Why are the Star Wars Prequals still canon?

[Darth Rosenberg]

Even if they're some of the worst, most incompetently banged together films ever made I peculiarly rather enjoyed seeing Jimmy Smits' Bail Organa cameo in Rogue One alongside Mon Mothma; sprawling, extended cinematic universes spanning decades aren't exactly common, so it's a novel thing to see.

I don't really care much about SW beyond the films (and the odd good game, but for me the last one was probably The Force Unleashed), so given the prequels are long gone in terms of the current timeline, they can't really do any harm to the new bigscreen continuity. If some people bizarrely find merit in them, then they can have other IP's tying in to them to enjoy as well, so good for them.

Regardless of their quality, it would be ridiculous to actively try to retcon them into oblivion. One of TFA's few weaknesses was that it over-compensated; it could've benefited from far more talk of space-politics...

 

[happyninja42]

I am just very curious at this because the Star Wars Prequals was so hated that I thought one of the points of this new Trilogy of movies and spin off movies and current canon of the Star Wars universe was so that they can erase the Prequals from Canon?

But no as of the recent Comic Book of Darth Vader 2017 series, the Prequals are still canon, the Comic starts right at that moment where Vader says NOOOOOOOOOOOOO when finding out he killed Padme after he was frankensteind into the Darth Vader Suit. (This is the Comic)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader:_Dark_Lord_of_the_Sith

Again I am just a bit perplexed at this? I thought they would retcon the whole prequals now that Disney has the rights? Heck they could have had the opportunity to create a complete new Prequal.

Because whether something is canon isn't determined on if it's good or not. It's determined by whether it's an "official" entry into the franchise, by the people with the authority to do so, usually the creator of said franchise.

As to why Disney hasn't changed it, why bother? They don't need any of the prequel stuff to even be mentioned in order to move forward with the franchise storyline. They aren't looking back to try and make their money. They are moving forward and making new(ish) stories with the property. Who cares about the prequel stuff anyway? The overarcing plot of the prequels is actually perfectly fine, it's the execution of it that is mostly the problem. Bad acting, bad writing, etc. But if you just look at the outline, there's nothing wrong with it as a structure for a background.

So yeah, Disney doesn't need to bother changing the prequels, they are busy with newer toys.

 

[Natemans]

I am just very curious at this because the Star Wars Prequals was so hated that I thought one of the points of this new Trilogy of movies and spin off movies and current canon of the Star Wars universe was so that they can erase the Prequals from Canon?

But no as of the recent Comic Book of Darth Vader 2017 series, the Prequals are still canon, the Comic starts right at that moment where Vader says NOOOOOOOOOOOOO when finding out he killed Padme after he was frankensteind into the Darth Vader Suit. (This is the Comic)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader:_Dark_Lord_of_the_Sith

Again I am just a bit perplexed at this? I thought they would retcon the whole prequals now that Disney has the rights? Heck they could have had the opportunity to create a complete new Prequal.

No, the prequels are still canon. Hell, Disney still has the Clone Wars (2008 CGI animated) series as canon and uses some references to it for the Rebels TV series. Yes, people hate the prequels, but they still happened. They've pretty much done enough stories back in the prequels so they are too busy with the current stuff.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I never understood where this entire belief even came from. It just seemed to appear one day with people saying, "Disney is going to get rid of the prequels!"
I'm not a big fan of them--Revenge of the Sith is the one I like the least (yes, you read that right)--but just pretending they never happened was something that I couldn't get behind. Lucas made them, they are part of the Star Wars package. We already have enough confusion with the removal of the Expanded Universe. To start pulling out movies just strikes me as silly, vain, and a bit on the insane side.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Say what you want about the prequels but they all had some awesome as hell battle scenes in them. In fact, you could probably make a good stand-alone video/pseudo-trailer by just editing all the fight scenes together into one piece. Except that stupid battle in Phantom Menace with Jar Jar. We don't need to remember that one.

 

[Saelune]

Less serious answer, but still quite true.

Ewan McGregor


(First half is prequels/McGregor)

I will dare to say, he was worth a Jar Jar to get.

 

[Basement Cat]

Like Saelune and others have said it's because George Lucas, who created and wrote and directed 4 of the original 6 movies including all of the prequels, made them.

He's often stated that the only things that are absolutely canon are the movies. This is no small point when you consider the many differences between novelizations (such as Yoda being blue in the OT novels) and the movies.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the prequels are definitive canon and shall remain so, forever.

People don't like that? Eh...

 

[bluegate]

The Prequels did so much for the pre-Empire universe that removing them from cannon would be a terrible move.


Also, George Lucas wrote them.

 

[Hawki]

Damn it Sam, it's spelt "prequel," not "prequal." Gah!

But on that note:

-I'm pretty sure it was part of the contract Lucas signed with Disney that the prequels remain canon.

-In stuff that Disney has had a hand in, such as Rebels and Clone Wars, these things need the context of the prequels to exist.

-As others have pointed out (though thoughts may vary), the execution of the prequels stumbled in areas, but the overall framework and story is decent. There's no reason to remove them.

-As of Episode VII, the prequels aren't that relevant. People who loathe the prequels are removed from them anyway. Retconning them along with the EU is only going to piss off the people that like the prequels.

-I have to question how much hatred there really is for the prequels. General consensus exists that they aren't as good as the OT, but looking at sites like Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus of average joe indicates that they range from average to good. And speaking personally, I don't think the recent Star Wars films have a monopoly on quality.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, if that's the case, then they can't erase the Expanded Universe.

 

[Veylon]

It's for the simple reason that the movie-going public remembers them and would be disconcerted if Disney decided they didn't exist any more. Most people don't care if Disney axes Thrawn, cancels the latter adventures of Boba Fett, and erases the Yuuzhan Vong because they never heard about any of that stuff to begin with.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Because it along with Ep. IV-VI, and the Clone Wars series (non-Gennady Tartakovsky version), were all the only actual official canon with the EU books/games/etc. being approved by committee but subject to Lucasfilm's veto at any point (see: Karen Traviss' Mandalorian books and why the Republic Commando/Imperial Commando series never got closure).
So when Disney bought Lucasfilm, they heeded to that standard and just decided it was easier (and smarter to be honest) to drop the EU into "Legends" territory and rewrite the post-VI canon and any inbetween. Of course the Ewok movies and the X-Mas special are also non-canon because I'm fairly sure Lucas was embarrassed as fuck about that and Disney ain't about shaming him. Seriously you think the prequels are terrible? Go find copies of those and watch 'em. You'll appreciate Jar Jar after that.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Because George Lucas made them.

 

[Trunkage]

Phantom Menace is still a better movie than Force Awakens. Lets drop that one first before getting rid of the prequels.

Swooped.

I would take it further though. Force Awakens proves to me personally something that has been nagging at me for a long time.... the original trilogy wasn't well written and is only well regarded because of its special effects... i.e. just like a lot of Star Wars fans saw the prequels.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Despite being critically panned, the prequels are still very popular among a wide swathe of Star Wars fans. Disney would be crazy to completely abandon that cash cow. Also, they were official movies by Mr. Lucas himself, so it makes sense that they would keep their canonical status out of respect for the creator.

Not gonna lie, a part of me would love to see an official reboot of the prequel era. RedLetterMedia provides an interesting alternate take on the Clone Wars in their Revenge of the Sith review:

Throw in some vintage references from the Thrawn Trilogy like the "Clone Masters" and Spaarti technology, give the Republic fleet proper <a href=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/15/54/00/1554002e4bb67f3d79ddde145e02e8a8.png>Victory-class Star Destroyers and <a href=http://img06.deviantart.net/0199/i/2016/251/c/1/republic_sienar_systems_republic_t_i_e__by_shoguneagle-dagwmgs.jpg>Republic T.I.E. Fighters (with actual space battles that are easy to follow this time) and make Anakin more like his Clone Wars persona and I'll be one happy camper. Oh yeah, and either throw away or subvert the whole "Chosen One" prophesy bullcrap. I don't care what Lucas says, Anakin is not Space Jesus. And for God's sake, hire a decent writer for any and all romance subplots. Lucas may be a visionary in many fields, but he can't write love dialogue to save his life.

On the other hand, while the prequel trilogy may have been mediocre as a whole, they did provide a wealth of quality spin-offs. Both of the Clone Wars cartoons are superb, fleshing out the conflict more, humanizing the clones and introducing many memorable and iconic characters (Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, Durge, Cad Bane, Captain Rex, etc.). They even feel like a soft reboot at times, addressing some of the more egregious flaws of the prequels in a satisfactory manner. Also, the prequel era gave us a wealth of video games that, while perhaps not quite the masterpieces of the X-Wing series, were still loads of fun to play (Battle for Naboo, Episode I: Racer, Starfighter, Republic Commando, etc).

So yeah, I'd say that, despite their missteps, the prequels were a net gain for the franchise. I still prefer the classic trilogy era by a considerable margin, but I won't begrudge the prequels for existing and remaining canonical. Hell, I unironically enjoy Episode I. I even like Jar Jar Binks.

Cause Lucas wrote them...?

And Episode II and III get a bad rap because of I. I is the one everyone hates and they just project that hate onto the next two. Sure, Anakin in II also gave continued life to the hate, but I mean... Ewoks are stupid, but we still consider VI canon.

Episode II is way worse than Episode I. What if I hate all three for various reasons?

Episode II is the worst Star Wars movie ever. Episode III is better, but not even as decent as Ep. I. The third movie moves too quickly in its second half and feels like more a waste of time for focusing more on Anakin, whose story we knew already.

Holy shit, I thought I was the only one around here who thought Episode I was the best of the prequels. I've always liked that movie despite its flaws. At its core, Episode I has the most in common with its classic trilogy brethren. It's an entertaining romp across the galaxy filled with action and all sorts of weird and wonderful sights along the way. Yes, Jar Jar can be trying at times, but it's not like Threepio didn't have his annoying moments in the originals as well.

 

[Callate]

The prequels were varying degrees of awful for a wide variety of reasons, and I could understand the temptation if they felt compelled to call a "do-over". But it would also be kind of a dick move. For a lot of younger people, those movies were their first exposure to Star Wars, and they were the last time the series' creator had an actual hand in molding his creation, however cack-handed his work may have been. (To quote my favorite comment someone made of AICN, regarding the delay on the 4th Indiana Jones movie: "George Lucas had a problem with the script?! George 'You killed all those innocent women and children, that's so hot' Lucas had a PROBLEM with the SCRIPT???!!")

So the wiser course is to work around them. Chronologically, you have the better trilogy as your more immediate background, and all the relevant characters from the original trilogy, save the droids, are dead. Focus on the tone and the characters, avoid having long discussions about trade, don't give characters you want taken seriously names like "Dookoo", and move on.

 

[jklinders]

I am just very curious at this because the Star Wars Prequals was so hated that I thought one of the points of this new Trilogy of movies and spin off movies and current canon of the Star Wars universe was so that they can erase the Prequals from Canon?

But no as of the recent Comic Book of Darth Vader 2017 series, the Prequals are still canon, the Comic starts right at that moment where Vader says NOOOOOOOOOOOOO when finding out he killed Padme after he was frankensteind into the Darth Vader Suit. (This is the Comic)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader:_Dark_Lord_of_the_Sith

Again I am just a bit perplexed at this? I thought they would retcon the whole prequals now that Disney has the rights? Heck they could have had the opportunity to create a complete new Prequal.

I was never at any point given any kind of impression that Disney had any intention of reconning the prequels. They did say that they were removing the EU from canon, but the prequels were part of the core canon of the setting. When Disney first acquired the rights they explicitly laid out that the movies were staying put.

Do I want Jar Jar reconned out? Yes. Did i ever think he was going to be? No.

Took some digging but I found this.

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

from this

http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page

Possibly not an "official source" but we are talking shit that has been one and doen for over 3 years now.