Just wondering out loud… Can any of you guys think about a situation where there comes a new SW movie that is actually better than any of the OT?
Sure. In the seventies and eighties, sci-fi/fantasy was a niche market nobody was much interested in capitalizing on. Nowadays every other damn movie is sci-fi or fantasy. Sturgeon’s Law still applies, naturally – 90% of everything is crap – and with a much larger raw number of films, you’ve certainly got more crap today, but I feel you’ve also still got a better chance of great sci-fi/fantasy too, just from the increased numbers.
Heck, the prequels came out in the midst of a very good run of creative, well-written films that were groundbreaking in many ways. They just weren’t among them.
I love the OT in a sentimental sort of way, and maybe nothing will surpass it in that regard. But I’ve never considered any of them among my top ten favorite films. I find sci-fi/fantasy works that surpass the OT all the time. Firefly, for example, IMO. Could something that good end up in a new Star Wars film? Well, Sturgeon’s Law again says it’s unlikely, but not impossible.