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[Dead]

Movies would have to be restructured

Episode 1 would consolidate most of 1 and 2. First ~45 minutes with Anakin as a kid, then flash-forward to him being older. Might have to be the longest movie of the bunch (150-160 minutes) Have Anakind and Padme both meet as kids, then re-united when they become older and rekindle Friendship. Main Darth survives the movie and returns as Sith General in...

Episode 2 a Clone Wars based movie so that we actually get to see Anakin as a great Jedi rather than relegate that to a cartoon. Have movie based on the biggest conflict during the war. Anakin and Obi Bros in Arms

Episode 3 basically where the actual episode 3 is. Clone Wars winding down, Empire emerges, etc. I don't think much content needs to be changed...just executed better.

 

[EGM1966]

Anakin didn't create C3PO and neither of the droids show up at all.

Agree on C3PO but if you want to confirm to the OT the doids need to be there the whole way. There role is the bystanders that reflect us the audienace and give us our "in" to this exotic world and of course comedy relief (and the odd plot device). Part of the issue with the prequels is how they first try (in EP1) to replace their role with another character (Jar Jar - big mistake with hindsight) and then go completely over the top with their characteristics (making C3PO way too idiotic and annoying and R2D2 way too capable and always saving the day somehow).

The droids in the prequels should have played the same role as the OT and as with A New Hope should arguably have been the first characters to appear on-screen that we then follow.

OP not bad ideas, thought of a few of those myself. Starting with Anakin that young turned out to go nowhere and there was no overarching plot at all around Emperor (I mean there is but it's a muddled mess instead of clear and simply as with the OT).

The thing with the prequels is that the first two films are trying to set up (and failing badly) various ideas for the fall of Anakin and plots for the Emperor none of which really matter much in EP3. EP3 works essentially self contained as to Anakin anyway.

You'd want to start with a clear path for his corruption starting with him uncorrupted and ending with his fall. You want to start showing Republic "as is" with Jedi in place then show is steadily chipped away.

I also thought Lucas's idea for Clone Wars (they're a bunch of clone soldiers) was horribly bland. As a kid I'd always figured it was about clones of people replacing them and all the distrust that would go around that, all driven by Palpatine. I wanted to have a clone of Obi Wan openly assassinate senators, creating huge distrust in Jedi and the "heroes", trustworthy characters (already dispatched behind the scenes obviously) to turn out to be evil clones in unexpected ways.

I also expected Lucas to have a definite idea how Obi Wan would defeat Anakin - most likely simply by going with the initial setup in A New Hope (when they fought Anakin was a failed, overambitious student and Obi Wan still his master in abilities).

Ah you know what the prequels screwed the pooch with Anakin and Obi Wan and that's that. Rather than remotely trying to salvage bits of them if you wanted to re-write them you'd start with a blank page.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

This. He does a great job explaining what didn't work, what should change, and why it should change.

Pretty cool. Though I understand the Obi-Won as the lead character bit, don't get why he wants to mute the one character that happens to be greatest force user of all time?
I've always felt that Anakin's power should have been a exhibited in a manner that awes the viewer, supporting character's & audience alike. Instead with Lucas we get a whining bitch, and with this guy we get someone who seems naive and weak.

Also the main point I feel is missed with the PT is it isn't a story about Anakin/Vader, but the destruction of the Republic, Jedi, Freedom and well, Hope. You know... Hence A New Hope.

The biggest misstep of the entire trilogy is everything just sort of collapses all at once, AND Vader had nothing to do with it, like at all (well except saving Sidious, but that was kinda bullshit).
In my mind what we should have seen is Anakin turn by the end of episode 2 which leads into all of episode 3 being nothing but Vader's 20 year systematic and calculated destruction of the Jedi, the Republic, and again, hope.

Now imagine once if after all of that, all the darkness, death and hopelessness; The jedi are gone and the Galaxy is enslaved; instead of the final scene being Vader's stupid "NOOOOOOOOOO" bullshit, imagine it ended with the New Hope's opening shot of Luke looking off to the horizon, then cut to black with the start of Star Wars theme playing.

 

[Sephzilla]

Anakin didn't create C3PO and neither of the droids show up at all.

But R2D2 knew Obi-Wan before the OT. So you kind of need him there.

 

[xxANTIMONITORxx]

The answer to the midichlorians, to me at least, is pretty simple.

In Ep 1 we are told that everyone has them but a high density of them gives Force ability and sensitivity. The more midis you have the stronger you are.

The problem is that this takes away the mystical aspect of the Force and also some of the "specialness" as a foundational part of the whole saga.

The elegant solution then is rather than "creating" the Force, the midichlorians are ATTRACTED to Force sensitives as a symbiont or parasite because space science says they do for whatever reason. Thus, Force strength can be measured or estimated by the amount of midichlorians attracted to that person.

 

[The Elite]

This thread is why GAF isn't allowed to write Star Wars movies anymore.

 

[DoctorFling]

"He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior... and he was a good friend."


Honestly, a film just needs to reflect this line and not contradict the originals.It's mind boggling how many way Lucas misunderstood his own work.

 

[LevelNth]

Step 1) Fix Anakin being too young throughout the prequels.

There was zero need to start Episode 1 with him as a child (makes better sense if he were older) and thus it becomes a stretch to reconcile his age during II and III to him clearly looking and moving like he's in his mid-50's in VI.

 

[Dcube]

Episode 1 - Obi Wan meets Anakin, clone wars begin by the end.
Episode 2 - During the war, Anakin progresses towards the dark side as the horror of war taints his training. Kenobi is too naive and blinded by loyalty to realize how lost Anakin is.
Episode 3 - Anakin is already Darth Vader, betrays his ideals due to years of violence corrupting his heart. Turns on and conquers the republic sure that his way is the right way.

Just keep the basic concepts of war being hell. Turning to the dark side mirrors the blurring of moral lines during war time. Much better than 'gah dark side! I bad now'

 

[dragonyeuw]

This thread is why GAF isn't allowed to write Star Wars movies anymore.

I'd say a good number of ideas( not even talking about my own) would have worked better than what we got, in the hands of talented writers.

 

[dragonyeuw]

yoda and palpatine dont use lightsabers.

I feel the same way. They're like level 99 force users, at that point 'petty' sabers should be beneath them.

the downfall of anakin skywalker is a story that could be told in one film. the first two prequels were pretty much unnecessary.

I don't think showing Anakin's fall over 3 films was a bad choice; he just didn't do a good job of establishing Anakin as a flawed but relatable hero nor give a plausible reason as to why Anakin would turn to the darkside. The plot device around Padme's looming delivery death, how Anakin goes from pretty much turning on Palpatine once he reveals himself, to cutting off Mace's hand and killing children once pledging allegiance to the guy he was about to turn in, literally losing all sense of right and wrong, within a space of 20 mins on film didn't play out well.

 

[Buddha Beam]

yoda and palpatine dont use lightsabers.

Agree with this. It would have been so badass if one of them was attacked with a lightsaber at some point and instead of cutting them in half, it just passes through them like a beam of light.

 

[Red Mage]

I have done this before in my head.

My thoughts were to have the Mandalorians attacking Naboo, previously a backwater planet until it was discovered to have the greatest amount of a rare substance needed for Cloning. The Jedi send people to retake Naboo and rescue the Queen after a group escapes and goes to Coruscant to ask for aid. The Mandalorians sudden attack on the Republic causes a panic and a group of senators start pushing for a draft. The Republic also starts putting more pressure on the Jedi to allow cloning of their Knights, something the Jedi Council has always forbidden.

The Jedi soon realize that the Mandalorians aren't going to be taken down easily and that they are being lead by a Sith Lord (Darth Maul). The Jedi, whose numbers are already dwindling, take a lot of casualties in retaking Naboo. This leads to the Jedi Council to finally approve the cloning of Jedi Knights and Masters.

Padme could be the Queen's younger sister, and Anakin can be a young pilot in their air squadron. Perhaps the Queen dies during the finale and Padme takes her place. Qui Gon could be the Jedi who leads the force to retake the Naboo cloning facility and dies to Maul. Obi-Wan could agree to take Anakin on after he believes that he can no longer be with Padme because she is now the Queen.

The second movie could be the first Clone War, where the Republic finally defeats the Mandolarians. Just as peace seems to be within reach, however, the Jedi Clones start going mad and killing people, claiming that they are the real Jedi and the others are clones. One other thing, all of the clones look very similar to their original source, and each has a name that's derived from the original's name. Obi-Wan's is called "Ben."

By this point, Anakin is a full-blown Jedi Knight, and the development between Obi-Wan and Anakin is mostly showing their friendship. Padme has never married and by the end of the movie Anakin and Padme marry despite the fact that she is queen, as Anakin's now a war-hero. Palpatine becomes head of the Republic, but seems a figure-head.

The final film I never thought about much, so it'll probably be a bit rambling.

RotS has the Second Clone War. The 'madness' has spread from the Jedi Clones to almost all of them, and the Jedi Clones are now using advanced Sith Magic. Naboo and the rest of the Republic are at odds, as they want all cloning stopped permanently. As it is their major export/source of income, Naboo fights this. During an attack on the Jedi Temple, Anakin's clone is killed, and the Jedi use this to try and infiltrate the Clone Army and find out where the Sith are hiding. Obi-Wan is hurt by 'Ben' but survives.

During the time Anakin is undercover, he becomes slowly corrupted towards the Dark Side. The Sith know he's not a clone, because they can manipulate/control those to a degree thanks to Sith Sorcery and them tampering with the cloning vats in Episode I. Maul sends the Clones to Naboo to wrest control of the Cloning Facility and heads to Mustafar to meet up with his Master. Anakin reports all of this to the Council and Republic Members. Before a course of action can be finalized, Anakin goes to stop Maul, as they are talking about fire-bombing the entire planet. Yoda, Obi-Wan, and some of the other Jedi leave to try and rescue as many Naboo as possible. By now, the Queen discovers she's pregnant and is among those who escape. 'Ben' is killed during this time.

Feeling the destruction of Naboo through the force, Anakin falls to the Dark Side and kills Maul. Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin and claims he was against the destruction of Naboo, but he was shouted down. Feeling betrayed by the Jedi and the Republic, Anakin pledges himself to his new master and they make a plan: Anakin and the rest of the clones will meet the Jedi who are coming to 'rescue' Anakin, while Palpatine declares himself Emperor, and orders the execution of the Jedi, blaming the use of the Force as the source of the Clone Madness.

Obi-Wan never reveals the truth about Padme, because he discovers his friend has become twisted prior to getting a chance. They fight, with Vader getting burned. Obi-Wan cannot bring himself to finish Anakin off, however, and leaves. Yoda, Obi-wan, and a few others are returning from Mustafar, when they discover what's happened on Coruscant, and go into hiding. Padme remains on Alderan with another Jedi Knight, but Obi-Wan leaves for Tatooine, where he grew up. He tells his brother, Lars, that he's going to take the name of his clone and live as a hermit, watching them from afar. When Lars asks if he's expected to raise the kid and then just give him up when he's old enough, Old Ben says that the Force will decide.

Pretty rough, especially the third, but I think it'd be better than what we got.

 

[Reuenthal]

The first film would be somewhat similar to the X-men prequel film with Magneto's backstory starring Fassbender. It did a nice job showing a grey somewhat dark character who also had some redeeming qualities instead of being overtly whining. I also really liked the dynamic of rivalry and friendship between Xavier and Magneto. Also Anakin is played by Fassbender.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Rogue One is all the prequels we need, well assuming it's good.

 

[professor_t]

Movies would have to be restructured

Episode 1 would consolidate most of 1 and 2. First ~45 minutes with Anakin as a kid, then flash-forward to him being older. Might have to be the longest movie of the bunch (150-160 minutes) Have Anakind and Padme both meet as kids, then re-united when they become older and rekindle Friendship. Main Darth survives the movie and returns as Sith General in...

Episode 2 a Clone Wars based movie so that we actually get to see Anakin as a great Jedi rather than relegate that to a cartoon. Have movie based on the biggest conflict during the war. Anakin and Obi Bros in Arms

Episode 3 basically where the actual episode 3 is. Clone Wars winding down, Empire emerges, etc. I don't think much content needs to be changed...just executed better.

I like your perspective more than what most others are saying, particularly in regards to Anakin. People who eschew the "kid" version are basing that too much on the execution and not enough on the untapped potential.

Star Wars is about good vs. evil and the downfall and redemption of Vader that are wrought by that conflict. The best way to magnify the power of that redemption is to show precisely how far Vader is fallen, and his fall stands in starkest relief against the image of him as an innocent kid, not an edgy teenager.

Obviously, you need a WAY better performance from the kid for this to work, and I would only spend perhaps 30-45 minutes on this element, but it would have been amazing if Lucas had executed it properly.

Anakin's redemption is the most powerful component of the whole saga, if you ask me.

I was watching Jedi with my 3-year old son recently (bad parent or best parent?) and we had this exchange:

My son: Daddy, why did Darth Vader turn good again?
Me: Because he wanted to save his son.

Only I barely got out the word "son" because my throat unexpectedly closed up on me. Yeah, that has a lot to do with being a dad in a bonding moment with my son, but I still think that Vader's return to the light is the emotional core of the series. Any changes I would make to the prequels would amplify that, not diminish it.

 

[dragonyeuw]

I like your perspective more than what most others are saying, particularly in regards to Anakin. People who eschew the "kid" version are basing that too much on the execution and not enough on the untapped potential.

Star Wars is about good vs. evil and the downfall and redemption of Vader that are wrought by that conflict. The best way to magnify the power of that redemption is to show precisely how far Vader is fallen, and his fall stands in starkest relief against the image of him as an innocent kid, not an edgy teenager.

That was Lucas' choice to write Anakin as an edgy teen. He could have written him as a good teenager who gradually falls to the darkside against the backdrop of war, and growing disillusionment with Jedi principles. An 8 year old is still very much in the development stage personality-wise, heck I'm sure many of history's most nefarious dictators and serial killers had innocent enough childhoods. So really, presenting Anakin as an 8 year old 'yippie!' child means very little.

Instead of writing 18 year old Anakin as a brat for reasons unexplained to us within the movieverse( given that we lose a whole 10 years between TPH and AOTC), Lucas should have written compelling reasons plotwise that the average person could look within themselves and say 'you know what? If I was Anakin, I'd have reacted the same way.' In other words, create a story of 'this is how you turn a good person bad.' Instead he writes Anakin as an asshole with a superiority complex, capable of terrible deeds, and frankly as someone who we can very easily see falling to the darkside.

I like the example of Fassbender's Magneto in Xmen First class. The situations that shape his life, makes it very easy for us as the audience to understand his actions, hence making for a sympathetic and relatable character. I was cheering for Magneto right through the end, even after he turned bad. Lucas simply failed to create Anakin as someone we could identify with, care for, understand his motives, and feel for when he ultimately falls.

 

[Black-Wind]

Well Belated Media got you covered there

Ep 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgICnbC2-_Y

Ep 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAbug3AhYmw

Ep 3 coming before VII later this year.

Best rewrites ever put together.

Was just about to hunt down this guy's vids for this topic.

 

[Jorok Goldblade]

My head-canon for midichlorians is that they're a parasite that feeds on Force energy flowing through the host. A decent indicator of a force user's power, but not the cause of it. That interpretation is just junk science by people who don't realize correlation =/= causation.

 

[Gnome Scat]

1000% agree

they should be above needing lightsabers

Exactly, that was just attempted fan service.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Quigon survives the Maul duel but sees Obi-Wan tap into rage in order to beat him, thus proving the power of the dark side

Quigon then completely takes the role of Dooku, disappearing at the end of TPM, leaving the task of training Anakin to Obi-Wan

Order 66 isn't a thing--most jedi are dead because of the war. Anakin joins the dark side in order to end the war and save lives. Kills Qui-Gon to end the war and then joins the Emperor and then kills rebelling Jedi because he knows they aren't strong enough to keep the galaxy safe.

 

[cntr]

A few other things:

Jedi robes are basically what Obi Wan wore in Part 4...and what he wore was the same desert outfit as everybody else there.

The Jedi should be a lot more subtle. Pretty much nobody in the Original Trilogy really knew much about the Jedi, almost as if they were figures of legend, yet we're supposed to accept that a mere 20 years before, Jedi were running around chopping shit and doing magic?

 

[genjiZERO]

I've always felt Anakin should have been a full-on adult at the start of the series. Also, he and Padme are already together from the start (see Lunar for how to write a love story). Also agree to cut Qui Gon - he's totally useless. If anything that's how old Obi-wan should be from the get-go.

Movies would have to be restructured

Episode 1 would consolidate most of 1 and 2. First ~45 minutes with Anakin as a kid, then flash-forward to him being older. Might have to be the longest movie of the bunch (150-160 minutes) Have Anakind and Padme both meet as kids, then re-united when they become older and rekindle Friendship. Main Darth survives the movie and returns as Sith General in...

Episode 2 a Clone Wars based movie so that we actually get to see Anakin as a great Jedi rather than relegate that to a cartoon. Have movie based on the biggest conflict during the war. Anakin and Obi Bros in Arms

Episode 3 basically where the actual episode 3 is. Clone Wars winding down, Empire emerges, etc. I don't think much content needs to be changed...just executed better.

These are good thought, but I'd have Anakin's fall happen in epi 2. Epi 3 is a clusterfuck of death and Anakin struggles and looses his humanity in it. I'd have liked to see able bodied Obi-wan fight Vader to some extent. In epi 2 you could mimiic the end of Episode V, but the opposite happens.

 

[old]

Only two basic things really need to happen. 1) Anakin and Padme have twins. and 2) Anakin turns to the darkside.

My style is to cut out almost everything else that is just needless complication. As far as the plot goes, I subscribe to KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. I want the focus on the characters and their emotional journeys. Everything else is just there to give context to that focus.

I
Anakin is an 18 year old up and coming podracer. His secret weapon is using the force to his advantage. He wins the big tournament and is rewarded with a meeting with Queen Padme for his award ceremony. Ends in them meeting.

II
Rising political tensions and budding romance convince Anakin to become Padme personal pilot, guardian and secret lover. Anakin trains as a Jedi to better protect her. Ends in them consummating their feelings and Anakin piloting their escape from assassins.

II
They're on the run and in hiding. Moving from planet to planet. They continue their romance. She becomes pregnant with twins but assassins finally get to her. Anakin blames himself for failing her and filled with rage, anger, and despair turns to the dark side after being promised revenge against those who killed her.

 

[Fj0823]

The answer to the midichlorians, to me at least, is pretty simple.

In Ep 1 we are told that everyone has them but a high density of them gives Force ability and sensitivity. The more midis you have the stronger you are.

The problem is that this takes away the mystical aspect of the Force and also some of the "specialness" as a foundational part of the whole saga.

The elegant solution then is rather than "creating" the Force, the midichlorians are ATTRACTED to Force sensitives as a symbiont or parasite because space science says they do for whatever reason. Thus, Force strength can be measured or estimated by the amount of midichlorians attracted to that person.

Midichlorians dont create the force, they were made by the force, as a tool to manifest itself within life. They are a key to many force phenomena, but they are not the force, nor do they create it.

In the Clone Wars, we get to know a planet where the force is insanely strong, and Yoda believes it could be their planet of origin.

As for changes, eh, I like them as they are, I think the only thing Id change would be the romance in episode 2 being forced, have Anakin and Padme interact more in I and have them both interested in each other by II, also BOTH are very afraid to go with it

 

[Camp Freddie]

The problem with the prequel trilogy was summed up in Lego Star Wars.

From here until 04:15:
https://youtu.be/rUrG63UQK00?t=230

In fact, I think Belated Media stole the ressurected robo-legs Maul from Lego Star Wars Yoda Chronicles. It's also somewhat disturbing that a series of Lego cartoons give Maul more character development than the actual movie (In Lego, Maul is a cocky and vain sith concerned about looking 'awesome' above all else, whereas in the movies he's... erm... who is he again?).

Basically, after watching the various Lego cartoons with my son, I'm convinced that they are a much better canon than the official one. They are also a lot funnier, since they ruthlessly take the piss out of the prequel films.

 

[Into]

Vader is 98% a bad guy in OT, he is redeemed at the end

Anakin needs to be 98% a good guy in the prequels, he falls at the end.

It is imperative that people LIKE Anakin, because the entire prequel trilogy is dependent on it.


I am not a Star Wars expert, so correct me if i am wrong. But are the Jedi not suppose to be patient, understanding and reasonable? They think before they act, correct? While the Sith are opposite, they are unable to control their emotions and act before they think?


The audience needed to follow Anakin's thinking until it went off the rails. Unable to find his mother should have been a brewing plot point, the Jedi urge patience and understanding, which understandably Anakin has trouble with since its his mother's life that is at stake. Jedi prohibit him from going after her until they have more information, yadda yadda. He listens to them, against his better judgement, he is a good Jedi, she is killed.

Now when Padme faces similar danger, we understand Anakin and his reluctance to listen to the Jedi. The audience should at least be able to understand Anakin's thinking and how it crossed over to the dark side.


They sorta try that in the prequels but his turn never happens. Anakin is a weird shady guy from the very first scene we see him in that elevator in AotC. Red Letter Media jokes about it, but Anakin comes across as a creepy guy who is oogling Padme and being fucking weird. He is not romantic or charming, he is just weird

 

[Cindres]

I had this discussion with a friend once, not really sure on details but the general overarching story goes:

Whole load of Phantom Menace is change or whatever, but the duel of the fates still happens however, Qui-Gon dies, somehow Maul gets away, Obi-Wan left mourning and give QG his word that he'll train Anakin. Over the coming movies Obi-Wan becomes more clouded and obsessed with his need for revenge, hunting down Maul. Occasionally neglects Anakin & training, makes bad decisions in the process. Not really sure how Anakin fits in but as others have said we make him much more likeable and ultimately it's Obi-Wan's neglect that leads Anakin to find a new mentor in the emporer.

It's not perfect but I like the idea of this and always thought the PT should follow Obi-Wan, his regret and feeling of responsibility for partly "causing" Darth Vader and being too blind in his search for Maul that he doesn't spot the Emporer being right there under his nose the whole time. personally I think that feeling of responsibility can easily be projected onto Guiness' character in the OT.

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

6 hours of John Williams music as an overture to the real movies. Show nothing but space.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Well Belated Media got you covered there

Ep 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgICnbC2-_Y

Ep 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAbug3AhYmw

Ep 3 coming before VII later this year.

Best rewrites ever put together.

This is what I was going to say. His rewrite of Attack of the Clones in particular is really good.

EDIT - for what it's worth I think the background plot of Palpatine manipulating everyone and working to stack the deck in his favour is really solid. He's easily the best character in the Prequel Trilogy. It's just pretty much every other event and character on top of that is handled horribly.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Vader is 98% a bad guy in OT, he is redeemed at the end

Anakin needs to be 98% a good guy in the prequels, he falls at the end.

It is imperative that people LIKE Anakin, because the entire prequel trilogy is dependent on it.


I am not a Star Wars expert, so correct me if i am wrong. But are the Jedi not suppose to be patient, understanding and reasonable? They think before they act, correct? While the Sith are opposite, they are unable to control their emotions and act before they think?


The audience needed to follow Anakin's thinking until it went off the rails. Unable to find his mother should have been a brewing plot point, the Jedi urge patience and understanding, which understandably Anakin has trouble with since its his mother's life that is at stake. Jedi prohibit him from going after her until they have more information, yadda yadda. He listens to them, against his better judgement, he is a good Jedi, she is killed.

Now when Padme faces similar danger, we understand Anakin and his reluctance to listen to the Jedi. The audience should at least be able to understand Anakin's thinking and how it crossed over to the dark side.


They sorta try that in the prequels but his turn never happens. Anakin is a weird shady guy from the very first scene we see him in that elevator in AotC. Red Letter Media jokes about it, but Anakin comes across as a creepy guy who is oogling Padme and being fucking weird. He is not romantic or charming, he is just weird

Yes this is pretty much what I was saying earlier. Lucas chose to use an 8 year old kid as a way to show that 'hey, Anakin really WAS a good guy once!' Because he was a good-natured, thoughtful kid?! That indicates to me an inability to write an 18 year old Anakin as relatable, and putting him in circumstances where turning evil was a plausible outcome. The success of the Prequels, of the Anakin/Vader story, was hinging on how well Anakin and his motivations were received by the audience.

 

[bomma_man]

I've always thought that Star Trek '09 would have been a good template for a proper Episode 1. Clearly the actual story would have to change, but from Obi-Wan's description in the original trilogy, I had always imagined Anakin as more of a hotshot and reckless Kirk-esque character to Obi-Wan's more level headed and rational Spock.

Start it off with Anakin excelling as a young (20-ish) pilot, identified by the Jedi as a powerful force user and paired off with Obi-Wan for training. Make the background of the first movie be all about the kickoff of the Clone Wars, but have the focus be on the relationship between the two. They clash big time like Kirk and Spock in Star Trek '09, due to similar differences in personality and tactical strategies, but come together by the end and figure out how to work with each other and respect each other.

Episode 2 is full-on Clone Wars drama, including some defeats which piss Anakin off because he knows that they could have won if he had let loose a bit with the dark side. Maybe they let the big bad guy (who should be the same across all three movies) go because they would have to take out a bunch of civilians in order to kill him, or something like that.

Episode 3 is the point where Anakin decides that he's sick of being held back by Obi-Wan and the light side, and he chooses the dark side in order to reach what is in his mind his full potential and win the war once and for all. He turns heel not for love, or because he was tricked into it, but because he made the conscious choice that it was the better way to go.

Basically, show that Anakin truly believes that the galaxy is a better and safer place for everyone with a Stormtrooper on every corner, rather than making him just the easily manipulated dog at the end of Palpatine's leash.

I'm no writer, but I think that this basic template would have been a much better launch point for someone talented to make an interesting trilogy of movies.

This would be a way more interesting take on authoritarianism/utilitarianism v liberalism/individualism than Lucas' ham fisted george bush references.

 

[water_wendi]

The second movie could be the first Clone War, where the Republic finally defeats the Mandolarians. Just as peace seems to be within reach, however, the Jedi Clones start going mad and killing people, claiming that they are the real Jedi and the others are clones. One other thing, all of the clones look very similar to their original source, and each has a name that's derived from the original's name. Obi-Wan's is called "Ben."

Long before the prequels came out i was positive that the Clone Wars referred to in the movies would be something like this but the opposite of your take. i always took it to mean that Ben Kenobi was the original and Obi-Wan (OB-1) just a clone.

 

[Woody Invincible]

Darth Maul should have lasted into the second film.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Everything the same, except the Jedi kill The Chancellor sometime during ep3. Sidious emerges from the shadows, says the Jedi killed his loyal decoy, and then unleashes Order 66.

Everything makes sense. Fewer people cry.

 

[Forkball]

Um, change everything?

-The Jedi are portrayed as these weird ascetic monks who are completely out of touch with normal people. Maybe portray them as, I dunno, likeable? They should be heroic and just warriors who still hold ancient traditions, but not at the expense of everything else. They should be chivalrous, whose downfall comes from being betrayed by their own members and not because they got shot in the back by random ass clones.

-Why is Anakin a damn kid? Just start him off as a young adult rookie Jedi. I would even accept YA teenager. They could seriously fill out his entire backstory before joining the Jedi with a single sentence and it would be ok. "A young orphan from Tatooine wishes to join the Jedi Order." THAT'S IT THAT'S ALL YOU NEEDED TO SAY.

-No midichlorians, this goes without saying.

-First movie should have Anakin be largely heroic, but with a few seeds planted that make it convincing enough that he would turn into Vader. Second film also has him as a hero, but have some major turning points and internal conflicts that have him question his motivations and those around him. In the third film, there needs to be a major breaking point that turns him into Vader. You could say, "Didn't they do that in the PT?" No, no they did not. Anakin is just a kid in Ep 1, there is no hint whatsoever about his future. In Ep II he's just kind of a cocky asshole/idiot. In Ep III, he just turns evil because why not.

-Have a far more interesting conflict than the Clone Wars. There is no real big bad on the Clone Army side from an outsider perspective. Who were in charge of the robots again? The Trade Federation? Who are they again? Those weird aliens? What were their names? What did they want? WHAT WAS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE CLONE WARS? The Republic was just fighting wave after wave of cannon fodder with a jobber general every now and then. It was like they were playing the first level of Dynasty Warriors.

-Give people personalities. Quick, what's the difference between Mace Windu and every other Jedi in the PT in terms of personality and how they act? NOTHING. You could have put in a different Jedi every time Mace Windu had a scene and nothing would change. The only character who actually had some sort of interesting personality was damn Sheev Palpatine. He was amusing as a mild-mannered no name senator who we all knew was the baddest of the bad, and then he hammed it up when he decided to just be full blown evil. Palpatine is seriously probably the best thing in the PT. His plan is realistic and makes sense, plus he plays everyone cause they're idiots.

 

[dragonyeuw]

-The Jedi are portrayed as these weird ascetic monks who are completely out of touch with normal people. Maybe portray them as, I dunno, likeable? They should be heroic and just warriors who still hold ancient traditions, but not at the expense of everything else. They should be chivalrous, whose downfall comes from being betrayed by their own members and not because they got shot in the back by random ass clones.

Did you ever watch those old Shaolin kung fu movies, where you had a group of monks somewhere up in the mountains training in secret? I'd have loved that as a blueprint for how the Jedi were portrayed. As is, there's no explanation for why the Jedi were used as diplomats, or investigators. From all we know of the Jedi, whether it be Luke's training, or the bits of info inferred at various points in the series, we see no evidence that diplomatic training is part of their teachings. Why would Qui-gon and Obi-wan (a padawan no less at this point) be used in this way at the start of TPH, instead of trained diplomats? Its like Lucas couldn't think of a better way to get them on-board the Viceroy ship to jumpstart the plot. But it's just the beginning of characters and situations that really make little sense.

Which brings me to another point they screwed up on. We got to see Luke's training, so we saw how he reacted to certain situations( like the self-doubt he showed at lifting the x-wing out of the swamp on Dagobah). Had we seen Anakin's training, it would have provided a glimpse into his character and how he dealt with things. As it was, we see an 8 year old kid, then an 18 year old whiny brat, then a brooding full Jedi who turns evil halfway through because the plot demands it, but the most implausible plot devices are used to arrive to that point. And way too much crucial character development happens off-screen, and we are meant to just accept the relationships depicted because....reasons.

-Give people personalities. Quick, what's the difference between Mace Windu and every other Jedi in the PT in terms of personality and how they act? NOTHING. You could have put in a different Jedi every time Mace Windu had a scene and nothing would change. The only character who actually had some sort of interesting personality was damn Sheev Palpatine. He was amusing as a mild-mannered no name senator who we all knew was the baddest of the bad, and then he hammed it up when he decided to just be full blown evil. Palpatine is seriously probably the best thing in the PT. His plan is realistic and makes sense, plus he plays everyone cause they're idiots.

Redlettermedia broke down this perfectly, in terms of how the OT vs PT characters were portrayed, especially in Episode 1. All the Jedi are stoic, Maul has no personality, Padme speaks in a mundane tone, I suppose to sound regal but it comes off incredibly dry. I suppose the only 3 characters that exhibit any sense of personality are Palpatine, Anakin, and Jar Jar, and the latter two are considered the biggest missteps in the movie.

 

[Benzychenz]

Make Darth Maul and General Grievous the major antagonists for the whole trilogy, rather than them just showing up and dying.

 

[Rentahamster]

Does eliminating the first movie and expanding the second/third movie count as using the existing structure?

It's hard to write a fall from grace when you're constricted by the canon (I think it's canon?) nature of the dark side of the Force being that you just turn evil the more you use it. I guess character motivations would have to be written in a way where Anakin is disillusioned by the Jedi's ineffectiveness to prevent injustice, attempts to to wield the dark side for good intentions, but ultimately fails. That is what Lucas tried to do in Ep3, but it didn't work out so elegantly.

 

[dragonyeuw]

. I guess character motivations would have to be written in a way where Anakin is disillusioned by the Jedi's ineffectiveness to prevent injustice, attempts to to wield the dark side for good intentions, but ultimately fails. That is what Lucas tried to do in Ep3, but it didn't work out so elegantly.

Anakin basically turned to the darkside because he was tricked into thinking that a special darkside power would save his wife. Ok, that unto itself I can understand as a motivation for any loving husband. BUT, how does he then reconcile in his mind that killing a room of children is the right thing to do??!! That scene was thrown in for shock value, to show how TRULY EVIL AND DEVIOUS Anakin had become, but on the basis of what exactly? When Palpatine first revealed himself as the Sith lord, Anakin rose his saber to him and was going to turn him in, ultimately going to Mace and reporting his findings.

Soooo, within the space of 20 mins onscreen, the guy who in the prior movie had no trouble killing a herd of sandpeople.... goes from briefly turning on Palpatine indicating he was still of rational thought, to suddenly thinking Palpatine deserved a fair trial( after saying he'd like to kill him earlier)....to turning on the Jedi( attacking WIndu)...to pledging allegiance to the guy he had turned on earlier, while clearly indicating Padme's life was his primary concern....to justifying killing a room of children? All of these concepts are all over the place and really show that Lucas really had no clue how to really write Anakin.

 

[Forkball]

Did you ever watch those old Shaolin kung fu movies, where you had a group of monks somewhere up in the mountains training in secret? I'd have loved that as a blueprint for how the Jedi were portrayed. As is, there's no explanation for why the Jedi were used as diplomats, or investigators. From all we know of the Jedi, whether it be Luke's training, or the bits of info inferred at various points in the series, we see no evidence that diplomatic training is part of their teachings. Why would Qui-gon and Obi-wan (a padawan no less at this point) be used in this way at the start of TPH, instead of trained diplomats? Its like Lucas couldn't think of a better way to get them on-board the Viceroy ship to jumpstart the plot. But it's just the beginning of characters and situations that really make little sense.

Which brings me to another point they screwed up on. We got to see Luke's training, so we saw how he reacted to certain situations( like the self-doubt he showed at lifting the x-wing out of the swamp on Dagobah). Had we seen Anakin's training, it would have provided a glimpse into his character and how he dealt with things. As it was, we see an 8 year old kid, then an 18 year old whiny brat, then a brooding full Jedi who turns evil halfway through because the plot demands it, but the most plausible plot devices are used to arrive at that point. And way too much crucial character development happens off-screen, and we are meant to just accept the relationships depicted because....reasons.

Yeah the Jedi should have really been portrayed kind of a fading organization/religion. That's how they were described in the OT. One of the Imperial officers mocks Vader for believing in the force yet that shit was all over the place not even 20 years ago. They should have had some sort of main temple in the middle of nowhere where they studied the mysteries of the force. They would take jobs as bodyguards or other relief work in order to fund themselves. Their reputation would be largely positive, yet they are obscure enough where many people would not know much about them. Instead they were basically galactic super cops in the PT.

Redlettermedia broke down this perfectly, in terms of how the OT vs PT characters were portrayed, especially in Episode 1. All the Jedi are stoic, Maul has no personality, Padme speaks in a mundane tone, I suppose to sound regal but it comes off incredibly dry. I suppose the only 3 character that exhibit any sense of personality are Palpatine, Anakin, and Jar Jar, and the latter two are considered the biggest missteps in the movie.

The little game they play where they have to describe characters without using their job title or what they looked like really is genius. It shows just how interchangable so many characters are. You could honestly replace Mace Windu in any scene with any other Jedi and it would not matter. What's Mace Windu's biggest trait? He's got a purple lightsaber. That's his claim to fame. They took one of the most watchable and charismatic actors and turned him into a paper cutout.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Another thing to note is that Obi-Wan says that Vader helped hunt down and exterminate the Jedi when he's telling Luke what happened, so that will need to be factored into the rewrites. The only Jedi Annivader killed were a bunch of kids who could barely defend themselves. He should have had more time as Vader rather than rushing it all in the last 50 minutes of the third film (and about 20 minutes of that was shite on Lavaplanet).

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Yeah the Jedi should have really been portrayed kind of a fading organization/religion. That's how they were described in the OT. One of the Imperial officers mocks Vader for believing in the force yet that shit was all over the place not even 20 years ago. They should have had some sort of main temple in the middle of nowhere where they studied the mysteries of the force. They would take jobs as bodyguards or other relief work in order to fund themselves. Their reputation would be largely positive, yet they are obscure enough where many people would not know much about them. Instead they were basically galactic super cops in the PT.

Dagobah should just have been Yoda's home because he willingly chose to live away from civilization centuries ago, instead of a place of exile in his later years.

Yoda should have basically been "space Pai Mei" (...albeit less sadistic) instead of headmaster of Jedi kintergarden.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Another thing to note is that Obi-Wan says that Vader helped hunt down and exterminate the Jedi when he's telling Luke what happened, so that will need to be factored into the rewrites. The only Jedi Annivader killed were a bunch of kids who could barely defend themselves. He should have had more time as Vader rather than rushing it all in the last 50 minutes of the third film (and about 20 minutes of that was shite on Lavaplanet).

Which is why many are saying starting off Anakin as a kid was a mistake. It basically meant a whole ton of shit had to be crammed into 2 more two-hour movies after TPM, and that's exactly how it played out: a bunch of stuff thrown into the plot to check off certain required boxes, but soooo much info is left to off-screen stories( clone wars cartoons, books, Star War rebels series, etc)...

 

[dragonyeuw]

Yoda should have been "space Pai Mei" instead of headmaster of Jedi kintergarden.

Yeah, the whole concept of 'jedi class' in that scene was corny but of all people to be instructing.......Yoda??!! Thats like something you'd have your first line Knights do, not a Yoda or Mace Windu level Jedi.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Yeah the Jedi should have really been portrayed kind of a fading organization/religion. That's how they were described in the OT. One of the Imperial officers mocks Vader for believing in the force yet that shit was all over the place not even 20 years ago. They should have had some sort of main temple in the middle of nowhere where they studied the mysteries of the force. They would take jobs as bodyguards or other relief work in order to fund themselves. Their reputation would be largely positive, yet they are obscure enough where many people would not know much about them. Instead they were basically galactic super cops in the PT.

I like the idea of them blending into society, and pretty much using their powers in a vigilante sort of way, basically a group of obscure force monks that are more legends than anything.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Anakin basically turned to the darkside because he was tricked into thinking that a special darkside power would save his wife. Ok, that unto itself I can understand as a motivation for any loving husband. BUT, how does he then reconcile in his mind that killing a room of children is the right thing to do??!! That scene was thrown in for shock value, to show how TRULY EVIL AND DEVIOUS Anakin had become, but on the basis of what exactly? When Palpatine first revealed himself as the Sith lord, Anakin rose his saber to him and was going to turn him in, ultimately going to Mace and reporting his findings.

Soooo, within the space of 20 mins onscreen, the guy who in the prior movie had no trouble killing a herd of sandpeople.... goes from briefly turning on Palpatine indicating he was still of rational thought, to suddenly thinking Palpatine deserved a fair trial( after saying he'd like to kill him earlier)....to turning on the Jedi( attacking WIndu)...to pledging allegiance to the guy he had turned on earlier, while clearly indicating Padme's life was his primary concern....to justifying killing a room of children? All of these concepts are all over the place and really show that Lucas really had no clue how to really write Anakin.

It's so bad. There's no nuance to his character development and it's all so rushed because Lucas gave Anakin a flimsy motivation and made such a poor job of his character in the previous two films that he needs to spend half of Revenge of the Sith to continue establishing Anakin as a 'good guy'.

 

[obijkenobi]

Dagobah should just have been Yoda's home because he willingly chose to live away from civilization centuries ago, instead of a place of exile in his later years.

Yoda should have basically been "space Pai Mei" (...albeit less sadistic) instead of headmaster of Jedi kintergarden.

That wouldn't work. Yoda told Luke that he was head of the Jedi council for over 800 years in Empire Strikes Back

 

[LegendofLex]

Soooo, within the space of 20 mins onscreen, the guy who in the prior movie had no trouble killing a herd of sandpeople.... goes from briefly turning on Palpatine indicating he was still of rational thought, to suddenly thinking Palpatine deserved a fair trial( after saying he'd like to kill him earlier)....to turning on the Jedi( attacking WIndu)...to pledging allegiance to the guy he had turned on earlier, while clearly indicating Padme's life was his primary concern....to justifying killing a room of children? All of these concepts are all over the place and really show that Lucas really had no clue how to really write Anakin.

I struggled with this for a while, too, but upon later reflection, I can get it. Throughout most of Episodes II and III, he's seriously conflicted. His Jedi masters are telling him to hold himself back, to repress his emotions (he expresses frustration at this while on Tatooine); meanwhile, his political mentor keeps telling him he's destined for greatness, feeding the fires of doubt in the Jedi. He tries to save his mother, but arrives too late.

Then in Episode III, he's afraid - the wife he isn't supposed to have is going to die. He can't go to the Jedi, because they'll expel him from the Order. Meanwhile, Palpatine is encouraging him to find a way to save his wife, feeding him hints that he knows of a way. Even though, when he learns the Palpatine is the Sith Lord, he knows what he ought to do, there's a nagging feeling that Palpatine is his only hope. And Palpatine is someone who he felt he could trust. So in the end he sides with Palpatine, convincing himself that whatever the cost of doing so, he needs to pay it to save his wife.

 

[Calamari41]

I struggled with this for a while, too, but upon later reflection, I can get it. Throughout most of Episodes II and III, he's seriously conflicted. His Jedi masters are telling him to hold himself back, to repress his emotions (he expresses frustration at this while on Tatooine); meanwhile, his political mentor keeps telling him he's destined for greatness, feeding the fires of doubt in the Jedi. He tries to save his mother, but arrives too late.

Then in Episode III, he's afraid - the wife he isn't supposed to have is going to die. He can't go to the Jedi, because they'll expel him from the Order. Meanwhile, Palpatine is encouraging him to find a way to save his wife, feeding him hints that he knows of a way. Even though, when he learns the Palpatine is the Sith Lord, he knows what he ought to do, there's a nagging feeling that Palpatine is his only hope. And Palpatine is someone who he felt he could trust. So in the end he sides with Palpatine, convincing himself that whatever the cost of doing so, he needs to pay it to save his wife.

This is true, but then immediately Palpatine tells him "lol, well I actually can't save your wife, but I bet if we work together we can figure it out, right?" He should see at that point that he has been betrayed, but instead he gets on his knees and says "I will do whatever you ask of me," and goes off to slaughter a room full of five year olds.