Since my last thread on this subject, I've come into some knowledge I didn't have before about the overall form of the SW saga as roughly envisioned by George Lucas in 1975.
Surprisingly, perhaps, GL seems to have made plans at the same time for two different versions of the Star Wars series: one in which the story would unfold as a nine-part "trilogy of trilogies," and another which would take place over 12 episodes, like a 1930s serial, and featuring a rather different story line.
That much I've deduced from the various storyboards and concept art drawings from 1975, made during production of the original film.
In this thread, I'm going to try reconstructing the outlines of those two variant plot lines, seeing where they contrast... and where they converge.
Notably, although the specific episode numbers differ, the latter films of the 12-part saga are essentially the same in overall outline as the version of the "original" Sequel Trilogy outlined by Gary Kurtz. As zombie points out in The Secret History of Star Wars, Kurtz's version of the ST is in many respects totally at variance with the more well-known "trilogy of trilogies" idea.
Once again, I've tried not to bog down the narrative too much with descriptions of my source material used in reconstructing these two alternative plot lines for the overall SW saga of 1975.
Enough talk already. Let's play!
C:\> _
C:\> cd luke
C:\LUKE> luke.exe
Before we begin...
let’s have a quick cup of tea.
One lump, or two?
Please select one:
The Adventures of Luke Starkiller
(Theatrical Edition)
A Trilogy in Nine Acts
Being a tale of conspiracies, love, powerful villains, boisterous adventure, and constant danger.
The Adventures of Luke Starkiller
(Extended Edition)
A Serial with Twelve Chapters
Being a tale of a hostile Universe, full of foreboding, uncertainty… and hope.
*click*
Welcome to the Age of the Great Empires.