What should the Prequels have been? - Page 4

Q: What should the prequels have been?

A: Left to our imaginations.

The End.

...says the man in a thread that's at least two years out of date.

If you've spent any time around here at all, you know that discussing Star Wars never goes out of date.

No comment.

Okay. What should the prequels have been? Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in, but...

Droid-centric. This was one of the old concepts, publicized as early as 1980 when the 'three trilogies' rumor first went out. And I always liked it: the robots always on the sidelines, witnesses to everything, surviving because practically everyone regards them as furniture.

I could also do with less emphasis on Vader. This arguably started with Empire, wherein his offscreen status as a breakout pop-culture icon mandated a drastic promotion from Last Man Out of Yavin to Flagship Commander. In Star Wars (1977), he was an outsider, an attack dog, a mad monk: there was a sense that (A) he was using the Empire to advance his own agenda and that (B) most of the Imperials didn't entirely trust him or have any idea what he and his Ancient Religion were really about. Whatever power Governor Tarkin had over him, "holding Vader's leash," it had nothing to do with the Force.

The idea that the series was always about Darth and his redemption? Hogwash. More pandering to the public: a sign that not only was Lucas taking the Quick and Easy Path but that his personal interests were shifting away from the idealism of rag-tag rebels, identifying more with the burden of controlling an empire. At least he admitted as much in Empire of Dreams.

Most of the failings of the prequels stem from having to somehow line up with the idiotic scripting of Jedi. Get rid of the 'sister' thing and man, that's a load off. Forget all that 'Anakin' business; have a character who went by 'Vader' before he Turned to Evil, and hey! No more planet-sized plot hole about Young Skywalker somehow being raised under his actual family name without anyone tracking him down.

And for god's sake, don't make the Emperor a Dungeons & Dragons wizard. Wouldn't it have been more interesting to have him learn Forcism from Vader, only to find that the big guy was holding back?

The idea that anyone could tap into the energy of the universe, no matter who their daddy was, is the biggest lost opportunity of the series. Indeed, the incantation "May the Force be with you" is stripped of all its magic in the prequels. Literally. And imagine a better Jedi: Han goes blind, stays blind, yet somehow regains his skill with a blaster...

Y'know what? Screw the prequels. Just remake Jedi.