Star Wars Prequels Rewrite Ideas

So after seeing a lot of great ideas for rewriting the Prequels I decided it was finally time to throw my hat into the ring after mulling over some ideas. Baring in mind these are quite rough ideas and I’m just throwing it out there to see what people think!

Obi Wan Kenobi
So Obi Wan to me was one of the only things done decently in the Prequels, but despite Ewan McGregor’s great performance, it was clear that the Obi Wan we got didn’t have much of a character arc. My idea is to have him question and reevaluate his very beliefs in the Force. See, Obi Wan in my Prequels, and many of the Jedi for that matter, hold the belief that there is no “Light” and “dark” side of the Force, simply a person’s intent with it. In my mind it makes sense, since why would an all encompassing energy field have a sense of morality to it? By the end of Episode III Kenobi will have constructed this ideology of a Light and Dark side to the Force when he sees how corrupt Anakin has become, speaking of…

Anakin Skywalker
Anakin will hail from Tatooine, being a simple farmer wanting more from life. I know that there’s the whole “If Anakin is from Tatooine then wouldn’t that be the first place he’d look for Luke?” and my counter to that is why would be looking for a son he didn’t know he had in the first place?
The other questionable decision of the OT is that if Anakin Skywalker was such a great pilot then how come he never seems to be remembered? Surely a hero of the Clone Wars would be recognisable, yet in the OT (as others on here have pointed out) The name Skywalker doesn’t get much of a response, so what gives?

Well, Obi Wan calls him a “Star Pilot”. When you think about it, that’s a pretty broad term. So my solution is that at first, he’s simply pilots a trade ship for the farm, and when he decides to follow Obi Wan on “Some damn fool’s idealistic crusade” he becomes the pilot of a transport ship during the War. It’s a role that would certainly show his skills, but he’d probably wouldn’t be a decorated veteran Ace Pilot.

The Jedi and The Force
The Jedi are very low-key, settling disputes and whatnot and generally being peacekeepers. They mainly use the Force and only ever use a Lightsaber in desperate situations. Since they prefer to be discrete about their business they will often adopt the dress sense of a particular planet or culture. With regards to the Force, something that always bothered me is how the Jedi Mind Trick is considered perfectly OK. It’s always played for laughs and always used for personal gain in both Trilogies, so in this rewrite I would establish a more ethical use for the trick, which would be to influence otherwise disruptive individuals to change their ways (Which to be fair, did happen in Ep.II with the ‘Deathsticks’ guy, but again, it was played as a gag)

The Larger World
“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster; a more elegant weapon, for a more civilised age”
This quote, to me, speaks volumes of the world in which Obi Wan once lived in. Lets say that there were no blasters in the time of the Jedi, or if there were they’d be comparable to old muskets, inaccurate and cumbersome. So in my interpretation the majority of weapons are melee based; Knives, Staves, Staffs and of course, lightsabers. It would be a good way to demonstrate the changing times, and not so much that the Jedi were cast out and vindicated, but rather that there were just quicker and easier ways to defend the Galaxy in the form of a good blaster by your side.

The Republic and Empire
I’m imagining that at the beginning of ANH that the Empire has been established for around 40-50 years, and that the Old Republic slowly transitioned into the Empire from the ashes of the last Clone War.

That’s all for now, I’d appreciate feedback and suggestions, questions, etc.!

TavorX said:

I’ll chuck some feedback.

So regarding Anakin being a great pilot and your issue with it. Well, consider how, I bet there’s some really great soldiers in past wars on Earth, but do we really know them? Not really, no. Only those that fought alongside those ‘war heroes’ do. Even distinguished soldiers that get honored by the president on national TV aren’t suddenly movie stars but instead, forgettable among the public. Most average people can only remember generals, at best, but rarely. Some ace pilot isn’t something that the general public really cares about. All their eyes are focused on the politics/government. In my eyes, there’s no issue of making Anakin an ace pilot. If you wanted to, you could say Obi Wan was just exaggerating when he said the best in the “galaxy.” Doesn’t mean there weren’t other great pilots, it’s just the only good pilot Obi Wan recognized and was friends with.

For blasters, I would say, keep them. Guns in general see little evolution. They have an efficient design that’s ‘easy’ to mass produce for generations. That’s what makes blasters “uncivilized” because it means anyone can pick it up and use it that any “uncivilized” person can fire it and cause chaos. A saber is rarer, indeed elegant, and requires professional knowledge to wield in combat. Sure, you can turn it on like Han Solo did, but the difference is that anyone can pick up a saber and ignite it, but doesn’t mean you’d fair well in combat without proper training or risk cutting yourself. Clones are disposable just as their blasters are.

Both good points, I wasn’t too sure about the whole “No blasters” thing myself given the timeframe, just thought it’d be an interesting departure from the norm. And yeah, I get the feeling Obi was kinda exaggerating since they were so close. Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, the only war pilot the majority of people know in real life is theRed Baron, and most of those peoplr probably only know him by his catchy nickname. In a galaxy with trillions or quadrillons of beings I wouldn’t be too worried at people not knowing him off the top of their head. If you want to play off that, give him a catchy title for people to remember and forget his name, or have a Peter Quill / Starlord deal for the laughs.

I quite like the idea of melee combat and blasters being unwieldy but I can’t say I can see a tech change like that proliferating so widely across the galaxy in just four or five decades. I mean, I guess it could work well if done right, I’d like to see it tried.

I very much like the idea of Jedi not believing in a Light Side and a Dark Side, I’d almost want to try to work it into my own trilogy. I can see Yoda being a weirdo fringe Jedi who espouses this Dark Side nonsense to his apprentice Obi-Wan but is ignored because Obi Wan believes theJedi party line. Until first hand experience changes his mind.

Nepheronia said:

I very much like the idea of Jedi not believing in a Light Side and a Dark Side, I’d almost want to try to work it into my own trilogy. I can see Yoda being a weirdo fringe Jedi who espouses this Dark Side nonsense to his apprentice Obi-Wan but is ignored because Obi Wan believes theJedi party line. Until first hand experience changes his mind.

Exactly what I was thinking! I feel that it would also add to the ambiguity of Anakin’s turn since there’s never a clear distinction between what’s good and evil in terms of Force Powers. This works on two levels; If watching in release order it adds another layer to the Jedi and works as a cautionary tale, and chronologically (and if done well) the audience would find nothing wrong with a Force Choke here and there until they get to the originals and they realize that its not right. I mean, that sort of grey area is there in Return of the Jedi with Luke and he’s still considered a Jedi.

It also works as a massive boost to Obi Wan’s character when we get to IV, since he’s literally had his entire worldview flipped on its head. Another thing I’m toying with is having Obi Wan tell little white lies- He could lie to Anakin about training another Apprentice before taking him under his wing (Both reassuring Anakin and ultimately lying to himself that he can do this) but never explicitly reveal anything that would prove his statements wrong. The whole truth would be revealed in the OT.

I thought maybe Anakin started going by “Darth Vader” before he became a famous Jedi. Vader having been Obi-Wan’s apprentice seems to be public knowledge in the OT.

“If Anakin is from Tatooine then wouldn’t that be the first place he’d look for Luke?”

I was thinking about this recently… the OT is pretty vague about Luke’s relationship with his Aunt and Uncle, so it can be resolved without necessarily contradicting anything official. Who are they actually related to in your rewrite? Are they important characters or just in the background? If you remember, no one ever calls him SKYWALKER until he introduces himself to Leia on the DEATHSTAR. What if he was always told he didn’t need to know about his father… He was a Lars now (sounds like something Owen would say)? What if… that moment Luke says “There is NOTHING for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father,” is the moment when Luke decides he will NOW go by his father’s name? Just an idea.

Episode I should show Anakin constructing the lightsaber that Luke uses in Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. This way Luke receiving and using it and the line “your father’s lightsaber” would be more meaningful.

Storminator said:

So after seeing a lot of great ideas for rewriting the Prequels I decided it was finally time to throw my hat into the ring after mulling over some ideas. Baring in mind these are quite rough ideas and I’m just throwing it out there to see what people think!

Obi Wan Kenobi
So Obi Wan to me was one of the only things done decently in the Prequels, but despite Ewan McGregor’s great performance, it was clear that the Obi Wan we got didn’t have much of a character arc. My idea is to have him question and reevaluate his very beliefs in the Force. See, Obi Wan in my Prequels, and many of the Jedi for that matter, hold the belief that there is no “Light” and “dark” side of the Force, simply a person’s intent with it. In my mind it makes sense, since why would an all encompassing energy field have a sense of morality to it? By the end of Episode III Kenobi will have constructed this ideology of a Light and Dark side to the Force when he sees how corrupt Anakin has become, speaking of…

Anakin Skywalker
Anakin will hail from Tatooine, being a simple farmer wanting more from life. I know that there’s the whole “If Anakin is from Tatooine then wouldn’t that be the first place he’d look for Luke?” and my counter to that is why would be looking for a son he didn’t know he had in the first place?
The other questionable decision of the OT is that if Anakin Skywalker was such a great pilot then how come he never seems to be remembered? Surely a hero of the Clone Wars would be recognisable, yet in the OT (as others on here have pointed out) The name Skywalker doesn’t get much of a response, so what gives?

Well, Obi Wan calls him a “Star Pilot”. When you think about it, that’s a pretty broad term. So my solution is that at first, he’s simply pilots a trade ship for the farm, and when he decides to follow Obi Wan on “Some damn fool’s idealistic crusade” he becomes the pilot of a transport ship during the War. It’s a role that would certainly show his skills, but he’d probably wouldn’t be a decorated veteran Ace Pilot.

I’ve thought about changing Kenobi and Anakin more than any other character in the PT. These are my ideas.

First, I’d totally get rid of Qui-Gon Jinn. The character is unnecessary and contradicts Yoda being Kenobi’s teacher and Kenobi being the one who discovers Anakin and wanting to train him.

Kenobi should already be a full Jedi Knight, not a padawan. He should be in his early to mid 30’s and Tatoonie is his home, not Anakin’s. Owen Lars should be Kenobi’s half-brother, not Anakin’s step-brother. If you read the original script and novel of ROTJ you see this was the original plan until Lucas changed his mind when he made the PT. My idea would be Owen and Beru want children but can’t conceive. This is why Kenobi gives Luke to them to raise as family also so Kenobi can watch over him from a distance. Owen is very conservative and doesn’t think to highly of the Jedi, their political beliefs, or his brother. This is why he calls Kenobi “That wizard is just a crazy old man.” Also when Beru says Luke isn’t a farmer, he has too much of his father in him. Owen replies “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

When Padme’s ship is damaged when fleeing Naboo. Instead of Tatooine, they are forced to land on Ord Mantell. This should be Anakin’s home. I envision Anakin as either a Fast and Furious kind of street racer or amateur sky racer who flies suped up airspeeders or skyhoppers to make quick cash but also for the thrills. Kenobi witnesses Anakin fly in one of these races and is blown away by his talent. Anakin is not a kid, a slave, an orphan, or a virgin birth child. Just an exceptional prodigy, in his late teens. Kenobi believes if he takes Anakin under his wing he could be the Michael Jordan of Jedi, so to speak. None of that chosen one prophecy BS. Instead of a mom Anakin has a dad, Tan, who he loves very much. Tan is a mechanic and helps Anakin work on his flyers before races. Tan also has a serious gambling problem and owes alot of money to local loan sharks/gangsters. They threaten Tan and tell him to have Anakin throw his next race so they can score big on all the losers bets. Tan refuses and they kill him. This would give Anakin the mental and emotional scars that would eventually steer him towards the Dark Side. Not to mention his belief for absolute control and order and his abhorrence for lawlessness.

• Obi-Wan should be in conflict with Yoda over whether or not to train Anakin and get involved in the Clone Wars. The OT implies that Yoda opposed the training of Anakin and getting involved in the Clone Wars.

• Yellow eyes, looking like a chainsmoker, and Force Lightning should be exclusive to Palpatine. It’s not special when everyone has it.

• With the exception of Palpatine and Vader, the Sith should be loyal to their masters and to their apprentices, not power-hungry backstabbers. This way Palpatine and Vader are unique characters who have a chance of changing the galaxy.

• There shouldn’t be any references to the Sith existing before Palpatine. This way the big bad is clearly Palpatine, not some vague concept of “the Sith.”

The planets of the Republic have grown overcrowded and polluted and Palpatine rises to power with the promise of conquering new planets. This is the implication that I got from the first draft of ROTJ (in which Coruscant is polluted and the Empire is colonizing Endor.)