How Would You Have Done the Star Wars Prequels?
- Thread starter Fappy
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I'd remove all the parts where Anakin feels sad. Everything he did? Make it 'perfectly justified'.
Murders an entire tribe of sandpeople; feels weepy and sad. And Padme is okay with it? Just have him in denial about it. He took revenge and is actually okay with it because, hey, they're JUST sandpeople. Who's gonna care if they're gone? The people whose property they steal, the podracers who get shot at (including him)? He did a service for Tatooine. It's for the good of everyone. No need to tell Padme; just say you found mom and buried her and that you heroically escaped capture.
Kill Count Dooku? The warlord who brought the war to the homeworld of the Republic? You were right to take his head off. He'd only escape given the chance and he tried to kill your master Obi-Wan and the Chancellor.
Mace Windu killing the man who can help save your wife? Chop his hand off and push him out the window yourself. He was trying to kill the Sith Lord instead of putting him on trial and you need him alive to save Padme.
See? Make it so that the regret passes quicker with each act and he feels less compassion for his victims. Make us believe that his friends have turned and he's still the hero of his own story. Make it so he believes the Jedi are responsible for all the ills and that military might is the only way to ensure peace because all we see the Senate do is talk and debate and the Jedi can't even find the Sith that's right underneath their noses, that they've been in the same room with.
Murders an entire tribe of sandpeople; feels weepy and sad. And Padme is okay with it? Just have him in denial about it. He took revenge and is actually okay with it because, hey, they're JUST sandpeople. Who's gonna care if they're gone? The people whose property they steal, the podracers who get shot at (including him)? He did a service for Tatooine. It's for the good of everyone. No need to tell Padme; just say you found mom and buried her and that you heroically escaped capture.
Kill Count Dooku? The warlord who brought the war to the homeworld of the Republic? You were right to take his head off. He'd only escape given the chance and he tried to kill your master Obi-Wan and the Chancellor.
Mace Windu killing the man who can help save your wife? Chop his hand off and push him out the window yourself. He was trying to kill the Sith Lord instead of putting him on trial and you need him alive to save Padme.
See? Make it so that the regret passes quicker with each act and he feels less compassion for his victims. Make us believe that his friends have turned and he's still the hero of his own story. Make it so he believes the Jedi are responsible for all the ills and that military might is the only way to ensure peace because all we see the Senate do is talk and debate and the Jedi can't even find the Sith that's right underneath their noses, that they've been in the same room with.
I really agree with you about the Anakin thing he should have been a really likable character and not the angsty/ emo teen we ended up with. He should have been a very likable character that the audience could get behind and made reasonable decisions that people could see themselves making. That is what made so many of Shakespeare's tragedies so enduring they had great tragic figures that were likable(for the most part) and believable. His fall would have been all the more heartbreaking and fascinating if he had been a likable and interesting character.Hades said:
Like others, I would have not made them. Darth Vader's origin story is not a story that needed to be told, and it diluted an otherwise legendary screen villain badly.Fappy said:
If you must make a prequel trilogy, I would have...
1. Set them another 20-30 years earlier.
2. Focused on the slow decline of the Jedi Order, their monastic rectitude, their obstinate insistence on their moral infallibility. Have some rumblings about schisms. Position them as an institution destined to collapse, with Vader as the eventual coup de grace, not the catalyst.
3. Detail the rise of the Empire as a political power and the collapse/corruption of the old Republic. Instead of making it one man's Machiavellian scheme, have the moral divide between a failing Republic and an orderly Empire be a challenging one.
4. Give us new central characters whose fates are NOT already written in stone. Let us invest in their perils and triumphs. If you must brush up against young Anakin Skywalker or Ben Kenobi, do it in the third film, while they're still quite young. Let them represent the specter of the unavoidable cataclysm to come.
5. Keep fan servicing to an absolute minimum. Do not give us young versions of all the characters and droids and ships. Nothing is death to a prequel like over-familiarity. Familiarity is for sequels.
6. Do not allow George Lucas to write or direct.
Let's see-
1. It should had been 1 main villain (yes I know Papatine is the main villain per say) instead of 2/3 disposable villains (yes Dooku lived in Episode 2 but shortly died within 10mins into Episode 3). You have to thanks The Clone Wars or the EU to give them character and the needed screentime.
2. Used far LESS CGI! The Force Awakens is a good evidence of that!
3. Keep the plot simipler. I mean seriously, why did the Trade Federation blokage Naboo and what was the whole hubbud with the polictics in that triliogy (it has been a while since I had watched the preclude before you quote me on the politics).
4. Either removed Jar Jar or made him far less comedical. I would had been fine if he was just competant (ok sure his clumpsyness did helped him abit like in the droud battle) and had less of an annoying squeaking voice (yes he would had been reduse to a side character but what do I care?).
5. Less is more! What did the fake queen underwent 2/3 makeup changes???
6. Better writting/ dialogues. Nuff said.
1. It should had been 1 main villain (yes I know Papatine is the main villain per say) instead of 2/3 disposable villains (yes Dooku lived in Episode 2 but shortly died within 10mins into Episode 3). You have to thanks The Clone Wars or the EU to give them character and the needed screentime.
2. Used far LESS CGI! The Force Awakens is a good evidence of that!
3. Keep the plot simipler. I mean seriously, why did the Trade Federation blokage Naboo and what was the whole hubbud with the polictics in that triliogy (it has been a while since I had watched the preclude before you quote me on the politics).
4. Either removed Jar Jar or made him far less comedical. I would had been fine if he was just competant (ok sure his clumpsyness did helped him abit like in the droud battle) and had less of an annoying squeaking voice (yes he would had been reduse to a side character but what do I care?).
5. Less is more! What did the fake queen underwent 2/3 makeup changes???
6. Better writting/ dialogues. Nuff said.
Ep.1
The Jedi hear about the prophecy child Anakin and Obi Wan and Qui Gon are sent to investigate.
Darth Maul is sent to assassinate or recruit him. The three Jedi meet and fight like we remember.
Instead of hanging off a cliff, Anakin force-chokes Maul as the reasoning he's stunned or stunted against fighting Obi Wan which causes him to defeat Maul.
The blockage approaches and prevents Obi Wan from leaving the planet and is required to train Anakin out of necessity. Even if it were against the wishes of the Jedi Order or not.
Anakin clearly picks up on the Jedi training very easily and surpasses Obi Wan in sheer power (telekinesis and such) and make him far less likely to to want or need to be patient or have any other kind of Jedi influenced behavior.
They are eventually brought on board as negotiators for a peace settlement but like in the original beginning they are betrayed and they have to fight their way to escape.
Ep.2
Anakin's power requires him to train with the best of the Grandmasters to hone his patience and humility. Yoda and Anakin get into a sparring match using the Force. Anakin moves larger objects from farther away faster but Yoda is able to nimbly avoid his attacks and counters with small pebbles throwing them at him lightly. Anakin gets to have his own Padawan to help him learn these traits. One that's pretty weak and/or a slow learner, opposite of Anakin. General Grevious or something like him is sent to assassinate Anakin because Darth Sidious is fearful of the prophecy and the potential of Anakin. Grevious is able to turn his Padawan to the dark side when s/he starts to act too much like Anakin and he learns how easy it can be to turn. Only by utilizing the training intended by the Jedi is he able to defeat Grevious.
Ep3.
The clone army is used to replace the Jedi as peacekeepers across the galaxy. The Jedi are at last able to focus their attention on finding the last remaining Sith. Anakin starts hanging out with a female Jedi and they're playing a truth-or-dare style game where they try and Force Persuade each other. Maybe she's an ex-Padawan whose been exceptionally gifted (one of the best) at Force Persuation. He tells her to love him, gets pregnant and later regrets what happened and blames the Force and Anakin for what happened. As they deal with the fallout of their indiscretion, Dooku and Sidious have been stalking the shadows and successfully assassinating Jedi. Eventually Dooku kills lady-Jedi despite her pregnancy in front of Anakin and he goes berserk. Sidious is able to see the dark side in him and tries to turn him over to the dark side. Anakin resists despite gaining those yellow eyes for a moment in his rage. Wanting his power as his own, or indirectly as his apprentice, he changes tactic from trying to kill Anakin to turn him to the dark side. Sidious has become too powerful, even for Anakin. He maims and tortures him, using every Sith trick imaginable but Anakin still refuses. It's only until Sidious reveals he has control over the Clone Armies and can get them all to annihilate pretty much the entire galaxy with one order. Defeated in every manner possible, he's given his Vader suit to keep him alive but it gives him constant agony to be alive. The Clone troopers are ordered, if either of them die, they kill every living creature in the galaxy. Stationed in every corner of the world, they're perfectly able to commit this crime. Anakin is named Darth Vader and is trapped as an unwilling prisoner in Sidious' schemes.
The Jedi hear about the prophecy child Anakin and Obi Wan and Qui Gon are sent to investigate.
Darth Maul is sent to assassinate or recruit him. The three Jedi meet and fight like we remember.
Instead of hanging off a cliff, Anakin force-chokes Maul as the reasoning he's stunned or stunted against fighting Obi Wan which causes him to defeat Maul.
The blockage approaches and prevents Obi Wan from leaving the planet and is required to train Anakin out of necessity. Even if it were against the wishes of the Jedi Order or not.
Anakin clearly picks up on the Jedi training very easily and surpasses Obi Wan in sheer power (telekinesis and such) and make him far less likely to to want or need to be patient or have any other kind of Jedi influenced behavior.
They are eventually brought on board as negotiators for a peace settlement but like in the original beginning they are betrayed and they have to fight their way to escape.
Ep.2
Anakin's power requires him to train with the best of the Grandmasters to hone his patience and humility. Yoda and Anakin get into a sparring match using the Force. Anakin moves larger objects from farther away faster but Yoda is able to nimbly avoid his attacks and counters with small pebbles throwing them at him lightly. Anakin gets to have his own Padawan to help him learn these traits. One that's pretty weak and/or a slow learner, opposite of Anakin. General Grevious or something like him is sent to assassinate Anakin because Darth Sidious is fearful of the prophecy and the potential of Anakin. Grevious is able to turn his Padawan to the dark side when s/he starts to act too much like Anakin and he learns how easy it can be to turn. Only by utilizing the training intended by the Jedi is he able to defeat Grevious.
Ep3.
The clone army is used to replace the Jedi as peacekeepers across the galaxy. The Jedi are at last able to focus their attention on finding the last remaining Sith. Anakin starts hanging out with a female Jedi and they're playing a truth-or-dare style game where they try and Force Persuade each other. Maybe she's an ex-Padawan whose been exceptionally gifted (one of the best) at Force Persuation. He tells her to love him, gets pregnant and later regrets what happened and blames the Force and Anakin for what happened. As they deal with the fallout of their indiscretion, Dooku and Sidious have been stalking the shadows and successfully assassinating Jedi. Eventually Dooku kills lady-Jedi despite her pregnancy in front of Anakin and he goes berserk. Sidious is able to see the dark side in him and tries to turn him over to the dark side. Anakin resists despite gaining those yellow eyes for a moment in his rage. Wanting his power as his own, or indirectly as his apprentice, he changes tactic from trying to kill Anakin to turn him to the dark side. Sidious has become too powerful, even for Anakin. He maims and tortures him, using every Sith trick imaginable but Anakin still refuses. It's only until Sidious reveals he has control over the Clone Armies and can get them all to annihilate pretty much the entire galaxy with one order. Defeated in every manner possible, he's given his Vader suit to keep him alive but it gives him constant agony to be alive. The Clone troopers are ordered, if either of them die, they kill every living creature in the galaxy. Stationed in every corner of the world, they're perfectly able to commit this crime. Anakin is named Darth Vader and is trapped as an unwilling prisoner in Sidious' schemes.
I'm pretty awful at story telling, so as much as I rip on lucas for the prequels, I doubt anything I come up with would have been any better. However, I did read this the other day and rather liked it. http://www.gamesradar.com/george-lucas-nearly-wrote-perfect-prequel-trilogy-he-just-didnt-seem-notice/
I would get rid of the bit where Darth Vader builds C3PO for a start...
Off the top of my head -
The first film, Anakin is a decent enough teenager living on a backwards planet. His settlement gets attacked by a Sith faction, his family is killed and he is taken prisoner aboard the bad guys fleet of starships. It turns out the bad guys are using the prisoners as genetic material to create armies of clones. Amongst the prisoners is a mysterious beardy guy who turns out to be Obi Wan who's been on an undercover mission. Obi Wan and Anakin strike up a friendship and they lead an escape, making their way back to the nearby Republic Fleet which includes a bunch of Jedi. The Sith fleet and the Republic fleet clash, starting the Clone Wars, while back on Coruscant, a shifty senator launches a militarisation campaign in order to combat this new menace. In the aftermath of the fleet battle, the Sith retreat, and the Republic fleet decides to follow them into an unexplored part of space. Obi Wan decides to train Anakin after witnessing him use the force instinctively at some point during the battle.
Off the top of my head -
The first film, Anakin is a decent enough teenager living on a backwards planet. His settlement gets attacked by a Sith faction, his family is killed and he is taken prisoner aboard the bad guys fleet of starships. It turns out the bad guys are using the prisoners as genetic material to create armies of clones. Amongst the prisoners is a mysterious beardy guy who turns out to be Obi Wan who's been on an undercover mission. Obi Wan and Anakin strike up a friendship and they lead an escape, making their way back to the nearby Republic Fleet which includes a bunch of Jedi. The Sith fleet and the Republic fleet clash, starting the Clone Wars, while back on Coruscant, a shifty senator launches a militarisation campaign in order to combat this new menace. In the aftermath of the fleet battle, the Sith retreat, and the Republic fleet decides to follow them into an unexplored part of space. Obi Wan decides to train Anakin after witnessing him use the force instinctively at some point during the battle.
I would of had count dooku come in earlier as the figurehead of the separatist movement in the republic perhaps in episode 1 then later have him slay darth maul during episode 2 who would survive after killing quigon as revenge for his former padawan and earning his place as palpatine's apprentice much how anakin did when he defeated dooku in episode 3.
Less creepy padme anakin romance.
Get Dave Filoni a time machine then get him to oversee the production of the films.
Stop star wars from ever being sold to disney their for being milked to death over the next few decades until enough time has passed for a reboot that no one will really care about.
Less creepy padme anakin romance.
Get Dave Filoni a time machine then get him to oversee the production of the films.
Stop star wars from ever being sold to disney their for being milked to death over the next few decades until enough time has passed for a reboot that no one will really care about.
Easy. Don't make Anakin a bad apple from the start. Ep2 was incredibly bad in that part, rather than showing him losing his sanity due to influence of the Dark Side, he appeared as a dickhead as if he were born that way.
I think the story told in the prequels was just fine, it was just mishandled. There were problems with the pacing, and problems with some of the acting, but the story told was solid.
I think it told the fall of Anakin to the Dark Side fairly well. Though I think Palaptine should have started getting close to Anakin in episode II. Make it more believable that Anakin would be willing to follow his mentoring in the absence of Obi-wan. Cut out a lot of the useless stuff in the movies and it would be better. Make Anakin and Padme's relationship more bearable to watch, etc.
I think that's why I like Episode III the most of the three, there wasn't much filler. Almost everything had some significance. Still far from a perfect film, but I liked it enough.
I think it told the fall of Anakin to the Dark Side fairly well. Though I think Palaptine should have started getting close to Anakin in episode II. Make it more believable that Anakin would be willing to follow his mentoring in the absence of Obi-wan. Cut out a lot of the useless stuff in the movies and it would be better. Make Anakin and Padme's relationship more bearable to watch, etc.
I think that's why I like Episode III the most of the three, there wasn't much filler. Almost everything had some significance. Still far from a perfect film, but I liked it enough.
Which is a complete 180 to his child self.stormtrooper9091 said:
I mean shit Obi-Wan what the hell did you do while you were raising and training this kid?
It was a dreadful mistake to base all three of the prequel movies around the fall of Anakin Skywalker, largely from the perspective of Anakin Skywalker. It might be strange for people growing up in a post Game Of Thrones era, but as a society we generally do not allow the creators of fiction to get away with insufficiently condemning the villains that they create. Back in my day people would shit the biggest bricks if stories didn't at least implicitly promote either Christian or secular humanistic values, much in the same way as the social justice brigade will haul you over the coals for failing to adhere to their own byzantine politics. The mob rarely trusts creatives to create or illustrate work that portrays acts of wickedness in a non-judgmental fashion. So creatives whose livelihood depends largely on the patronage of others seldom take the sort of risks that might incur the wrath of others upon themselves or their patrons. While House Stark might be terminally stupid, they at least do not make a habit of crippling children, fucking their own siblings and mistreating their (very) likable sons simply for the crime of being born a dwarf. The author makes it abundantly clear that he condemns his villains to his audience, even as he begins murdering his way through the cast starting off with the characters that he had setup to be viewed as the traditional heroes of the story. So with this in mind, it is very, very hard to write a fall from grace that is simultaneously a rise to power without making your antihero either an unlikable ass, or appearing far too sympathetic to the villains and what they're supposed to represent to your audience. Because generally an author doesn't want to be seen as looking too sympathetic to villains that they themselves have admitted to basing off Nazi Germany.
So the implacable and terrifying Darth Vader who was once willing to mutilate his own long lost son both physically (by cutting off his hand) and mentally (by repeatedly trying to turn him to the dark side) so that he can challenge and defeat his own master becomes Anakin Skywalker. A creepy sexpest of a child who never quite manages to grow up and mature into a fully functional adult, and whose career as a Jedi Knight is marked with repeated instances of stupidity, general incompetence and outright failure. With a good scriptwriter and good actors you can make a good film out of anything, but that there is an uphill battle if I've ever seen one.
Personally I think that they would've been better served by creating a new main character who could function as the audience surrogate, only to have them be betrayed and killed off by Anakin Skywalker towards the end of the third movie right before the climatic battle that almost destroys him and turns him into Darth Vader. It seems to me that George Lucas attempted to do this with the character of Padme Amidala, but in my opinion he failed abysmally. By the time it happens her character is little more then a plot device and it has been at least a movie and a half since we saw her doing anything even remotely entertaining. If you want to see a good example of doing this sort of thing properly watch Django Unchained and keep an eye out for King Schultz played by Christopher Waltz.
On second thoughts, maybe I would roll the role of Padme Amidala into that of a female Jedi who gets tempted and corrupted to the dark side by a wild, powerful and tempestuous Anakin Skywalker. Who nevertheless convinces her that he can keep a lid on it and bring balance to the force because he is the chosen one. After she gives birth to Luke and Leia they confront the Emperor together, who manages to turn one against the other. Anakin defeats and kills her, and tracks down Obi-Wan Kenobi seeking to reclaim the children who were left in his safe keeping. Cue the duel on Mustafar, but with less waffling about having the high ground.
So the implacable and terrifying Darth Vader who was once willing to mutilate his own long lost son both physically (by cutting off his hand) and mentally (by repeatedly trying to turn him to the dark side) so that he can challenge and defeat his own master becomes Anakin Skywalker. A creepy sexpest of a child who never quite manages to grow up and mature into a fully functional adult, and whose career as a Jedi Knight is marked with repeated instances of stupidity, general incompetence and outright failure. With a good scriptwriter and good actors you can make a good film out of anything, but that there is an uphill battle if I've ever seen one.
Personally I think that they would've been better served by creating a new main character who could function as the audience surrogate, only to have them be betrayed and killed off by Anakin Skywalker towards the end of the third movie right before the climatic battle that almost destroys him and turns him into Darth Vader. It seems to me that George Lucas attempted to do this with the character of Padme Amidala, but in my opinion he failed abysmally. By the time it happens her character is little more then a plot device and it has been at least a movie and a half since we saw her doing anything even remotely entertaining. If you want to see a good example of doing this sort of thing properly watch Django Unchained and keep an eye out for King Schultz played by Christopher Waltz.
On second thoughts, maybe I would roll the role of Padme Amidala into that of a female Jedi who gets tempted and corrupted to the dark side by a wild, powerful and tempestuous Anakin Skywalker. Who nevertheless convinces her that he can keep a lid on it and bring balance to the force because he is the chosen one. After she gives birth to Luke and Leia they confront the Emperor together, who manages to turn one against the other. Anakin defeats and kills her, and tracks down Obi-Wan Kenobi seeking to reclaim the children who were left in his safe keeping. Cue the duel on Mustafar, but with less waffling about having the high ground.
That actually happened, though. You see them speaking a few times, where Palpatine says he'll become the greatest Jedi ever (so he's already started manipulating him) and Anakin clearly has reverence for him (he calls him a good man to Obi-Wan early on when Obi-Wan expresses concerns about him).Hero of Lime said:
OK then. It's been a really long time since I've seen Episode II. I forgot about that. Though I think even more would have been better. Most of their visible interaction is in Episode III.IOwnTheSpire said:
Yeah, that's always going to be an issue...but do the prequels have to centre around Skywalker? He could be a B plot, it's mostly around the rest of the system falling apart.Fappy said:
Alternatively, some questions raised about the idea of creating people as disposable weapons, and how the Jedi aren't better than their enemies.Fappy said:
Actually, that could work if it was brought up, if there's an age gap and nobody approves because of it, rather than because of some Jedi thing. Or she regrets it but he doesn't.albino boo said:
Not sure how I would handle most of it but I would have had Anakin be the age he was in Ep2 in ep 1. Take out the Jedi can't love stuff and have him already seeing Padme. The war starts and the Jedi get in the mix to help stop the fighting. Have Anakin be a good person who does want to help but also have him be quite arrogant. He is the most powerful Jedi in the Galaxy and he knows it type of person, thinks he can do no wrong, succeed where others fail, that kind of thing.
As the war begins to drag on more and more people die. Anakin despite all his power fails to save someone important, a good friend or maybe keep it as his mother. At this point he starts to think that the Jedi are part of the problem. Being to passive, to timid to do what is needed to end the war. This combined with friend/family members death leads him to start using the Dark side as a means to save more people. But of cause the more he uses it the more it corrupts him, the more he starts to enjoy the power for powers sake and not as a means to help protect/save others. While this is happening he meets Palpatine who then starts to manipulate him, telling him of his vison of a unified Empire that spans the whole Galxay eliminating war. Despite all this he is stopped from turning completly because of his now wife Padme and the child they are expecting. She has both Luke and Leia but before she can tell Anakin Palpatine, knowing she and the child (as he only thinks there is one) can keep Anakin from turning completly, kills Padme. However Obi Wan who was ment to be protecting Padme for Anakin while she was having the baby, takes the children to safty before Palpatine can kill them. Palpatine then tells Anakin she was killed either due to the war or perhaps by a political rival (thus cementing Anakin's hate for the corrupt Republic) who upon realising that not only is his wife dead but that his mentor/best friend failed to protect her, just like the Jedi have been failing to protect so many others finaly gives in to the dark side and agrees to help Palpatine build his new Empire.
Then of cause keep the duel between Obi Wan and Anakin that results in him being in the Vader suit.
As the war begins to drag on more and more people die. Anakin despite all his power fails to save someone important, a good friend or maybe keep it as his mother. At this point he starts to think that the Jedi are part of the problem. Being to passive, to timid to do what is needed to end the war. This combined with friend/family members death leads him to start using the Dark side as a means to save more people. But of cause the more he uses it the more it corrupts him, the more he starts to enjoy the power for powers sake and not as a means to help protect/save others. While this is happening he meets Palpatine who then starts to manipulate him, telling him of his vison of a unified Empire that spans the whole Galxay eliminating war. Despite all this he is stopped from turning completly because of his now wife Padme and the child they are expecting. She has both Luke and Leia but before she can tell Anakin Palpatine, knowing she and the child (as he only thinks there is one) can keep Anakin from turning completly, kills Padme. However Obi Wan who was ment to be protecting Padme for Anakin while she was having the baby, takes the children to safty before Palpatine can kill them. Palpatine then tells Anakin she was killed either due to the war or perhaps by a political rival (thus cementing Anakin's hate for the corrupt Republic) who upon realising that not only is his wife dead but that his mentor/best friend failed to protect her, just like the Jedi have been failing to protect so many others finaly gives in to the dark side and agrees to help Palpatine build his new Empire.
Then of cause keep the duel between Obi Wan and Anakin that results in him being in the Vader suit.