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Hello folks, I'm new here.
For the better part of a year I've been hashing out the details of radical prequel rewrite. It would be impossible to edit the existing PT films enough to fit the story that I want to tell, so it is my intention to one day make independent films of my own through whatever means necessary.
I began the process by looking over other fans' prequel rewrites. I quickly realized that I didn't like any of them because they tried to stay too close to the Lucas PT.
By that I mean these other rewrites had planets like Naboo, Geonosis, and Utapau. They also retained characters like Jango Fett, Jar Jar, and General Grievous. None of these names or locations are *needed* to tell the story that the prequels demand.
I sense that after so many years of having to put up with Lucas' PT we've been led to assume that an alternate treatment of the story would have to include the same story elements, plot lines, characters, and locations, but ever so slightly re-arranged.
From my point of view, we do not *need* to see a teenage Anakin being trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, we don't need any kids or teenagers at all. We don't
With all that being said, here is a list of Lucas PT elements that I have done my absolute best to avoid. This list is not comprehensive...
- Any names of characters or planets that were in the PT but not the OT. The lone exception is Coruscant.
- A very large number of Jedi running around the galaxy.
- Throw-away antagonists who are killed within one movie of their first appearance and are not given any character depth, history of interactions with other main characters, or clear motivation.
- An over-abundance of lightsabers.
- R2D2 and C-3PO.
- The term "Sith". They are not Sith, they are "followers of the dark side" or "dark Jedi".
And here is what I am going to include in my PT rewrite that will spice the story up and help connect it to the OT more firmly than Lucas did...
- A very small Jedi Order. Their numbers in this trilogy never go past seven members. Also Yoda is technically a Jedi but he is not part of the Order. He stays on Dagobah the whole trilogy and does not romp around the galaxy having adventures like the other characters. He is seen in ONE scene at the beginning of Episode III.
- A female villain. And no, her name does not begin with "Darth". However, Vader does eventually claim her lightsaber for use in the OT. Also, she is not conspiring with Palpatine.
- There are only four lightsaber users in this trilogy. It's not much of a stretch from the OT's three; and it's far less indulgent than the Lucas PT's 1000+.
- An interesting cast of new characters. The central protagonist of the series is not Anakin Skywalker, but his apprentice Ben. Through a long series of events, Obi-Wan will eventually respect young Ben enough to adopt his name as a disguise when he has to go into hiding on Tatooine. I'll get deeper into that later.
- Anakin's love interest AKA Ben's former love interest AKA Luke and Leia's mother, who I have named Jeni, is a much more action-oriented character than Padme. She is part of a spice freighter crew captained by Ben, the up-and-coming Jedi.
- Jedi are infertile. And this fact is believed to hold fast and true for all of them until it is revealed in Episode II that Jeni is carrying Anakin's children. I will not explain this scientifically because that would lead us into midi-chlorian territory. Just chalk it up to the mysterious workings of the Force.
- The Clone Wars are fought not for economic reasons between the Republic and a Confederacy, but for racial reasons between the Republic and what I call the League.
- The Republic is an ostensibly tolerant entity that has gained deeply-rooted Human supremacist tendencies as of late. Many non-Humans of the galaxy have been feeling increasingly marginalized and form the League, not a true government per se but more of an organized resistance movement a la the Rebels from the OT. Near the beginning of Episode I they strike the first blow against the Republic by capturing the Chancellor.
- It is called The Clone Wars because the League often uses large masses of warriors cloned from the finest combatants of various species within the League. The Republic uses massive numbers of conscripts, with volunteer legions forming the Stormtroopers. Clone soldiers are not used by the Republic for two reasons...(1) Cloning is outlawed in the Republic and (2) Some species, such as Humans, are far more difficult to clone than others.
I'll start posting an outline of Episode I: Rise of the Witch if there's any interest.
peace
