A Star Wars Prequels Reboot

[IGNOREME]

I've been thinking lately, there have been some reboots lately (namely the incredible hulk) and from what I've heard they're pretty good. So what I was thinking was, what if they made a Star Wars: prequels reboot? (from what I've heard) It worked for the incredible hulk, so why not star wars? Now I'm by no means a hardcore fan of the star wars franchise, but even I know that the prequels sucked. So my question to you is, if you were to remake the prequels, what would you have in it? What would it be about? Would you keep anything from the original prequels? What would you take out? The list goes on. So what are your ideas for if you were to make a reboot for the prequels?

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I would make it a lot simpler, go back to a proper defined story structure. Like the way the first movie was an exact template of the classic hero story[footnote]inexperienced everyman gets swept up in an amazing adventure, gets taught by a mentor to weild a new power, and uses it to destroy an ultimate evil.[/footnote] So I'd emulate that in the prequels. I'd Maybe even lose Naboo and the trade wars all together.

I'd probably change the whole idea of the jedi order being sterile and useless, (you must be younger that 10 to begin training, no family or relationships etc.) although that would screw up a tonne of canon in the extended universe I don't care.

I liked the idea that the full Star Wars saga is not about Luke Skywalker as the main character, but his father, as we see him grow up, get trained, fall and finally redeem himself, so I would keep that focus.

CGI would be a refining tool for small details, not entire sets, characters and scenes.

I would try to create a character driven storyline and plot arc, the movies would include several large scale battles and big set pieces, but they would be driven by the plot, instead of the plot being used to connect the set pieces.

I would change most of the characters, (Anakin would not build C3PO, R2D2 would probably not have a big role either, no Jar Jar) and the origin story of Palpatines rise to power, it would still be political, but a lot simpler and clearer. Anakin would have more of a focus in developing his powers - Lets see exactly how a Jedi was trained and what role they had in the Republic, and his fall would be a lot more focused and underhanded.

All in all I would change a lot, I don't know if it could make a better Prequel trilogy, but it would be difficult to make it any worse, and I would love to have a go.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I don't know. I'd probably get rid of the awkward and creepy romance scenes between Anakin and Padme. Anakin always had the stalker mode engaged.

I'd also train Hayden Christensen to be a better actor. I like the guy, but he just played Anakin like a whiny brat. Or may Lucas wrote him that way? Maybe I would rewrite Anakin so he wasn't such a ponce.

 

[Neverhoodian]

If I was in charge, "Episode I" would actually be where Episode II starts. Stuff that happened in The Phantom Menace wouldn't be brought up, or if it did it would only be through vague allusions. The character of Anakin would be radically different from how he was portrayed in the "official" prequels. First off, there would be no bullshit "Chosen One" prophesy. None of that "virgin birth" stuff either, as I just thought that was creepy (I still like to think Shmi just didn't want to discuss the father, and Qui-Gon was gullible enough to believe her lie).

After watching the Thor movie last week, I couldn't help but think to myself that the main character was almost exactly how I envisioned Anakin to be before the prequels ruined my image of him. I imagined a brave, strong warrior that relished action and excitement, yet still cared about those around him. He would exude confidence and charisma, easily forming lasting bonds with his friends and colleagues. He would be prone to theatrical displays, yet still manage to deliver genuine words of wisdom and stir the hearts of those who heard them.

There would be one major weakness however; he would have a burning need to see justice prevail. To that end, he would begin to dabble with powers of the Dark side, tempted by its promise of power. Thinking he could control it, he would delve deeper and deeper until it would ultimately consume him. By the time anyone realized the full extent of his fall, it would be too late.

When it comes to the Jedi Order, I would definitely change a few major things about it. First off, they would be cool with love and raising families. As Jolee Bindo pointed out in KOTOR, love doesn't lead to the Dark side. Passion can, but only if you let it. Indeed, was it not love that ultimately redeemed Anakin in the end? Also, the Order wouldn't be snatching babies away for training. I always felt that such actions were tantamount to kidnapping, something you wouldn't expect a supposedly noble organization like the Jedi to practice. At least wait until they're adolescents before you begin training.

Oh yeah, and no midichlorians either.

Warning: the following is kind of long.

Spoiler

As for the story, it would begin with the Clone Wars. Palpatine secretly creates a vast clone army to fight (not protect) the Republic and begins by launching devastating assaults on many key worlds. Faced with such a ferocious onslaught, the Senate grants Palpatine emergency powers to enact such measures as drafting vast numbers of soldiers from the population to bolster defenses and increasingly invasive monitoring of Republic citizens in the interest of "security." The effects of the war begin to take their toll, and soon the Republic is faced with additional crises like an influx of refugees along with hunger and poverty. Appalled with this turn of events, the Jedi Order agrees to assist the Republic in their military endeavors, but it's still an uphill battle. As the war drags on, Palpatine continues to consolidate his position as supreme ruler.

It is against this backdrop that the tale of Anakin Skywalker is told. While campaigning with his master Obi-Wan, he takes pity on a sick and weak refugee woman and nurses her back to health. Pity turns to friendship, and eventually blossoms into genuine love. With the Council's blessing, they are married. War calls Anakin away however, and is forced to leave his pregnant wife back on Coruscant. It is while he's away that he eventually succumbs to the Dark side and becomes Darth Vader. When he returns for a brief home leave, she is horrified at the man he has become. After he leaves again she flees to a faraway planet and gives birth to twins.

It is around the same time that the full extent of Palpatine's plan finally reveals itself. Knowing that the Jedi Order will challenge any attempt at complete power, Palpatine orders his secret police to destroy the Senate building. Claiming that the Jedi were responsible for this act of sabotage (along with phony evidence to bolster his claims), Palpatine declares them to be enemies of the Republic and orders that they be hunted down and annihilated. The Jedi, already severely weakened by the war, find themselves caught in the crossfire. The remaining number scatter to the far corners of the galaxy, where most of them will eventually be hunted down by Vader.

With the Jedi seemingly out of the way, Palpatine declares that the Republic will be reformed into an Empire in the interest of maintaining security. All of his "temporary" powers are now permanent, along with a whole slew of new ones that grant him total control of the Empire. Palpatine secretly orders the production of clones to be stopped, resulting in the cessation of hostilities (Imperial propagandists are quick to label it a victory). One conflict leads to another though, as a small group of appalled Senators and activists secretly form a Rebel Alliance to stop Palpatine's tyranny. In some ways this plays to Palpatine's advantage however, as it provides the necessary pretext for maintaining his iron grip on the galaxy. Warfare simply becomes a way of life in the Empire.

To wrap up Anakin's personal story, Obi-Wan tracks him down to Mustafar in order to confront his former pupil. The resulting fight plays out much like the one in Revenge of the Sith, but much shorter and more of a focus on the emotions at play than the set pieces. Vader is left for dead, but manages to survive due to his new Dark side powers. Donning his iconic suit of armor, he becomes the Emperor's second-in-command and a not-so-subtle reminder for the military commanders to remain loyal. On a final tragic note, Anakin's wife is unable to support her children while in hiding. She makes the heartbreaking decision to give the twins to foster parents on Tatooine and Alderaan. The deed done, she dies shortly thereafter due to hunger brought about by abject poverty. Knowing that he can do no more at this time, Obi-Wan decides to keep an eye on the boy Luke, for he may yet be the galaxy's new hope...

 

[Kenami]

The frame work for the prequels don't bother me at all to be honest. I think all that would've been needed are the cleaning up of scenes (seriously in Attack of the Clones why did Obi Wan jump out of the window after the assassin droid and not Anakin?) and a director who can make actors act. One of the worst things about those films are either a lack or over sense of emoting from the actors.

Also if you're a fan of what could be changed in these films I highly recommend checking this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI

Another thing: I would definitely use the love story in Thor as a way for Anakin/Padme's love story. I feel with Thor you had something so real, two people who were attracted to each other and wanted to be around one another. No over bearing love dialogue and awkward composition with interactions just overly simple.

 

[Spade Lead]

I don't know. I'd probably get rid of the awkward and creepy romance scenes between Anakin and Padme. Anakin always had the stalker mode engaged.

I'd also train Hayden Christensen to be a better actor. I like the guy, but he just played Anakin like a whiny brat. Or may Lucas wrote him that way? Maybe I would rewrite Anakin so he wasn't such a ponce.

Admit it, Luke wasn't any less of a whiny brat, he just grew out of it faster since he was older in the first movie...

"But I was going in to Toche Station to pick up some power converters..."

He was already 18 at that point. At 18, Anakin was killing slavers with his lightsaber...

 

[Spade Lead]

I've been thinking lately, there have been some reboots lately (namely the incredible hulk) and from what I've heard they're pretty good. So what I was thinking was, what if they made a Star Wars: prequels reboot? (from what I've heard) It worked for the incredible hulk, so why not star wars? Now I'm by no means a hardcore fan of the star wars franchise, but even I know that the prequels sucked. So my question to you is, if you were to remake the prequels, what would you have in it? What would it be about? Would you keep anything from the original prequels? What would you take out? The list goes on. So what are your ideas for if you were to make a reboot for the prequels?

Talk to Emperor Inferno about his idea for this, we have been refining it for years, and I really like where his prequels are on the whole...

 

[Diablo2000]

If I was in charge, "Episode I" would actually be where Episode II starts. Stuff that happened in The Phantom Menace wouldn't be brought up, or if it did it would only be through vague allusions. The character of Anakin would be radically different from how he was portrayed in the "official" prequels. First off, there would be no bullshit "Chosen One" prophesy. None of that "virgin birth" stuff either, as I just thought that was creepy (I still like to think Shmi just didn't want to discuss the father, and Qui-Gon was gullible enough to believe her lie).

After watching the Thor movie last week, I couldn't help but think to myself that the main character was almost exactly how I envisioned Anakin to be before the prequels ruined my image of him. I imagined a brave, strong warrior that relished action and excitement, yet still cared about those around him. He would exude confidence and charisma, easily forming lasting bonds with his friends and colleagues. He would be prone to theatrical displays, yet still manage to deliver genuine words of wisdom and stir the hearts of those who heard them.

There would be one major weakness however; he would have a burning need to see justice prevail. To that end, he would begin to dabble with powers of the Dark side, tempted by its promise of power. Thinking he could control it, he would delve deeper and deeper until it would ultimately consume him. By the time anyone realized the full extent of his fall, it would be too late.

When it comes to the Jedi Order, I would definitely change a few major things about it. First off, they would be cool with love and raising families. As Jolee Bindo pointed out in KOTOR, love doesn't lead to the Dark side. Passion can, but only if you let it. Indeed, was it not love that ultimately redeemed Anakin in the end? Also, the Order wouldn't be snatching babies away for training. I always felt that such actions were tantamount to kidnapping, something you wouldn't expect a supposedly noble organization like the Jedi to practice. At least wait until they're adolescents before you begin training.

Oh yeah, and no midichlorians either.

Warning: the following is kind of long.

Spoiler

As for the story, it would begin with the Clone Wars. Palpatine secretly creates a vast clone army to fight (not protect) the Republic and begins by launching devastating assaults on many key worlds. Faced with such a ferocious onslaught, the Senate grants Palpatine emergency powers to enact such measures as drafting vast numbers of soldiers from the population to bolster defenses and increasingly invasive monitoring of Republic citizens in the interest of "security." The effects of the war begin to take their toll, and soon the Republic is faced with additional crises like an influx of refugees along with hunger and poverty. Appalled with this turn of events, the Jedi Order agrees to assist the Republic in their military endeavors, but it's still an uphill battle. As the war drags on, Palpatine continues to consolidate his position as supreme ruler.

It is against this backdrop that the tale of Anakin Skywalker is told. While campaigning with his master Obi-Wan, he takes pity on a sick and weak refugee woman and nurses her back to health. Pity turns to friendship, and eventually blossoms into genuine love. With the Council's blessing, they are married. War calls Anakin away however, and is forced to leave his pregnant wife back on Coruscant. It is while he's away that he eventually succumbs to the Dark side and becomes Darth Vader. When he returns for a brief home leave, she is horrified at the man he has become. After he leaves again she flees to a faraway planet and gives birth to twins.

It is around the same time that the full extent of Palpatine's plan finally reveals itself. Knowing that the Jedi Order will challenge any attempt at complete power, Palpatine orders his secret police to destroy the Senate building. Claiming that the Jedi were responsible for this act of sabotage (along with phony evidence to bolster his claims), Palpatine declares them to be enemies of the Republic and orders that they be hunted down and annihilated. The Jedi, already severely weakened by the war, find themselves caught in the crossfire. The remaining number scatter to the far corners of the galaxy, where most of them will eventually be hunted down by Vader.

With the Jedi seemingly out of the way, Palpatine declares that the Republic will be reformed into an Empire in the interest of maintaining security. All of his "temporary" powers are now permanent, along with a whole slew of new ones that grant him total control of the Empire. Palpatine secretly orders the production of clones to be stopped, resulting in the cessation of hostilities (Imperial propagandists are quick to label it a victory). One conflict leads to another though, as a small group of appalled Senators and activists secretly form a Rebel Alliance to stop Palpatine's tyranny. In some ways this plays to Palpatine's advantage however, as it provides the necessary pretext for maintaining his iron grip on the galaxy. Warfare simply becomes a way of life in the Empire.

To wrap up Anakin's personal story, Obi-Wan tracks him down to Mustafar in order to confront his former pupil. The resulting fight plays out much like the one in Revenge of the Sith, but much shorter and more of a focus on the emotions at play than the set pieces. Vader is left for dead, but manages to survive due to his new Dark side powers. Donning his iconic suit of armor, he becomes the Emperor's second-in-command and a not-so-subtle reminder for the military commanders to remain loyal. On a final tragic note, Anakin's wife is unable to support her children while in hiding. She makes the heartbreaking decision to give the twins to foster parents on Tatooine and Alderaan. The deed done, she dies shortly thereafter due to hunger brought about by abject poverty. Knowing that he can do no more at this time, Obi-Wan decides to keep an eye on the boy Luke, for he may yet be the galaxy's new hope...

I would totaly watch that... Man, if a person on the internet can come up with better ideas that George Lucas can, then I guess it is time for George Lucas to retire.

 

[Floppertje]

I would make it a lot simpler, go back to a proper defined story structure. Like the way the first movie was an exact template of the classic hero story. So I'd emulate that in the prequels. I'd Maybe even lose Naboo and the trade wars all together.

I'd probably change the whole idea of the jedi order being sterile and useless, (you must be younger that 10 to begin training, no family or relationships etc.) although that would screw up a tonne of canon in the extended universe I don't care.

I liked the idea that the full Star Wars saga is not about Luke Skywalker as the main character, but his father, as we see him grow up, get trained, fall and finally redeem himself, so I would keep that focus.

CGI would be a refining tool for small details, not entire sets, characters and scenes.

I would try to create a character driven storyline and plot arc, the movies would include several large scale battles and big set pieces, but they would be driven by the plot, instead of the plot being used to connect the set pieces.

I would change most of the characters, (Anakin would not build C3PO, R2D2 would probably not have a big role either, no Jar Jar) and the origin story of Palpatines rise to power, it would still be political, but a lot simpler and clearer. Anakin would have more of a focus in developing his powers - Lets see exactly how a Jedi was trained and what role they had in the Republic, and his fall would be a lot more focused and underhanded.

All in all I would change a lot, I don't know if it could make a better Prequel trilogy, but it would be difficult to make it any worse, and I would love to have a go.

I don't think the problem was that the story was too confusing... big battles are always cool, those were my favorite moments in the prequel trilogy
palpatine's rise to power was fine. he basically just pulled a hitler. I like your power development idea though, I'd love to see that.

the biggest change they'd have to make, is that they'd get some people who can fucking ACT! "now this is podracing"... I seriously groaned when I heard that and I was like 12 or so... and not make anakin such an emo in the third one.
captcha: "ntchick Alexander" O-O how does that thing know my name and how does it know I have no girlfriend right now? this is getting really fucking creepy!!

 

[Klarinette]

My theory is that the prequels might not have been so terrible if there had been less CGI and more substance to the sets and whatnot. By the third one, the actors were all running around blue rooms, completely blind as to what was going on around them, which leads to bad acting - how is anyone supposed to convey the proper emotion for a scene if they can't even see it?

That said, the acting was pretty awful, even when they were still using sets (i.e. Episode I). For a decent cast, they did a crappy job =/ I'm not usually disappointed with Natalie Portman's performances, but GODDAMN...

Also, there was nothing wrong with Yoda, Mr. Lucas. When he's just walking, or even sitting in a chair, there is absolutely no need for him to be CGI. Except continuity maybe, but I think that was the least of your worries by the time you shat out Revenge of the Sith.

OH!! And kill the whole midi-chlorians thing, okay? You ruined the Force with that shit.

/rant. Sorry. The prequels just make me a little sad, that's all

 

[Anarchemitis]

It goes without saying that jar-jar would be axed.

(Grammar Nazis note my intentional lack of capitalization of a name for spite.)

OH!! And kill the whole midi-chlorians thing, okay?

May I redirect your attention to that scene's definition. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigLippedAlligatorMoment]

 

[NightRavenGSA]

-snip-

I like it, but i'd keep Ani's wife alive for the lols

also, if skyguy had been free to tell the jedi about his visions they may not have come true

 

[Apollo45]

Make things happen because they make sense, not because they need to happen to fit in with the first three.

So much of the prequels occurred simply because if it didn't then the originals would have plot holes. There were characters that acted completely out of character, people died for ridiculous reasons *cough*padme*cough*, and in general they're only there because Lucas thought they needed to be there. It didn't seem like he wanted to make them, or even enjoyed doing so.

Solution: Make characters fit with their intended plots. Doing that alone would improve the trilogy a huge amount. Once that's done, give them some actual character, don't have them be there because sometime someone wrote that Qui-gon was Obi-wan's master. Make him Obi-Wan's master because he rose through the ranks of the Jedi, performed well, was maybe a bit rebellious, and chose Obi for X reasons. If that had been done in the first place, the series would have been decent.

 

[Kimarous]

The problem is that Star Wars is very strict about keeping things in-canon. If something was made under the Star Wars name, unless it is some clearly-indicated what-if story, it's generally considered canon. Knights of the Old Republic? Canon. Splinter of the Mind's Eye? Canon. That random GBA Star Wars game nobody played? Canon. That kids miniseries involving the Emperor's (supposed) three-eyed son and grandson? Canon. The list goes on. Bottom line is this: rebooting the prequels would screw up years of story development and would effectively fuck over the Star Wars canon. It will not happen.

 

[WolfThomas]

I've talked this over with friends and I've settled on a few points I'd change throughout the series:

Qui-gon and Obi-wan
Merge Qui-gons role with Obi-wan's. Qui-gon was well cast, but kind of unnecessary, we don't see him in the original trilogy so we care less and guess he'll die. Everything he does could be handled by Obi-wan and would cement his character as being far more awesome, as well showing a stronger bond between him and anakin.

Jar Jar
While it would be easily enough to just cut his character, he's kind of needed early on as a foil, especailly as there's no more Qui-gon. I'd change the character, make him less whiny and buffoonish, more of a coward and scoundrel. Rightfully kicked out by the Gungans and becomes a hero through his experiences.

Anakin
I'd have had Anakin around Luke's age when we meet him. It draws an obvious parallel between the two and makes the idea of him training to be a jedi at that age even more extreme. It makes the relationship between him and Amidala less creepy. I'd have cast a more likeable actor, someone like Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio.

Heres an important thing, rather than being an emo, Anakin should have been a paragon of good-ness, basically a lawful good paladin golden haired hero. Essentially the complete opposite of what you'd expect from Vader. This makes his descent into darkness all the more tragic. Obi-wan should be the rebellious spirit of the two (hence his decision to train him at that age).

There should be hints of his darkside earlier though. Make him the one who kills Darth Maul (cutting the space battle which I'll mention later), have Maul's sabre cut in two and Obi-wans knocked into a bottomless pit. Then as Maul is about to finish Obi-wan show the other half of Maul's sabre propelled along the ground, by the force, to fly not into Obi-wan's hand, as we're lead to expect, but to Anakin's, who then stabs Maul threw the chest. A show of his early raw power and the red sabre being a implication of his future as vader.

The reason he converts to the Sith should be motivated out of two things, desire to save Amidala and more importantly that he becomes convinced that the Jedi are corrupt, beaucratic and fascistic. That being Sith isn't about being evil, it's about emotion and freedom. He should only realise his mistake until it's too late. When Amidala meets him later, she shouldn't want to run away with him still even though his killed children, she should be repulsed by him, while he believes himself doing the right thing. He kills her out of rage and confusion, then after he loses the fight with Obi-wan and is repaired, his scream should be that of a man who knows he destroyed his own soul.

Cut the space battle in the first movie
It was unnecessary and stupid. There was four fights going on at once, that's one too many (Jedi had three). It was also silly as it was the only fight that mattered, as the ship controlled all the droids, instead make it that Amidala's assault was to deactivate the droids.

Re-cast Mace Windu and Jango Fett
Cast Liam Neeson as Mace Windu, he's a great actor and makes a good jedi. Samuel L. Jackson was completely miscast in the movies. He is great as an emotional badass, not a stoic zenmaster. So make him Jango Fett, have him scream Starwars based obscenities at Obi-wan "I've had it with these bantha-fodder eating Jedis!". Then think of the implication. Every clone is a clone of Sameul L Jackson. Most badass army in the universe.

Also
No midichlorians or podraces,

The problem is that Star Wars is very strict about keeping things in-canon. If something was made under the Star Wars name, unless it is some clearly-indicated what-if story, it's generally considered canon. Knights of the Old Republic? Canon. Splinter of the Mind's Eye? Canon. That random GBA Star Wars game nobody played? Canon. That kids miniseries involving the Emperor's (supposed) three-eyed son and grandson? Canon. The list goes on. Bottom line is this: rebooting the prequels would screw up years of story development and would effectively fuck over the Star Wars canon. It will not happen.

I thought Lucas went out and said nothing but the films was canon. Though I agree that the fanon wouldn't take it well.

 

[YepGeddon]

Really really really want George Lucas to read this thread and take note. Everything here would just improve the prequels a million fold. D:

 

[SonofaJohannes]

If I was in charge of this reboot, Jar Jar would be the main character. And everybody who isn't Jar Jar would be clones of Jar Jar.

 

[Saelune]

Id rather a movie set in the KotoR time period. Forget rebooting old stuff. Maybe set before the games, but not about Revan. Then when people hear him mentioned or something they can all go "squee".

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

Actually, am I the only one that liked the prequels? I mean, 2 and 3 are among my three favorite movies in the series. I dunno, I guess I'm just a sucker for the whole "Forbidden love thing" but there's also this.
So beautiful...

Much rather see some sort of KOTOR movie.

EDIT: Fucking ninja's! They're everywhere!!

 

[Scarim Coral]

First thing I would reduse the CGI used in the film well not heavily used.

Second thing I would change the dialouges between the characters mainly Anakin and Padme romance scene.