Johannus

I've always wanted to see an edit of the films which makes Dooku's sabers white in order to show him as neither sith nor jedi so whilst I liked Ahsoka's previous lightsabers, I am fine with them being white.  However I agree with Smithers that once thickened you risk them looking a little iffy.  Perhaps do not change them and have hers left thinner in order to further emphasise the difference?

I really wish I could remember who it was because I thought it was a great suggestion and it definitely was not mine (though i may have tweaked it in my memory - hopefully someone will recognise it), but the idea was as follows.

Move the arena battle to the start and have anakin and padme already be a couple. I played around with a few clips some time ago (though never shared them as the quality was terrible), but I used a deleted scene where padme and anakin negotiate for obi wan's release along with padme's ship landing on geonosis. Then cutting these in with shots of obi wan sneaking around the droid factory, all in an attempt to make it seem like obi wan and padme were trying to rescue anakin who had been captured by dooku. 

This then played through to the creatures attack in the arena and the three heroes escaping on the large one (reek I think).  Then in my mind the rest would play out with obi wan researching dooku who simply left the jedi order, the assassination attempt on padme, the Republic building an army but with a suggestion that dooku interfered, and obi wan's missing planet being removed to leave a final showdown between droids and clones on the big battle at the end.

In my ideal version dooku would be a rogue and anakin would have visions which suggest there is a dark jedi threat which nobody has details of (actually anakin), with a possible addition of a scene showing palpatine using force lightning to help corrupt anakin. 

On the one hand, the more you include the better.  I have spent ages trying to edit together a few new lines for the OT and ended up with something far less than perfect. 

On the other hand, I can't wait for this to be finished so the sooner the better.  But even if you had a mostly organised and then a random other sounds file for all the pieces you aren't sure about including, something which you see no real use for could inspire someone to do something random so I say include everything you have.  We will all just have to be patient a little longer.

I think in my most ideally imagined edit, Yoda would be replaced by Dooku as a jedi in TPM, and then Yoda would just be cut from AotC and RotS, with most of his role being filled by Mace and possibly another jedi.  As for having Yoda be built up until ESB without shedding any light on it, I would rather he only be referred to twice at most, a passing comment from Obi Wan that Yoda trained him, then maybe another comment by someone suggesting Yoda was the greatest Jedi but is no longer with them.  This could even be interpretted as Yoda being dead, so the audience wouldn't be waiting for him to pop up, and would add to the excitement to see him in ESB. 

Rather than imagine replacing Yoda with another small character wouldn't it be easier to replace him with a character witha  large silhouette.  For example a different small character could involve masking Yoda out, then replacing the background and adding the new character in.  Or just carefully matching the head angles and masking and replacing just the head (and recolouring the hands or something).  Whereas if you had a human sized character with a wide cape you could just cover over Yoda in most of his scenes.  This might involve rescaling certain shots and backgrounds do to the height change, but overall I think it would be less work. 

I have been thinking about this some more and I agree that the promotional material showing Yoda shouldn't be considered a good reason for the surprise not being for the audience.  Look at the posters for The Two Towers.  Gandalf was plastered across them, and it did spoil a surprise for people who didn't know the story.  I would say that is much less the case with the Yoda example from ESB.  Furthermore, I think the surprise with Yoda is twofold.  Firstly that the little green guy is Yoda, and secondly when he lifts the X-Wing from the swamp.  Up to that point neither the audience or Luke has seen the force used to lift something so big.  Which is why personally, I think not only should Yoda's appearance be kept secret until ESB, but also before that we should only see large creatures use the force, and not to do anything on par with lifting the X-Wing.  It spoils the scene in ESB the same way that Dooku using sith lightning spoils the scene in RotJ.

Ryan McAvoy said:

^ Not beyond the realms of possibility. Stars do funny skits, voiceovers and whatnot sometimes. They get bored and fancy a giggle like the rest of us. A-listers work for free sometimes just because they want to be involved in something. Not sure that Neeson would want to revisit SW (He nearly quit acting he hated TPM so much) but I could see Sam Jackson being up for PT:Revisted.

He does movies all the time for lower pay just for fun. He did Snakes On a Plane for the hell of it and did Deep Blue Sea just so he could die. He's a big Star Wars geek like the rest of us so it might be worth posting him a copy of OT:Revisted. You'd have to work round his schedule to make it super easy.

You could do alot of fixing with him onboard to film scenes.

Also Ewan strikes me as the sort of bloke who'd do something like Revisted just for the story to tell.

Neeson did do a little voice work for the Clone Wars series so he doesn't seem entirely anti Star Wars, though it really was only a joke when I suggested it.  I do agree with your comments about Sam Jackson and Ewan though.  Most of the speculation about an Obi Wan spin off film is due to Ewan's comments expressing he wants to do one. 

Thanks for the reply Ady.  I think even though Yoda's act is for Luke, it remains a nice little surprise for the audience the first time it you see it.  Though as this won't be the first time I see it, I'm still confident I will enjoy your edits even with Yoda.

I think its a little harsh to call him desperate, I think he's bloody brilliant.  Though you are probably right, it falls well inside the realm of 'long shot'.  This is why Ady could probably come up with a far better way to remove Yoda from the prequels.

adywan said:

I've figured out a way of Obi-wan having a pupil that has turned to the dark side and that's why Yoda is reluctant for him to train Anakin.

If you have ever addressed this directly then I apologise, however, this suggests you are planning to keep Yoda in the prequels.  It would be a shame to go to all the trouble of keeping the Anakin/Vader surprise, and not even consider keeping the crazy green muppet/most powerful jedi master surprise. 

Sure a lot of existing footage would require a lot of work to remove Yoda completely, but maybe send Liam Neeson an early copy of ESB:R or something with a persuasive note suggesting you may need him to film a few new scenes. 

It is Cate Blanchett.  For some reason I always thought Satine was based on her (despite the obvious Moulin Rouge reference).  Plus when looking for photos as a source for this I found out that Ewan and Cate appeared on a chat show together and couldn't resist.  I still can't think of a good name for the film though. 

I had a go at making a poster for a film based on the recent Maul story as we discussed it earlier. 

Bingowings said:

Naboo and Alderaan are on the same level, so there is no need to worry about 'demilitarisation', it would go against the spirit of the first film to do so.

Alderaan was meant to be 'peaceful' and have no weapons because they were decent people who became victims of despotic military dictatorship.

Leia was involved with espionage and backing the rebels but the general populace wasn't.

Having a small flight of defending fighters and a small security force isn't being militarised either so the two worlds are already basically the same.

What I liked about the original film is everything in it was transferable to a real world situation.

But if Ady is taking his editing to the level he has suggested then as far as the PT is concerned he can remake the story as he sees fit.  Naboo could become Alderaan or Naboo could change.  As it stands I'm not suggesting they are very different or either to have a large military force, just that the blockading force be too big for Naboo alone, so a few nearby planets come to help.  Alderaan would still be considered a peaceful planet, just one who stepped up to help a neighbour in need.  There are many real world examples of small groups allying against a larger agressive force so it would still have that feel.  It would just also provide a glimpse into the rebellion in its early stages. 

Also by doing this Jar Jar could be made a scout who has arrived on Naboo ahead of the other gungans in order to assess the situation, before later rejoining the army for a final battle. 

If a theme is needed for the PT, couldn't that theme (or a background theme) be more emphasis on the formation of the rebellion.

Knowing Adywan plan to shoot new footage, even trying to add one additional scene between two established characters would be difficult.  For example between Obi Wan and Anakin you would need two actors with a striking similarity in both looks and voices.  Also costumes would need to be very close replicas.  But even then these need to be good actors otherwise it would just be more weak performances to add to the PT.  Obviously one of both of these characters could be recast, but then that presents the problem of compositing the new actors seemless in place of the old actors.

My suggestion would be to recast a very small number of characters that have very little screentime, such as Tarkin, Bail Organa, and a rebellion leader such as Mon Mothma.  Bail would be the biggest change, but it would allow much of the politics in the films to be altered to something more interesting. 

An example would be to make the gungans a species that lives on another planet near to Naboo, but not Naboo itself.  They can arrive on Naboo in order to help free the Naboo, along with a small allied force from Alderaan lead by the newly recast Bail.  The Naboo fighters can beome Alderaan fighters, and the space battle now becomes Naboo being liberated by Alderaan and the gungans. 

The reason I would like to see more Tarkin is because it can push Palpatine into the background, helping to preserve any surprise he is evil, by making Tarkin appear to be the one who is pushing for increased military and a stronger, harsher republic.  Also by having full control over what footage can be created between these new actors, a scene could be made showing Bail being reprimanded for taking unauthorised military action, and later, the republic ordering the demiliterisation of Alderaan. 

ben_danger said:

My only issue with killing Han, would be that he essentially got killed in ESB. Killing Leia might work, she even gets shot, but you are right about the amount of footage available doesn't allow for much.

This could be a really good idea.  It could be used as the tipping point that causes Luke to rage against Vader.  Some sort of sad funeral scene could be easier to construct too than trying to make an entire death scene and following scenes for Han's death.  Unfortunatly I think it might be seen as too contraversial for a lot of people. 

I get the backstory with the Y-Wings said they were once new and shiny but it was impractical to keep them that way, but I can't honestly claim to have ever thought something like that from watching the film.  I definitely don't look at the Y-Wings and think it any more than I do about any of the other ships.

Now if we saw some shiney new Y-Wings in the PT and suddenly think 'oh look how run down they look by ANH' then thats good, it plants a little idea of history right before our eyes.  But personally I think applying that logic to every ship won't work, and it would spoil that nice touch with the Y-Wings because it is no longer unique. 

If we assume that all the ships in the OT are old, but the ones in the PT are new, then a close up of the Millenium Falcon in RotS could show it with a sleek metalic red exterior, which over the years was lost and by the time of the OT we are left with the heap of junk. 

If the Republic has been around for a long time then let it look like it has.  It can still look beautiful and old, just like I prefer old houses over new houses regardless of whether the old house is clean and shiney.  The fact they weren't built perfect gives them more character.  I would even say its not the colour that does the most harm, but the shapes of the PT ships, but colour is just the easier fix when editing.

darth_ender said:

BTW, I read that Foster was really shocked when Luke and Leia turned out to be siblings, considering just how romantic many of their moments are in SOTME.  I thought that was pretty funny.

I think the same could be said about their romance just in the films before Jedi, I think it is my biggest issue with the OT, it just seems too tacked on.

Bingowings said:

Obviously in such a scenario Qui-Gon would be Skywalker.

That could be easy enough to show for a death scene flashback of some kind but there isn't enough footage of Darth Maul to have it seem he was ever friends with Qui Gon before killing him, you could never portray a betrayal.  Unless you are suggesting Palpatine take the role of Vader and Maul is simply the weapon he used, but again I don't think there is enough footage to suggest this between those characters.

Wouldn't it be possible to use the exact same story but with new characters replacing Luke, Leia, and the droids and thus avoid having to recast, but still have a very Star Wars feel to the story.  It could even be set between E3 and E4 and show Vader hunting down the remaining jedi.  Though in that case maybe change the end to fall slightly more in line with the idea the jedi were wiped out.  Alternatively I would second the idea of an animated version if it were 2D animation. 

MTHaslett said:

But how does Vader betray and Murder Skywalker? With the footage that exists? Who in the cast could become Skywalker?

If Darth Maul was Vader, and Skywalker was Qui Gon? ...No.

 

The only things that I think would work with the footage available (and I'm not saying I like any of these ideas) are either Anakin is Vader and Dooku is Anakin, Palpatine is Vader and Anakin is Anakin and we assume his actions lead to Obi Wan killing Anakin and 'Vader' (Palpatine) being responsible, or Obi Wan is Vader and he kills Anakin by removing the part where he is saved.  Out of the three the last seems most manageable, but then you have Obi Wan and Vader's fight in E4 not making much sense at all.

I think they should already be doing a few one off episodes under a different title that could lead into new series, the way the Clone Wars movie lead into this series.  I would like Star Wars The Dark Times which would be set between E3 and E4 and then could carry on all the way through to E6 if they really wanted. 

As for next season I still think they might kill Ahsoka, purely because there aren't really any characters that are left open in the series.  I also think something more will come of Ahsoka's association with Ventress.  Ventress has been softening a lot lately, even to the point I thought maybe she was going to end up pardoned. 

When we spoke earlier about making these episodes into movies that slot between the existing movies, do you think it would be possible to take this recent storyline and use any necessary parts from old episodes to add to it in order to make it seem Ahsoka is Obi Wan's apprentice and he didn't take her side, so Anakin stuck up for her.  When she eventually left the order this would cause Anakin upset and create tension between him and Obi Wan, ready for Anakin's fall in E3.

dabest13 said:

Perhaps this deleted scene could be used, and with some clever editing and a voice-alike for Dooku, we could have a suggestion of Anakin joining his cause rather than the Naboo?  Or maybe even using clips from him speaking to the Captured Obi-wan.... Anakin pauses maybe, and Padme ends up answering for him.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjNA_SEKKKE

Thats a scene I am hoping to find in better quality.  I was toying with whether the film could be recut to make it seem that Padme and Obi Wan are travelling to Geonosis to save Anakin who was captured by Dooku.  Once at the Seperatist base OW and Padme split up and Padme tries negotiating for Anakin's freedom (a simple name change in that scene).  Dooku orders Padme killed too, then captures Obi Wan who was off sending a sneaky message to the jedi council.  Dooku tries to make an ally of OW (adding in something like "Skywalker was more easily persuaded" followed by OW's "No, I don't believe it" line).  I would even remove Dooku's reveal of Sidious, then later when the jedi council is discussing this they could be talking about the worry of Anakin slipping from the path. 

Anyway after capturing the three of them the Viceroy wants them killed so play the arena scene, but before Mace arrives just have the three ride away on the reek (that was a fun lesson in masking and patience).

I don't think you would need anyone who sounds like Christopher Lee, just search high and low, the guy generally always sounds the same and there must be weeks of sound clips altogether.  I spent a couple of hours trying to find him saying "beast" but it was out there for the finding. 

dabest13 said:

Instead of reducing colors to simply Red/Blue... how about just splashing in some other colors in general?  Give a few other Jedi Purple and make it less out of place..... maybe a yellow one here and there... they wouldn't need to be as prevalent as the blue/green... but still existent.

I strongly agree with this too.

If it could be suggested that Dooku tried to tempt Anakin away from the jedi, and that Anakin later killed him in the heat of the moment but that it wasn't his first choice, then this could be used to show Anakin is already straying from the jedi path so all Palpatine has to do is give him the final nudge. 

brimforge said:

If one needs just one clip, I used to record it by hand, but if more is interesting, then you should seek for "decompilers", or better search the modding forums, they are some great resources for soundfiles ;-)

Sorry I may be being dense here but what are the modding forums you refer to?

I'm not sure if this has been suggested, but what if it could be made to seem the jedi created the clone army behind the back of the senate.  This way they just pull it out the bag when its needed, however, the twist would be that Palpatine knew all along and had the order 66 in place behind the backs of the jedi.