an masked-and-armoured cyborg. Even now, though, his name is never revealed.

Leaving the third story, the viewer is left wondering who actually became this armoured cyborg. Entering SW, it would be revealed that the survivor is Darth Vader himself. Obi-Wan would give some information about Anakin to Luke but without revealing that the boy's father turned to the dark side, making it apparent to the viewer that Ben is deliberately hiding this knowledge from Luke. In TESB, Luke would have his first showdown with Vader, leading the viewer to suspect that Vader's going to reveal to Luke that not only did his father fall to the dark side, but he's the one who converted Vader himself. Of course, this is when the plot twist kicks in ...

Author
Time

Perhaps the story doesn't need to be done vastly differently than the prequels to have no spoilers. As I've posted incarnations of this story elsewhere, this will be draft three of an evolving set of ideas forced into formation. Make of it what you will:

It is a time of galactic war. Vicious cloned warriors, striking from the Great Rift, have attacked the Galactic Republic and are now moving directly to its heart. The bright center of the Republic lies exposed. Countless star systems lie in ruin.

 

The final hope for the Republic lies the hands of an ancient and powerful order of holy warriors - the JEDI KNIGHTS - who alone have the strength to repel the relentless clones. However, their venerable order is not what it once was. Few in the galaxy have faith in the Force - the mystical field of energy that give the Jedi their power - so the Jedi have dwindled in numbers and power. Like the embers of a dying fire roused to brilliance by a searing wind, they now fight desperately to regain their former glory.

 

The Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi is among the fiercest of the order. Being the last student of an old master of the Force, he knows that the Jedi once took and trained disciples from an early age, and this gave them great numbers and power. But it also led to bitter dissent and rivalry, and strained the unity of the order. Yet Commander Kenobi has need of both of these things if the Republic is to survive the clones, and so when he sees the presence of the Force in one of his new recruits, he selects this young man - Anakin Skywalker - to fly with him against the clones in his newly formed fighter squadron.

 

Skywalker, he discovers, is only sixteen, having faked his identity to fight with for the Republic. Impressed both by his audacity and his skill as a pilot, Obi-wan decides to train Anakin in the ways of the Jedi. Anakin soon becomes a formidable warrior, learning quickly and bringing Commander Kenobi victory after victory for the Republic. Soon Kenobi is advanced to the rank of General, due in no small part to Anakin's heroics. However, Kenobi's reliance on young Skywalker takes its toll on the young man. Anakin soon tires of war, and falls in love with a woman from the peaceful planet of Alderaan, which is liberated from clone forces by Skywalker and General Kenobi.

 

Yet the war rages on, and there are personnel shortages within the military. Suddenly the Chancellor of the Republic is captured and taken to a clone stronghold, and so the Kenobi sends Skywalker in to rescue him. Anakin discovers that behind the clones lies a power which is a corruption of the Force, one that seems far more powerful. In the darkness of the clone stronghold, Anakin draws his laser sword against a mysterious warrior guarding the Chancellor, one who has this dark side of the Force as his power. The warrior seems to know the young Jedi's training, matching him move for move. Anakin cannot overcome this terror shrouded in darkness, and so he flees. The clones gain a decisive victory, and the Republic remains in mortal peril.

 

Anakin is haunted by his defeat by the mysterious warrior and his failure to rescue the Chancellor. He immerses himself in strategy and training, knowing every secret movement of Republic forces under the command of the Jedi knights. His mission is to find the Chancellor. However, every rescue mission turns into a rout. Jedi who should have lived now die. The Jedi suspect treachery in their midst, and so they turn to their bravest, whom they know to be Anakin, to seek out the traitor. Anakin knows that this traitor was once trained as a Jedi, perhaps even by Kenobi himself, for he knows Anakin's every technique. He is convinced that this traitor is the mysterious warrior he battled in the clone stronghold, but he cannot find this warrior among the Jedi.

 

Then Obi-wan discovers that the woman Anakin fell in love with is actually a clone. She was fighting on Alderaan but threw down her weapons and posed as a native of that world. Obi-wan asks her why she defected, as it is not in a clone's nature to betray their comrades. She explains that the DNA of the Clones is incomplete, and so they receive a genetically formulated antidote at their strongholds. Clones that do not will slowly weaken and die, and this is why they are so ferocious, with no defectors. They are literally fighting for their lives. Yet she would rather spend a few years in peace than a lifetime at war. But she is pregnant, and fears that she will not be strong enough to bear Anakin's child.

 

Meanwhile, the Jedi have discovered the location of the captured Chancellor, and they all mount a final attack on the primary stronghold. Kenobi and Skywalker are selected to lead the covert mission to rescue the Chancellor while the rest of the Jedi lead the ground and fighter attacks. But Anakin, mistrustful of Obi-wan and suspecting him of treachery, decides to go alone.

 

The final assault begins. As the Jedi and the Republic forces open a way through the massed clone forces, Anakin slips by, and winds his way to the very center of clone stronghold. There he finds the Chancellor, who is unguarded and surveying the battle from atop his tower. Surrounding him are six figures cloaked in red, seated as if watching the proceedings. The Chancellor bids Anakin watch the final destruction of the Jedi, and Anakin realizes that the Chancellor is the mastermind of the war. Anakin demands to have the genetic antidote, and the Chancellor responds:

 

"Whoever controls the antidote controls the clones, Anakin. If this is what you seek, here he stands, the antidote to all war."

 

"It's in you?"

 

"The Clones are me, young Skywalker. Incomplete without me, male and female I created them. They are my children. Do you know the true power of my family? It was my grandfather who first understood. His father was a Jedi, and he was strong in the Force. His son was strong in it as well, as was I. The Force chose our family above all others to rule the galaxy."

 

This is the first that any Jedi has heard of the Force being with an entire family rather than a single individual, and it shakes Anakin to his core. As starships incinerate each other in the blackness before him, the Chancellor continues:

 

"Though you are the greatest of the Jedi, you are not my son. Therefore it is time for you to meet an old friend, though you haven't yet been properly introduced."

 

The shadow warrior steps out of the blackness.

 

"Meet my apprentice, Darth Vader."

 

The warrior again fights Anakin, again drives him back.

 

"This is Obi-wan's greatest student. I have simply continued his training. Soon, Darth Vader will be a master of the Force, and shall join me as my loyal servant. That is, unless the great Anakin Skywalker can defeat him."

 

Anakin grows angry, and the warrior seems to gain power. Anakin attacks ferociously, hating this figure who betrayed and killed so many of his brethren.

 

"You killed Jedi! Because of you millions are dead! How can you remain silent? You will answer for this!"

 

The warrior yet advances, forcing Anakin back.

 

"Can you not see, Skywalker? Anger only makes my apprentice stronger."

 

Meanwhile, the battle rages. General Kenobi, who is in a Republic warship, orders an evacuation of the skeleton crew as the ship loses shields. He races to his personal fighter, but along the way runs into Anakin's wife, who had joined the cause as a gunner because of the lack of trained personnel. The ship breaks apart as they both escape in the fighter. They maneuver through the battle, and Anakin's wife realizes that Obi-wan isn't half the pilot that people think he is, for Anakin had been doing much of the heroics. The ship gets blasted and shields go down, but Obi-wan manages to take it to hyperspace.

 

Anakin takes one of the red-robed figures hostage. The Chancellor chuckles:

 

"How un-Jedilike of you, Anakin. You cannot defeat Darth Vader, so you threaten a woman."

 

The figure removes her mask. The Chancellor crows:

 

"These are some of my many daughters. With the blood of the Force, they will birth a dynasty that shall rule the galaxy forever."

 

Anakin is horrified to discover that they all have the face of his wife.

 

Meanwhile in hyperspace, Obi-wan realizes that Anakin's wife has taken a piece of shrapnel, and as he attempts to tend to her, she remarks on Obi-wan leaving the battle, claiming that it is cowardice. She says that she doesn't fear death, having made the choice to die when she defected. Obi-wan however still fears death, and always admired the way Anakin would brave all odds to save the day, risking his life countless times. But Anakin's wife shares a different story, saying that Anakin couldn't understand her reason for choosing death. Anakin in fact acted bravely because he secretly feared death, and didn't want people to think him a coward.

 

Anakin meanwhile stares at the face of what looks like his wife. As fear overcomes him, the darkness seems to deepen, and the shadow warrior approaches Anakin from behind. Anakin realizes that he has not the strength to defeat the Chancellor, nor even the ability to defeat Vader. He realizes that death awaits him. The Chancellor sees his resolve:

 

"You accept your death, Skywalker? You may be a Jedi yet."

 

"A Jedi never dies."

 

Vader swings his lightsaber, and the scene ends.

 

The Republic surrenders to the Clones and the Chancellor, now made Emperor. He addresses the Senate, claiming that in his mercy he has allowed it to endure, if only to serve his will. A black-robed figure stands beside him along with the new military cabal the Emperor has created.

 

Obi-wan and Anakin's wife survey the stars from space, adrift aboard a space station surrounded by the refugees of a thousand decimated worlds. Around them life finds a way to endure, as ships arrive and return to parts unknown.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

Author
Time

That's also an interesting idea, Neverar. There are so many things the prequels could have, and should have been...

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I'm not sure that the PT would need to be drastically different form what we got, just made better and eliminating the nonsense. You could still start at a somewhat happy point, where the majority of the galaxy is at peace. The trilogy should gradually build in tension and drama until the climax of the third film, much as it tried to do originally.

For simplicity's sake, I concur that Episode I could be something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgICnbC2-_Y.This guy has some great suggestions on how a few tweaks to the current version could be vastly improved. I would add that nothing should take place on Tatooine in the PT (why would you hide the bad guy's son on his home planet? Shouldn't you try to be a little deceptive?!). We would also need to throw in an apprentice of Obi-Wan's (let's call him Starkiller) who has already been in training when Anakin comes along and who is a little jealous of the new kid.

Ep II picks up about where AotC did - Anakin is growing in skill and has been on many successful missions. He's a completely different character than what we were given, because he has to be noble, likeable, and charming. But he is always curious about how much more he can do, and Obi-Wan has to do most of the training himself because Yoda (whom we never see) and the Jedi Council are still fearful about giving Anakin too much freedom. During this film, we see Starkiller get pulled away from the Jedi by a dark-robed figure to join the other side, just in the way the Emperor tried to lure Luke to the dark side. Obi-Wan realizes this through the Force and admits to the other Jedi that his apprentice has turned to the dark side. Keep the plot about Anakin falling in love, but make it believable. She should still be from a planet other than Alderaan, though, for the same logic used above for Tatooine.

Ep III plays out similarly as before, except that Anakin is a likeable hero throughout. The Jedi are figuring out who the dark-robed mastermind is and tracking him down. Meanwhile, a hooded figure (we know it to be Starkiller) has been wiping out Jedi. Anakin wants the glory for being the one who tracks down Starkiller and puts and end to the conflict, so the Emperor plants information that leads Anakin to a trap. He, Obi-Wan, and a team of Jedi go to investigate and are separated. Anakin is alone in a dark room with Starkiller and the Emperor, similar to the throne room in RotJ. He and Starkiller begin fighting and he realizes he can't win. The Emperor encourages him to give in to his anger and hate, because it's the only way he can overpower Starkiller. Anakin begins fighting back much more aggressively, and he and Starkiller are evenly matched. The climactic moment: we see their two silhouettes fighting; the Emperor Force-pushes them, disarming both. He blasts one of them with lighting and yells "Finish him!" The standing silhouette Force-pulls the red lightsaber to himself, ignites it, and slays his opponent. Obi-Wan and the other Jedi feel the impact from the next room through the Force, and one turns to Obi-Wan and says, "Your apprentice is dead." The surviving fighter, smoking from getting hit by some of the lightning used on his opponent, is weak and breathing heavily. He and the Emperor escape. The Jedi, knowing the mission has failed and the enemy has escaped, retreat.

In the remaining scenes of Ep III, we see a robed, masked version of Darth Vader in charge of hunting down Jedi. Remaining Jedi are told to hide out on remote systems until they can find a safe place to regroup (which never happens as Yoda and Obi-Wan end up being the only ones left). Padme gives birth to twins. We know one is a boy, we don't know the other's gender and neither are named. She encourages Obi-Wan to help keep the children separated for their safety as she is invited by Bail Organa to live on Alderaan. We see Obi-Wan taking the boy to Owen and Beru on Tatooine. Roll credits.

Author
Time

Even if we kept everything very similar to the PT, this is a scene in my head that could be placed in the Episode II timeline and captures Anakin's curiosity and growing power: he and Obi-Wan are in a battle, let's say on Utupau, on a ledge fighting off a dozen battle droids. As Anakin knocks two droids back with his lightsaber, their blasters go off and the shots hit the rocks above Obi-Wan's head. Seeing the danger, Anakin force-pulls Obi-Wan out of the way just before the large rocks smash the ground where Obi-Wan had been standing. Anakin then brings his hands in towards himself, and emits a double-handed Force-push (the motion would be kind of like a Ryu fireball in the Street Fighter video game). It knocks all remaining battle droids back, shattering them. He stares at the broken pieces with a mix of joy and awe on his face, as this was the first time he had made (or Obi-Wan had seen) a Force-push of that magnitude. Obi-Wan gets up off the ground and scolds him for breaking my new Jedi rule #1: never use Force powers on another Jedi, and #2: always keep control of your emotions.

This made-up scene accomplishes several things. 1) Anakin is dangerous because he has greater power than most (or all) other Jedi and he's curious about pushing his limits; 2) He let his emotions take over and disobeyed tried and true laws of the Jedi; and 3) The audience sees that he has power beyond his control, but it is being used arguably in a good way (as opposed to murdering women and children). We still like him, but we're also a little fearful of him.

To GL: this is a subtle thing we like to use in writing called "foreshadowing".

Author
Time
 (Edited)

If you don't want spoilers for the original films, why not set them in a completely different era? Maybe a hundred years  or so in the past... A thousand even!!! The characters don't have to be at all related to those in the empire era and thus a whole new story can be told...

You could even make them stand alone films rather than a trilogy too... Each telling a different part of galactic history. That way the original films would forever retain the title of "THE STAR WARS TRILOGY!!!"

To quote Obi-Wan... "For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old republic..."  Not much said, but more is told in those few words than the whole of the prequal trilogy. Just think of the stories that could be told there!!!

I don't mind the prequels... I grew up with them, and if you watch them as three films they do work as a story... Kind of... But if you try to watch all six there are just too many massive plot holes. Like the fulfilment of the prophecy, both Darth Vader AND Owen not recognising C-3PO, Leia remembering her mother even though Padme dies seconds after the twins are born... you get the idea...

I think, if it has to be told, the story of Anakin's fall to the dark side can be told in one really tight, well made movie. Look at The Dark Knight. An excellent story of a good man succumbing to darkness and ultimately paying the price. You could definitely tell Anakin's story in simmilar fashion.

On the other hand, all we needed to know about Anakin was pretty much revealed in the old films. The back story was, simply that... BACK STORY!!!

Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, are a complete and brilliant story. If George Lucas wanted to make more films then he should have set them in a different era, rather than trying to tamper with such a classic story!!! (Deep breaths...)

This is all just my humble opinion of course... And I would actually love to contribute some ideas for a re-telling of Anakin's story... :)

Author
Time
 (Edited)

GrandMaster88 said:

If you don't want spoilers for the original films, why not set them in a completely different era? Maybe a hundred years  or so in the past... A thousand even!!! The characters don't have to be at all related to those in the empire era and thus a whole new story can be told...

Then you wouldn't be writing prequels to the OT, you'd be writing Tales of the Jedi or Knights of the Old Republic-type storylines.

Author
Time

Well... That was kind of my point... I don't think the O.T. really needs prequels. Not directly related to them anyway. I makes more sense to me to keep the Star Wras Trilogy as, just that, THE trilogy. You're not bogged down by having to tie everything up and dealing with expectations from fans that way. Stand alone films could tell amazing stories and keep the feel of the original movie a lot more.

If Darth Vader's backstory has to be told however, here are a few changes I would make.

Firstly, the prophecy should be axed. It is never fully resolved, mainly because Lucas didn't know he would make prequels when he did ROTJ.

I also think Yoda needs to go... Not just the lightsaber duels, everything!!! He is mentioned by Obi Wan, such as when he's training Anakin and after Anakin's fall to the dark side. But other than that he doesn't feature at all until Empire. It's just better pay off for the character.

As for the whole "I am your father!!  Bit... The best way, in my mind, to keep this a surprise is to have it seem as though Anakin dies when Obi Wan defeats him on Mustafa. The emperor and his storm troopers could find his charred remains and say something like "there's no way he'll survive injuries like that..." Or something!! Lol 

Also, Anakin is never named Darth Vader, you see him killing some of the Jedi and you know he's become evil, but his name doesn't change and you assume he's dead by the end of episode III. Darth Vader emerges as the Jedi hunter right toward the end of the film, but we still don't actually see him. Maybe we see Obi Wan in hiding and he overhears a news report, or even people talking about "the Emperor's new bulldog hunting down more jedi..." That's the first time we hear his name but we never see him in the armour in the P.T. That way, when he enters Leia's ship at the beginning of STAR WARS we're still not 100% sure who he is.

Well... Those are a few thoughts anyway... I have more if anyone's interested in hearing them... :)

Author
Time

DuracellEnergizer said:

GrandMaster88 said:

If you don't want spoilers for the original films, why not set them in a completely different era? Maybe a hundred years  or so in the past... A thousand even!!! The characters don't have to be at all related to those in the empire era and thus a whole new story can be told...

Then you wouldn't be writing prequels to the OT, you'd be writing Tales of the Jedi or Knights of the Old Republic-type storylines.

 See above post... :)

Author
Time

thejediknighthusezni said:

    .

    

 That would prevent spoilers for sure, but I dunno, it sounds pretty dull to me.

Author
Time

I've been thinking some more about this and, personally, if I were George Lucas, there are two major things I'd have done differently.

Firstly, I would have kept the first movie's title simply as STAR WARS. no added episode number later, the sequels are simply called THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. 

Secondly, I would have told the stories of the prequels with a trilogy of books... That way, you get to know how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, you hear all about The Clone Wars, and you get to picture the characters however you want to. There aren't so many disappointments when the actors chosen don't match the images we've had in our heads for the characters. 

AND... For any newbies, or those who only watch the films... There are NO SPOILERS!!! :)

This solves the problem in my mind... I'll probably get blasted for saying it, but there you go.  If other films had to be made they could've been about another group of characters. Stand alone stories, completely unrelated to the STAR WARS TRILOGY... 

Just imagine the front covers of those books... Anakin and Obi-Wan shown as younger versions of Alec Guinness and Sebastian Shaw!! 

I think if Lucas had done this, instead of making them movies, he could have stayed truer to the original ideas he had and, therefore, he would have been able to tell a far better story, it could have been a true epic and even become one of the great sci-fi book series of all time!!!

I'me getting pretty overexcited thinking about this here... Lol

I'd have loved to see this though!!! I'd love to hear what you guys think... :)

Author
Time

GrandMaster88 said:

I've been thinking some more about this and, personally, if I were George Lucas, there are two major things I'd have done differently.

Firstly, I would have kept the first movie's title simply as STAR WARS. no added episode number later, the sequels are simply called THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. 

Secondly, I would have told the stories of the prequels with a trilogy of books... That way, you get to know how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, you hear all about The Clone Wars, and you get to picture the characters however you want to. There aren't so many disappointments when the actors chosen don't match the images we've had in our heads for the characters. 

AND... For any newbies, or those who only watch the films... There are NO SPOILERS!!! :)

This solves the problem in my mind... I'll probably get blasted for saying it, but there you go.  If other films had to be made they could've been about another group of characters. Stand alone stories, completely unrelated to the STAR WARS TRILOGY... 

Just imagine the front covers of those books... Anakin and Obi-Wan shown as younger versions of Alec Guinness and Sebastian Shaw!! 

I think if Lucas had done this, instead of making them movies, he could have stayed truer to the original ideas he had and, therefore, he would have been able to tell a far better story, it could have been a true epic and even become one of the great sci-fi book series of all time!!!

I'me getting pretty overexcited thinking about this here... Lol

I'd have loved to see this though!!! I'd love to hear what you guys think... :)

Change "trilogy of books" to "trilogy of comic book mini-series", and I'll agree 110%. 

Author
Time

The way I see Star Wars is this...

First there is the KoToR games, with the third being rewritten, disregarding TOR MMORPG. Then would come the prequels, which I've also rewritten.

Then we have the unaltered OT.

Followed by the Thrawn trilogy. After this we have the Jedi Knight games i.e. Jedi Knight, Mysteries of the Sith and Jedi Outcast. Then I'd fan out the Jedi Academy game into a trilogy and develop the characters further.

Then finally we'll hopefully have the new trilogy, which won't disregard anything that I've mentioned. So all together there are 7 trilogies.

I'd also want to make a series of shorts detailing the lives of three characters in each trilogy that we don't see. For example I'd have one simply titled 'Star Wars - Katarn' and detail his turn from the Empire, his stealing of the Death Star plans, and finally the Dark Trooper project. I'd also want one of Solo, detailing his turn from the Empire with the rescue of Chewbacca, and the fued with Fett.

Author
Time

DuracellEnergizer said:

GrandMaster88 said:

I've been thinking some more about this and, personally, if I were George Lucas, there are two major things I'd have done differently.

Firstly, I would have kept the first movie's title simply as STAR WARS. no added episode number later, the sequels are simply called THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. 

Secondly, I would have told the stories of the prequels with a trilogy of books... That way, you get to know how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, you hear all about The Clone Wars, and you get to picture the characters however you want to. There aren't so many disappointments when the actors chosen don't match the images we've had in our heads for the characters. 

AND... For any newbies, or those who only watch the films... There are NO SPOILERS!!! :)

This solves the problem in my mind... I'll probably get blasted for saying it, but there you go.  If other films had to be made they could've been about another group of characters. Stand alone stories, completely unrelated to the STAR WARS TRILOGY... 

Just imagine the front covers of those books... Anakin and Obi-Wan shown as younger versions of Alec Guinness and Sebastian Shaw!! 

I think if Lucas had done this, instead of making them movies, he could have stayed truer to the original ideas he had and, therefore, he would have been able to tell a far better story, it could have been a true epic and even become one of the great sci-fi book series of all time!!!

I'me getting pretty overexcited thinking about this here... Lol

I'd have loved to see this though!!! I'd love to hear what you guys think... :)

Change "trilogy of books" to "trilogy of comic book mini-series", and I'll agree 110%. 

Change "trilogy of comic book mini-series" to "trilogy of Flash-Gordon-esque animated films" and you've got something completely different. Cool different.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

Author
Time

NeverarGreat said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

GrandMaster88 said:

I've been thinking some more about this and, personally, if I were George Lucas, there are two major things I'd have done differently.

Firstly, I would have kept the first movie's title simply as STAR WARS. no added episode number later, the sequels are simply called THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. 

Secondly, I would have told the stories of the prequels with a trilogy of books... That way, you get to know how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, you hear all about The Clone Wars, and you get to picture the characters however you want to. There aren't so many disappointments when the actors chosen don't match the images we've had in our heads for the characters. 

AND... For any newbies, or those who only watch the films... There are NO SPOILERS!!! :)

This solves the problem in my mind... I'll probably get blasted for saying it, but there you go.  If other films had to be made they could've been about another group of characters. Stand alone stories, completely unrelated to the STAR WARS TRILOGY... 

Just imagine the front covers of those books... Anakin and Obi-Wan shown as younger versions of Alec Guinness and Sebastian Shaw!! 

I think if Lucas had done this, instead of making them movies, he could have stayed truer to the original ideas he had and, therefore, he would have been able to tell a far better story, it could have been a true epic and even become one of the great sci-fi book series of all time!!!

I'me getting pretty overexcited thinking about this here... Lol

I'd have loved to see this though!!! I'd love to hear what you guys think... :)

Change "trilogy of books" to "trilogy of comic book mini-series", and I'll agree 110%. 

Change "trilogy of comic book mini-series" to "trilogy of Flash-Gordon-esque animated films" and you've got something completely different. Cool different.

Whatever floats your boat. I prefer the medium of comics to animation, myself. 

Author
Time

Change "trilogy of books" to "trilogy of comic book mini-series", and I'll agree 110%. 

 Wow, it's been a while since I've been on here!! 

I like that idea!! Definitely! I'd love to see some drawings of generals Skywalker and Kenobi... ;)

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Though I certainly liked the first idea, I think an approach that might require a minimum of changes might be simply to consider the OT to be the beginning of the story and provide the PT as a series of reflections made afterwards within some other context. This would allow for a lot of the ridiculous information to be peeled away, leaving primarily opportunity for the interesting subjects to be covered at a pace controlled by the new tale. An opportunity for such an exchange might be between a now ancient Luke and his new trainees or some such to ensure the audience is aware that it is to be taken within the context of the already occurred OT. Further, any misplaced details might be called out for fun and explained as mere mis-remembering or simple conjecture for details not directly observed.

I was once…but now I’m not… Further: zyzzogeton

“It wasn’t the flood that destroyed the pantry…”

Author
Time

Of course, that would mean that the episode numbers of the OT would have to be changed to I, II, and III, but it's an intriguing idea. The sequel trilogy could have intertwined a new sequel story with the story of the prequels, showing the latter in the form of flashbacks or something similar. That would allow for a presentation of just the main story of the PT and make it possible to keep a lot of the mystery of the Old Republic and the Jedi that the PT as we have it failed to do, but still spreading it over three episodes.

Author
Time

RicOlie_2 said:

I'm reposting something I originally posted in this thread:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Would-it-have-been-possible-to-make-the-PT-in-the-late-90s-early-00s-in-a-way-that-synced-up-with-the-OOT/topic/16670/

Many have said that it would have been impossible to have good prequels without showing the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader, but I disagree. It is true that there would have been less tragedy since we wouldn't know it was Anakin, but here's how I would have liked to see the PT done:

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are friends during the first movie. In it, the Republic falls during the Clone Wars and the Empire is formed. We learn details like the fact that Obi-Wan has had previous apprentices (but they are not named). One of Obi-Wan's former apprentices joins the Empire, so we suspect that he is Darth Vader until Episode V. Anakin marries a woman and she becomes pregnant.

In the second installment, Anakin's darkness is hinted at. About halfway through the movie, we discover that someone named Darth Vader is rising up through the ranks of the Imperial Army (or something of the sort). When we get to see Darth Vader, he is cloaked and hooded with his face hidden, so we don't find out who he really is. Anakin's darkness is hinted at throughout the movie (but is never so obvious that we can readily connect Darth Vader with Anakin). Latish in the movie, we see a hooded figure kneeling before a hologram, but we can't see the face of the person in the hologram (since he is the Emperor, and his reveal would be spoiled if his face was shown). We can't see the face of the hooded figure, and his name is not given, but he is instructed to kill Anakin Skywalker. Then comes the volcano battle. Anakin is defeated and killed (or so we are led to believe) by the hooded figure, who is masked throughout the whole thing. The movie ends.

In the third movie, Darth Vader is still hooded and cloaked the same way as before, but he now has a mask that is reminiscent of the mask we see in the OT. Darth Vader begins hunting down the remnants of the Jedi order. At some point, he duels Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan manages to dismember Darth Vader's right arm and escape. He then visits Anakin's wife on Alderaan, who has given birth since the first movie. She entrusts Obi-Wan with the care of her son (she has had twins and doesn't want to give them both up, but we don't learn this until ROTJ). Obi-Wan is by this point the last of the Jedi  besides his former master, whom we next see Obi-Wan speaking to on a swamp planet, though his master is hidden from sight. Obi-Wan tells him that Darth Vader's fighting style is familiar. His old master tells him to hide away on a remote planet until the time is right. We see a spaceship heading towards a desert planet and the movie ends.

It could have been done, it just wasn't....

 the thing is the Star Wars nine episode saga is about the Skywalker clan. That's it. That's who we focus on, that's who we follow. No Skywalker, no care! Lucas himself established this pattern and theme with 4, 5, and 6. When A New Hope starts off we see Vader and Leia, then we go to Luke, then back to Leia, then Luke again, some stuff with Vader and back to Leia and so it goes. Thats it. We see the same pattern in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. All the major points of all the films deal with a Skywalker. Thats why the OT worked so well becuz it all focused on one point. Doing other stories that change that pretty much makes it not "star wars" in the vein of the OT. 

Author
Time

nic777 said:

the thing is the Star Wars nine episode saga is about the Skywalker clan. That's it. That's who we focus on, that's who we follow. No Skywalker, no care! Lucas himself established this pattern and theme with 4, 5, and 6. When A New Hope starts off we see Vader and Leia, then we go to Luke, then back to Leia, then Luke again, some stuff with Vader and back to Leia and so it goes. Thats it. We see the same pattern in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. All the major points of all the films deal with a Skywalker. Thats why the OT worked so well becuz it all focused on one point. Doing other stories that change that pretty much makes it not "star wars" in the vein of the OT. 

I agree with RicOlie_2. Yes, the overarching story is about the Skywalker clan, but remember that we as an audience don't know on the first viewing that all of these characters we are seeing in Ep IV are related. None of us know about the father/son until the end of Empire, and the sister reveal doesn't happen until RotJ. You can make the PT a hero's story about Obi-Wan, but it is redone in a way that makes us learn more and care more about him. You still have Anakin and Padme, and can even show Luke being born. It still follows the Skywalkers, but they're strong secondary characters. This helps preserve the reveals of the OT by allowing us to focus on Obi-Wan, keeping the Skywalkers present throughout, but not connecting all of the dots until Ep V.

Author
Time

BlueCardinal said:

I agree with RicOlie_2. Yes, the overarching story is about the Skywalker clan, but remember that we as an audience don't know on the first viewing that all of these characters we are seeing in Ep IV are related. None of us know about the father/son until the end of Empire, and the sister reveal doesn't happen until RotJ. You can make the PT a hero's story about Obi-Wan, but it is redone in a way that makes us learn more and care more about him. You still have Anakin and Padme, and can even show Luke being born. It still follows the Skywalkers, but they're strong secondary characters. This helps preserve the reveals of the OT by allowing us to focus on Obi-Wan, keeping the Skywalkers present throughout, but not connecting all of the dots until Ep V.

 Yeah thats how the belated media guys did it but according to those guys, Anakin and Padme don't even start to be attracted to each other until the end of Clones. While they do have a couple of compelling clashes, particularly between Kenobi and Maul, the rest of the story is pretty much talky and too involved with the Republic/Separatist dispute.

Both of their versions of Episodes 1 and 2 videos were done in successive years (2012 and 2013) even though they have posted quite a number of videos since this last one so far, they haven't completed the trilogy. Maybe they're going to do it sometime closer to the Episode 7 premiere, but I kind of doubt it.

I think they've painted themselves in a corner and haven't figured out how they're going to get Anakin and Padme together, Padme pregnant, the children born, the fallout between Obi-Wan and Anakin, Anakin turning to the dark side, Anakin and Palpatine getting together, Padme getting killed, Anakin getting majorly injured enough to need the suit, And do all of that in a two hour movie run time without jamming things together. I say that mainly because if youre trying to closely adhere to the original trilogy's style and pacing, it becomes apparent that Lucas was using the old 1950's matinee style of telling this story. Which consisted of a lot of "wipe" transitions and a storyline that was continuously forward moving. There are no flashbacks, jump ahead, narration, exposition or any other devices normally used today to tell a story. The only thing close that could fill in details would be the opening crawl and once that's over its off to the races. I was having the damnedest time trying to make all that info work in a trilogy myself, that's why my prequels are four movies.

The Phantom Menace, Enter The Clones, Rise of the Dark Lord, Revenge of the Sith... 

Putting Obi-Wan as the focus of the PT means an abrupt shift by ep4. Because ANH is Luke's journey and when we find out about the connection to Vader it kinda makes me wonder why we would be looking at Obi-Wan so much in the PT since the real story is turning out to be the destiny of the Skywalker family. 

For better or worse the reveals have already been done. The saga of Star Wars is told out of sequence, right..we've seen the middle section first and the beginning second so we know whats coming. At this point knowing what we know, the events of the PT have to logically lead into the events of the OT. Since its established that the OT is Lukes journey/the Skywalker clan destiny you can't make them secondary in the PT..thats essentially making them secondary in their own story. And since Obi-Wan's influence greatly reduces after ANH (other than telling Luke to find Yoda he does nothing else and has no impact in Jedi) why should we care about what his life is about? We should be looking at the world as it pertains to the Skywalkers more directly whichever Skywalker is designated the hero/heroine of that story.

In the PT it should have been Anakin, in the OT its Luke and in the next trilogy it SHOULD be what ever child Luke or Leia has.