The Unofficial Complete REVISITED SAGA Ideas and Random Discussion Thread — Page 55

Adywan wants to do the prequels, he's putting this on himself. ;-)

I might have brought this up before but I’m already salivating over the idea of how the Executor is going to crash in ROTJ:R. Previously I had mentioned the Malevolence in the Clone Wars the way Grevious’ ship got brought down and now in the recently unveiled footage of the Battle of Jakku in Star Wars Battlefront. I believe this battle is going to be my most anticipated change in the film. Now down on the surface in Endor - has the thought of extras for Rebel soldiers been considered for additional scenes? I would imagine a lot of extras though.

Matt.F said:

For me, knowing that it has taken 7+ years to complete ESB Revisited, the idea of encouraging Adywan to work on the prequel trilogy revisited seems akin to handing down a life sentence.

Adywan has had many personal issues and setbacks during the making of ESB:R that won’t affect the rest of the Revisited saga. Also, the skills he’s acquired and the teams he’s put together during Empire will greatly help the creation of the other films.
I expect that Jedi will be a faster production. Could be wrong though.
As for the PT, I’m interested in what Ady can do, but I can’t imagine those films becoming something I like. I hate almost everything about them. Especially the character designs. I have some faith that a good story could be dropped in, but the character designs are all so stupid that you’d pretty much have to replace every character (especially background characters and the Jedi counsel guys) with new actors. Also, most of the locations look fake and even if they didn’t they are lame designs. Vehicles look stupid and don’t fit into the look of Star Wars. Same goes for the costumes and hair styles… I could list visual problems with the PT all day. And that’s not even getting into the performances, dialog, story, boring camera work and all the rest.
The PT really is a failure on every level.

Longtime lurker here chiming in. I love Adywan’s ‘Revisited’ work. I know this thread is “unofficial,” but I did want to chime in an idea here. I recently released my own fanedit of Return of the Jedi (read the thread about it here) and played around with a lot of different ideas.

Here’s a GIF of one scene that I edited, that I think would do well to be implemented in ROTJ Revisited: http://i.imgur.com/3dYzKaZ.gif

It is officially Star Wars canon that Anakin disappears into the Force (a la Obi-Wan and Yoda), although it happens off-screen. Just a thought.

Depending on what’s done… and I know that the PT only has so much bearing, but the precedent was set with Qui-Gonn that it didn’t have to happen right away.

brash_stryker said:

muddyknees2000 said:

brash_stryker said:

Now whilst I understand where you’re coming from and that a first time viewer would think that Anakin (Hayden) in the PT was Vader due to the fact he was seduced by the dark side of the force

The problem with this idea is that Vader was SUPPOSED to have been seduced by the dark side of the force…but they depict no such thing in ROTS. As it stands now, he was tricked into turning by Palpatine who is hinted at having had his fingers in the pie since, and including, Anakin’s birth.

So not only does the PT not work the way it stands now, but nor would the idea of having Anakin as the perceived “good guy” who we later learn was actually the one who turned. “Seduced by the dark side” should mean that the character of Anakin lusts for power, and enjoys using it for evil/his own gain/less than benevolent purposes. Additionally, giving the viewer reason to perceive him as the good guy (even if it IS a trick) takes away from his eventual turn back to good. The whole point of Darth Vader (or more accurately, the person who wanted power so much that he eventually became Vader) is that he was a very bad dude, who became the baddest dude in the galaxy…making it all the more surprising when it turns out that he actually gives a shit about his son and turns (giving his life in the process) to save him.

For the PT to respect the material that came before it and to also retain the surprise of Anakin being Vader you need to find a way of making him seem to desire power of his own accord (not being tricked into wanting it to save someone…therefore still allowing him to be a good guy, who sacrifices himself to save someone else…long before he does exactly that same thing for Luke), and also leave his death/survival and the fact that he is the one who becomes Vader rather ambiguous. Quite a challenge to accomplish these 2 things in the same plot…but if you figure out how to do that you save a big part of the saga that GL ruined.

But how do you feel about that fact that even if you managed to get our current Anakin’s fall to the dark side to be a convincing seduction rather than a calculated decision, it still seems like there has to be 2 apprentices? Because in ANH Obi Wan refers directly to both Darth Vader as a previous apprentice and Luke’s father as his fellow knight and good friend. Unless we can insert some perceived duality of meaning, it’s only ever going to mean the same person as there is no other person of prominence alongside ObiWan in the prequels.

I know I’m coming to this thread super late, but here is my solution to the issue of Anakin turning in the prequels, without another apprentice (although I have no idea how to make this work with the footage available, short of filming new scenes):

1. This might be unpopular, but we can use the Jake Lloyd footage here; only refer to him as Anakin in person (and, though it might be too ham-fisted, you can also have his Pod’s or Pod Racing ‘name’ be “Darth” or “Vader” perhaps).

2. Have Obi Wan take young Anakin on as an apprentice. Show their relationship while Anakin is young a little bit more than not at all, with it being contentious and there being drama surrounding the loss of his mother.

3. Have the Jedi actually be split over sides with the Clone Wars (make Dooku not be a Sith and a character sympathetic to many of the Jedi, who side with him against the corruption in the Republic, go full on Civil War with it).

4. Introduce “Skywalker” now as another Jedi Knight who is Obi Wan’s friend as the Clone Wars begin/intensify. Perhaps have them bond (reconnect in actuality) over some action sequence; i.e. where Skywalker saves’ Obi Wan’s bacon in a space battle, then Obi Wan backs him up with his lightsaber on the ground, maybe even taking a blaster shot for him.

• • This serves a double purpose as the (re)introduction disguises Skywalker as being Anakin from the audience in the initial viewing, but actually shows the redemption of their friendship as equals on repeat viewings. It also establishes each others’ strengths and weaknesses (which will later play into Skywalker’s drive for ever more strength - out of a desire to do good, but through him wields a power too great and terrible - to quote LOTR).

5. Against the will of the council have Obi Wan and Skywalker engage in fighting for the Republic side (motivated in part by their feelings for Padme, friendship and more, respectively; there is no Jedi rule against attachment).

6. Have a confrontation with Obi Wan and Skywalker, against Dooku and some of the other Jedi who support his side. Have Skywalker particularly effective at fighting against all but one of them, while Obi Wan spars (verbally?) with Dooku. Skywalker stops just short of killing him, the best of Dooku’s Jedi, but injuring him badly, and protects Obi Wan’s back. Obi Wan can be tempted by Dooku here, or even the influence of the Dark Side as an allegory for what Skywalker (Anakin) is going through internally.

7. Obi Wan confides in Yoda that he’s worried about Dooku and the dark side, and also that he’s “worried that [his] apprentice was not trained enough before this war broke out, that [he’s] not dealing with all the hate and suffering Dooku’s causing” (that can be worded better, but make it seem like his former apprentice sided with Dooku on first time viewing, without actually saying either way).

8. Next have a scene with Obi Wan and Skywalker sparring where Skywalker wins (could maybe use some of the footage from Mustafar) although good naturedly, and talks about them both needing to be better for when they meet Dooku next, if they want to end the war.

9. Have Padme talking to Skywalker about being pregnant (Both actually celebrating it).

10. Dooku attacks Coruscant to Kidnap the Chancellor. During which Padme’s ship/office/home is destroyed and she’s presumed dead. Skywalker (angrily/in a rage) goes after the Count, Obi Wan accompanies him, to Dooku’s ship.
    In the confrontation with Dooku, and another Jedi, who Skywalker wounded previously, now in a partial mask, duel. Skywalker gets his arm cut off but kills Dooku, and Obi Wan is knocked out (perhaps using the same footage from when Dooku drops the gantry on him) at which point the screen fades to black.

11. Obi Wan wakes up Dooku’s ship crashing on Coruscant (trapped under the gantry thing if you like). Dooku’s body is nearby, as well as another, missing an arm. No faces are visible to the audience, although Obi Wan can see it and looks sad/in pain at them, then looks away (as Jedi, both the ‘other’ Jedi and Skywalker were both wearing identical uniforms).

• • Both bodies can be pretty badly burned/mutilated (a call to the late Owen and Beru in ANH) and Obi Wan, quite injured himself, could maybe mutter a quiet line like: “How could you, Anakin?” using that name for the first time since the first episode with little Ani.

12. Obi Wan makes his way out of the ship to find Coruscant in chaos, with the Jedi Temple burning. Republic troops are now turning on the Jedi as a result of Dooku’s actions, and try to arrest/kill him.

13. (Optional) We can cut to Mace Windu challenging the chancellor over the arresting of Jedi (in connection to Dooku) at which point he is revealed as Sidious and they have their duel. A Jedi with badly burnt robes and a mask that covers almost his entire face but no helmet, and cuts off Windu’s hand.
    The Emperor can then kill Windu (sans the god-awful “oppression of the sith” line) and thank the masked (dark) Jedi (Anakin Skywalker) as ‘Darth’ and/or ‘Vader’, but doesn’t create the name.

• • The Few remaining Jedi on Coruscant were previously rounded up on the Chancellor’s order during Dooku’s Assault (because it’s stupid and irredeemable having Anakin just go and murder children, especially when he’s an expectant father himself).

14. Obi Wan finds Padme, still alive, near the ruins of, say, the senate building and after they see a public announcement from Palpatine announcing martial law, takes her to Bail Organa who flies them off planet, (potentially with Yoda as well,) mourning the loss of lover, friends and the republic itself, perhaps even remarking on how Dooku was right about the Chancellor but played right into his hands, by giving up faith in democracy).

15. They talk about how they must split up, as Padme goes into labour and that they need to hide Skywalker’s child from the Emperor in order to restore the Jedi, and peace, but that they will be the new hope.

16. End with Luke being born, camera zooming into the depths of his eyes then stars within, against a black screen for the typical Star Wars credits.

This is a basic framework for how I would have done the prequels, at least. All the important reveals are kept (also including Yoda if you want to cut any image of him from these films, but I think he actually works better as a device for Luke’s growth if the audience is in on who he is in ESB), and even the minor details like that Vader “left” Obi Wan sync up with the OT.

Indeed, I like to think that a mystery is sparked about how Anakin fell, while simultaneously revealing how he actually turned during the film, that all comes together when he is revealed as Anakin Skywalker in ESB/ROTJ; initially it would appear that he was defeated by the unknown (dark) Jedi working with Dooku when he gave into his rage. This would even give further weight, I think, to the Emperor’s attempt to goad Luke, with the trap for the rebellion and impending doom of all his loved ones and Luke’s own besting of Vader.

There are of course some areas that I’d add more detail to, for a fully story outline and synopsis (such as Anakin/Padme’s relationship to Owen and Beru, as well as Bail Organa, and changing Naboo to Alderaan etc.) but for plotting out Anakin’s fall/turn I think I’ve covered everything necessary.

But those are my thoughts, I’m curious what others think of this concept?