Changes that would have saved the Prequels

[ChrisC26 12]

I was trying to fall asleep the other night after having watched The Force Awakens again.

I was thinking to myself how much easier it is to believe that the universe ANH, ESB, ROTJ created work so much better with TFA, and that so many parts of TPM, AOTC, and ROTS simply feel like they don't belong. Most of it isn't even on the visual side but its deeper than that.

So I thought while falling asleep of ways to of made the prequels better, and less cheesy and I'm trying to do so in order that they show up in the movies so bare with me. I'd really like others' opinions on what I thought up... Who knows maybe someday the prequels will be remade.

 

1. The Separatists, Trade Fed. and the Droid Army

 

George Lucas tried to put bring some political story into Star Wars with the prequels... and of course he didn't do it right.

The Separatists should be made up of VARIOUS species including humans and the Separatists themselves shouldn't not have been as villainous. It should have been more of a Civil War situation than what we were given that a bunch of stupid aliens were trying to cause trouble. 

As cool as it was, their army is a stupid massive flaw for story telling... and it happens twice in the prequels. An army of Droids... Droids that can be manufactured by the thousands, probably millions, for a galaxy as large and advanced as Star Wars it is essentially a unending army. And no GL did not do this so that his heroes could overcome such overwhelming odds. He did it cause at the time it was an easy idea. Can an army have droids? Sure, can an army be comprised of exclusively droids... No that's where the problems come in. 

I would have made it so that their army was comprised of mostly the original Republic' Military Force. A Military Force who was led by the lead General who was a confed- A SEPARATIST. He would be a charismatic and powerful character capable of swaying an entire military force to the separatist cause even when that force was created by the opposing political philosophy. The "reveal" that Palpatine is manipulating it all make him even more powerful. 

The forces combating this Separatist Force would be up to individual planet military which is what we see in The Phantom Menace anyways aside from the Gunguns... which I don't even have to get into.

 

2. Princess? Queen? Why?

 

Why does Padme need to be royalty of some sort? It's not because Leia is royalty. It is just stupid fan service which holds up for no reason. What I offer? Princess/Prince and even Queen/King can be titles for Senators, Ambassadors, and Governors from more traditional planets. Padme is just as important in this position and has just as much right for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to be guarding her. I would take it a step further and say that Padme should not have even been in the position at the time because it is ****ing ridiculous that a pre-teen is gonna have that position.
 

Political families that descended from monarchies would keep such titles and still do in some places and it is an idea present in other stories.

Padme's mother should have been a powerful Senator/Princess/Ambassador/wtv from Naboo and she takes Padme with her. The story follows the same basic structure. They end up on Tatooine.

 

3. Skywalker... 

I find it strange that neither Darth Vader or Palpatine in twenty years never find out that Uncle Owen LARS and Aunt Buru LARS are raising a Luke SKYWALKER.... This is a simple fix. Skywalker can be the name given to freed slaves or bastards. And Anakin is both so this makes sense and should of happened as going from a slave with no father to the most powerful individual in the galaxy is just such a statement to behold.

Next up is Anakin's relationship with Padme. GL has it start as a strained and almost child to babysitter relationship. It's weird and stupid. Instead Anakin and Padme should have hit it off right off that bat. It should have been Padme's mother who didn't want Padme and kept her away from him until they're older and Padme can make her own choices. This will also come into play later.
Anakin's attitude doesn't really reflect that of a hardened slave who doesn't understand his own power in the movie as it should have. We got a whiny Anakin who we don't really ever see using the Force until much much later. Instead we should have gotten a young kid who knew he was different and could do amazing things and understood that was power... and he knew he had to have more.

4. Qui-Gon's importance and ironic death.

 

Qui-Gon was a very different Master, and Obi-Wan was much more by the books. Qui-Gon served much more as a fatherly role as where Obi-Wan served much more as the older brother role. Because Qui-Gon was more of a "grey" Jedi he had a better understanding of the Force and that sort of teacher would have been better for Anakin. Anakin would be able to tap into the dark side but understand it and overcome it as Qui-Gon would teach him to do so and thus kept him from turning to the Dark Side and bring the galaxy to it's knees. This is why Qui-Gon's death is so important, because without that window to both's sides of the Force, Anakin would be bound for destruction. Obi-Wan understood that Qui-Gon was a good master but also that the rest of the order disrespected him for his "Grey Way".

 

5. Darth Maul

 

Probably the most loved fan-favorite from the prequel trilogy. This is an easy one to write up. Simply, I would of had Obi-Wan "kill" him by cutting off his legs rather than through the torso. It would have been foreshadowing for later on when he does it to Anakin. It would also have opened up the door for Darth Maul's return without the ridiculous robotic half body. Like really? How does he use the bathroom? Sex? Properly function?

 

6. Because an infinite army of robots wasn't good enough

 

Yep. Infinite army of droids. Psh, infinite army of clones BITCHES! And no, this was not some symbolic philosophy from GL on what happens when an Unstoppable Force meets an Unmovable Object.

There are a multitude of problems wrong with the clones. Why ever use a different army again? Why even bother trying to fight? And my favorite of all.... no Jedi Order none of you can have families and loved ones. But yes we will ignore our values of life and ethics in order to have this massive infinite clone army. The Jedi are monks... Samurai Warrior Monk Knights of the Round Table. They would NOT support a clone army. They just would NOT.
BUT I am not saying remove the clone army. But some major changes need to be done. 

First, clones should have terrible life-expectancy (and by that I don't mean the battles and such). They have a maximum age of 30-40. And those are the clones that aren't "programmed" to age faster so that an army can be created faster. Those guys should only live 15-20 years before they just kick it. This would add to the Jedi's moral objection to why a clone army can't be risked.
 

Secondly, WHY JANGO FETT? That is fan service if I have ever seen it... And WHY does Boba Fett have to be a clone of Jango? It is unnecessary and it even kills their characters a bit. I'm willing to adapt it.

Make Jango Fett be the famed and powerful General and Leader of the Separatists and have the army be cloned without his permission. Boba can simply be his son and someone who strives for revenge against Jedi when he witnesses Windu kill Jango. When the Empire rises and puts bounties on Jedi, Boba knows how to get his revenge and keeps with the life style.

 

Thirdly, who decided in the first place a Clone Army was a good idea? Syfo-Dias... a Jedi Master who we never even get to meet. Sorry buddy but you're scratched out. This would be where Count Dooku comes in.

Count Dooku WOULD still be Palpatine's second apprentice and second in charge but he would be smarter. Count Dooku is considerably older than Palpatine and even though being manipulated by him should be able to understand that he is not going to succeed him any time soon. Count Dooku would commission the clone army only for his plans to go southbound when the Jedi Council + Obi-Wan find out and ultimately are going to go stop the abomination but it is too late. There are too many clones already and the Jedi Council obviously won't kill the clones so they inform the Senate. Palpatine shouldn't be too surprised as he expected such a threat from Dooku and decides that it can be used. The Jedi Order including Yoda can't win this political fight against Palpatine and so the clone army continues and is used. Palpatine once again manipulating both sides.
The Jedi ultimately give their support for the clone army so that the Separatists can be defeated. They will go as far as leading the clones in battle during which time they will start to care about/love the clones which of course is traumatic as Order 66 is still going to happen.

 

7. Anakin vs Dooku

 

This more or less goes the same. Palpatine never punishes Dooku for the poor attempted coup. He purposely orchestrates a situation where Anakin and Dooku will face off again.
Let's rewind real quick, Dooku is supposed to be a GREAT fighter and so Anakin should have the upper hand for the duration of his first fight with Dooku just to showcase Anakin's power. Dooku attempts to kill Obi-Wan, Anakin loses his focus on Dooku to save Obi-Wan.... loses the arm, so on so forth. Yoda comes in and it ends in a draw with Dooku.

During the second fight, Dooku incapacitates Obi-Wan fairly easily and in a silly manner too, instead it should be made apparent to the viewer that Palpatine uses the Force to aid Dooku against Obi-Wan so that he could see Anakin fight Dooku. End of story. Anakin whoops his ass and still by taking both hands/arms (more foreshadowing for when Obi-Wan takes his). Palpatine says something about Anakin having the power to save his friends now (emphasis on power). Anakin kills Dooku right then and there.

 

8. Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin

 

Small change. Palpatine insists that only HE Darth Sidious has the power to save Anakin's family, Padme, and all those he cares about. 

 

9. Palpatine vs Windu

 

Palpatine should have the upperhand throughout this fight. Anakin makes his return which is actually to Palpatine's surprise because he didn't foresee it (it won't be the first time Vader bypasses Palpatine's foreseeing powers). Palpatine disarms Windu and Anakin attacks Palpatine and defeats him in combat (this would be VERY important for the matter of power relationship between Anakin/Darth Vader and Palpatine). Windu regains control of the situation and wants to kill Palpatine. Anakin now knows that Palpatine has used him once before and wants to save him this time so he can expose him. Palpatine again mutters that he can save Anakin's loved ones. Anakin ignores this until Palpatine tells Anakin that he can GIVE Anakin the power to stop people from dying. Once again emphasis on power. Anakin then turns on Windu.
Palpatine never has the reverse lightning effect on him. It's stupid and forced. He is in his sixties here and by RotJ he is nearly 90. Its age and Dark Side corruption that make him look like a monster. Not Windu's saber deflecting the lightning.
Palpatine now has Anakin in his pocket with guilt and uses it to force Anakin to fall further to his guilt. Anakin still goes to the Jedi Temple and goes to town on the remaining Jedi all so that he can gain the power to save lives, a lie that will end up keeping Anakin by Palpatine's side for the remainder of the saga.

 

10. Anakin vs Obi-Wan

 

Padme follows Anakin after he tells her what has happened. She DELIBERATELY and knowingly brings Obi-Wan in order to try and save Anakin... Obi-Wan actually lied to Padme and knows that nothing can save Anakin now. Anakin gives a little monologue about power and saving people but Anakin now blinded by guilt/rage/power doesn't Force Choke Padme but simply throws her against something. Obi-Wan and Anakin fight and Anakin holds the upperhand until the end where Obi-Wan has the clear advantage.

 

11. Palpatine is Anakin's last "family"

Anakin as a man is now destroyed and in spirit is also destroyed. He can no longer defeat Palpatine when Palpatine tells him the power to save people from death can still be found and reveals that he was lying to Anakin. Palpatine saves Anakin's life providing him with the armor we all know. Palpatine is the last relationship Anakin has left. He doesn't know what else to do.

 

Subtle changes through-out the trilogy

 

1. Anakin witnesses death and doesn't have the power to stop it.

-Qui-Gon Jinn (very important for Anakin to have been present some how when Maul kills him)

-Countless Clones in battle

-Countless Jedi in battle

-Countless civilians in battle

-His mother's death (very important, marks Anakin's negligence of the past because of painful memories)

-Padme's perceived death (most important cause it's Anakin's fault)

 

2. Anakin and Padme 

-Relationship is forbidden by Padme's mother 

-Relationship seems impossible because Padme is high class aristocratic and Anakin is a slave turned monk

-Relationship is ultimately solidified by what they go through in AotC allowing them to overcome barriers. Oh and plus marriage and pregnancy (thanks GL marriage is always the key to a strained relationship)

Lastly just a little change I would have liked to of added now that the new trilogy is in the making.
If there was HUGE foresight on part of the creators of Star Wars, during the birth of Luke and Leia, it is revealed there are actually triplets. The third one is "dead" and left on the asteroid with the medical personnel. As Darth Vader is saved by Palpatine with the armor and starts breathing, on the final famous breath before fading to black, the "dead" newborn opens his eyes. Supreme Leader Snoke. But then again this might make guessing who Snoke is too easy.

 

ONE last thing I think they should have done is a stronger hint that Darth Plagueis might have been involved in Anakin's conception with his ability to manipulate the Force to create life.

 

AND on the more unlikely side is that Darth Plagueis may actually be Snoke which of course goes against Snoke being the survived Skywalker triplet.

[Drayx 0]

I feel the prequels are indeed not as good as the holy trilogy. And I hated The Force Awakens - but for different reasons than what I read on the internet.
But I'd like to point out a few things here - not saying that I am right or anything of course, these are just my thoughts on your suggestions.

1-The political setup in the prequels.

As you have said - a more realistic approach to the situation in the prequels would be to reflect the way a political party would behave. IRL except NSDAP, I don't believe there ever was a political party that has been widely as "The Evil". For the simple reason that politics are a lot more about grey than black and white, that's the whole point.
But, we're talking about Star Wars. The portrayal of events in Star Wars is heavily leaning on the contrast between light and dark.
I am no expert Star Wars, I am unfamiliar with most of the extended universe ("Legends" or else), hell I only discovered the Old republic era two months ago - but the only case in Star Wars in which I have seen this kind of realistic shades of grey treatment is in TSL. Loved it of course, but it is objectively quite darker than your average Star Wars story and it doesn't feel as much Star Wars as other stories that are more about the well contrasted light and dark.
So, as much as your suggestion would be a very interesting take on these events, I don't believe it would feel the way Star Wars is meant to feel. It would be a bit too mature I think, like the TSL plot - I am not saying SW is aimed at children of course, but only that the storytelling usually takes a lighter, highly contrasted approach.

As far as gungans go, I only ever really liked them for one thing : zerg-ing the enemy base in Galactic battlegrounds when playing on a map that has a lot of water.


2. Royalty 

I think there is more to Padmé being Queen than fan service and a nod towards Princess Leia. But it fits what I said above about politics in Star Wars - this is a lighter approach. Padmé would be a compassionate ruler, loved of her people - but young and inexperienced, having yet to discover the true extent of her responsibilities. 
Politics are dirty business - but it is more fitting in a Star Wars setting to have a contrasted view : on the one side Queen Amidala and on the other the mysterious sith lord acting through the Federation's Vice-Roy.

(And I here I have to leave, I'll continue this rep later)

[LiliArch 115]

 

First, clones should have terrible life-expectancy (and by that I don't mean the battles and such). They have a maximum age of 30-40. And those are the clones that aren't "programmed" to age faster so that an army can be created faster. Those guys should only live 15-20 years before they just kick it. This would add to the Jedi's moral objection to why a clone army can't be risked.

You lost me there. Clones are accurate genetical copies of the original, so why would they have a shorter life expectancy than the original? Well, other than those faster-aging ones, of course. I would agree with the maximum age of 30-40 for them, but for the non-programmed ones... why and how?

[DarthRevan101 104]

I'd like it if there was some talking in Anakin's fight with Obi-Wan. If you've ever played the Star Wars Episode 3 game, they both have the odd line throughout the fight and I personally think it helps to break up such a long one.

[Malkior 476]

While I agree that some storyline changes could have improved upon what the Prequels had to offer, I think that a few simple directing changes could have saved the movies, themselves.

 

1.) Avoiding creating dynamic and interesting villains simply to further the plot, only to have them die unceremoniously at the end of their movie.

 

Darth Maul, Jango Fett, Zam Wessel, General Grievous, and even the battle droids were such cool looking antagonists, but each tended to get killed before we really got to know who they were.

 

I mean, if Maul could have had some sort of conversation beyond "yes, Master", we could have gotten at least some idea of his tragic past that lead him to hunt Jedi, or maybe he could have actually served as some sort of connection between Obi Wan or Qui Gon, and the Sith currently hunting them. Maybe Qui Gon was actually right to be so impulsive, and the Council was ignoring evidence he found previously, believing inaction to be preferable to mistaking the will of the Force?

 

(Additionally, I am aware that Zam gets killed basically at the very beginning, but that makes it all the more frustrating, since she also could have been a cool personality or visual element. Imagine if instead of attacking the two Jedi in a bar (which she was immensely stupid to do, since the Jedi weren't even her targets and a huge liability), she found or had some sort of backup as a distraction to escape, then rejoined Jango. Maybe we could have the fancy banter between her and Jango later; maybe something similar to what we got in Bounty Hunter ._.

 

 

Contrast this with the villains in the Original Trilogy. Grand Moff Tarkin is killed off at the end of the movie, perhaps, but not until after several scenes where his personality is in the forefront. He turns out to be key to the split of the Imperial leadership, and almost a foil to Vader. He looks and acts pretty cool, but he actually serves a purpose to give detail regarding the other characters.

 

Jabba the Hutt, honestly carrying much less importance, actually managed to stick around for all three movies.

 

The same can be said of Boba Fett, who was really just cool looking, but then, he is also used to show the Imperial's desperation in using Bounty Hunters to ultimately play the part of capturing Solo.

 

My point is, the villains in the Prequels were much more colorful and interesting looking, but were grossly underused in regards to the actual story and especially in interactions with the other characters, aside from action scenes.

 

 

2.) Allow the audience to figure out your plot instead of having main characters explain it to them.

 

Personally, I think that besides a few rather odd lapses in logic, the Prequel movies actually had fairly decent plots.

 

Trouble is, within the first thirty minutes of the first film, the Trade Federation's role to play and basically the spoilers from the entire Trilogy regarding Sidious are clumsily thrown as spoken dialogue.

Did we have to know that the Trade Federation were secretly being manipulated by the clearly cape wielding younger Darth Sidious from the OT?

As far as I'm concerned, it was a huge mistake. If instead we got a hint, somehow (writers call them Chekhov's guns) at the end of the movie that the Trade Federation wasn't "working alone", then that could be a cool leadup to the second and third movies. Palpatine could just be portrayed as a frustrated but clearly ambitious senator, who needs Padme to do him a favor to get some actual work done in the constantly stagnant senate.

 

Of course, you could also use this quiet Senate time to explain how she has to be both a queen and senator, as well as show how well she and Palpatine get along. (Which would make his reveal all the more dramatic in the second movie where she starts to question his rapid reaches for power; AOTC becomes less of a " how stupid are the Jedi?" and becomes more of a "Who can you really trust?" kind of movie. Which could also give more credence to the forced romance, where Anakin and Padme are desperately looking for stability in the rapidly crumbling Republic, and turn to each other to hopefully find it.

 

This could have built up some actual drama, and helped show how each character deals with the twists and sudden reveals to perhaps allow the audience to connect with them more.

 

I'm sure there are more things I could think of, but that's the extent for now...

[Eauxps I. Fourgott 81]

Darth Maul, Jango Fett, Zam Wessel, General Grievous, and even the battle droids were such cool looking antagonists, but each tended to get killed before we really got to know who they were.

 

I believe that with Grievous, the case was that he was already a well-established character... from the Clone Wars mini-series that was between the releases of Episodes II and III. Which, of course, is a terrible way to do things. It wasn't in the same form, but I felt that TFA had a similar problem, leaving too much to the official companion guide or whatever, which I didn't have. How hard could it have been to drop the name of whatever new planet was going to show up next?

 

 

 

I'd like it if there was some talking in Anakin's fight with Obi-Wan. If you've ever played the Star Wars Episode 3 game, they both have the odd line throughout the fight and I personally think it helps to break up such a long one.

 

I do remember that near the end there was the "Only the Sith deal in absolutes" one. I don't think that it was supposed to be as ironic as it was.

 

 

 

It would also have opened up the door for Darth Maul's return without the ridiculous robotic half body.

 

Just don't have him return. He should have died there... just like Boba should have died in the Sarlacc pit in Ep. VI. Sometimes it seems as though they just can't let a character go...

 

 

 

I find it strange that neither Darth Vader or Palpatine in twenty years never find out that Uncle Owen LARS and Aunt BuruLARS are raising a Luke SKYWALKER.... This is a simple fix. Skywalker can be the name given to freed slaves or bastards. And Anakin is both so this makes sense and should of happened as going from a slave with no father to the most powerful individual in the galaxy is just such a statement to behold.

 

I think they may not have known that a baby survived until Ep. IV, when they learned about SKYWALKER's existence.

 

 

 

Syfo-Dias... a Jedi Master who we never even get to meet. 

 

That was originally supposed to be Sido-Dias, a pseudonym for you know who, but was changed as the result of a typing error.

 

 

 

If there was HUGE foresight on part of the creators of Star Wars, during the birth of Luke and Leia, it is revealed there are actually triplets. The third one is "dead" and left on the asteroid with the medical personnel. As Darth Vader is saved by Palpatine with the armor and starts breathing, on the final famous breath before fading to black, the "dead" newborn opens his eyes. Supreme Leader Snoke. But then again this might make guessing who Snoke is too easy.

 

I do not like this idea. Why not have a big powerful character who's NOT a Skywalker... (Or Palpatine, or Kenobi)

[ChrisC26 12]

I feel the prequels are indeed not as good as the holy trilogy. And I hated The Force Awakens - but for different reasons than what I read on the internet.

But I'd like to point out a few things here - not saying that I am right or anything of course, these are just my thoughts on your suggestions.

 

1-The political setup in the prequels.

 

As you have said - a more realistic approach to the situation in the prequels would be to reflect the way a political party would behave. IRL except NSDAP, I don't believe there ever was a political party that has been widely as "The Evil". For the simple reason that politics are a lot more about grey than black and white, that's the whole point.

But, we're talking about Star Wars. The portrayal of events in Star Wars is heavily leaning on the contrast between light and dark.

I am no expert Star Wars, I am unfamiliar with most of the extended universe ("Legends" or else), hell I only discovered the Old republic era two months ago - but the only case in Star Wars in which I have seen this kind of realistic shades of grey treatment is in TSL. Loved it of course, but it is objectively quite darker than your average Star Wars story and it doesn't feel as much Star Wars as other stories that are more about the well contrasted light and dark.

So, as much as your suggestion would be a very interesting take on these events, I don't believe it would feel the way Star Wars is meant to feel. It would be a bit too mature I think, like the TSL plot - I am not saying SW is aimed at children of course, but only that the storytelling usually takes a lighter, highly contrasted approach.

As far as gungans go, I only ever really liked them for one thing : zerg-ing the enemy base in Galactic battlegrounds when playing on a map that has a lot of water.

 

 

2. Royalty 

I think there is more to Padmé being Queen than fan service and a nod towards Princess Leia. But it fits what I said above about politics in Star Wars - this is a lighter approach. Padmé would be a compassionate ruler, loved of her people - but young and inexperienced, having yet to discover the true extent of her responsibilities. 

Politics are dirty business - but it is more fitting in a Star Wars setting to have a contrasted view : on the one side Queen Amidala and on the other the mysterious sith lord acting through the Federation's Vice-Roy.

(And I here I have to leave, I'll continue this rep later)

I get what you mean, and I do see it BUT for me the OT doesn't feel nearly as dumbed down as the PT. And the whole aimed at children thing is probably the directive behind a lot of these faults with the PT. The OT was aimed for adults and later became family classics. The PT however had a different demographic... They knew the existing fans would see them... but wanted to rein in the new generation as well.

 

You lost me there. Clones are accurate genetical copies of the original, so why would they have a shorter life expectancy than the original? Well, other than those faster-aging ones, of course. I would agree with the maximum age of 30-40 for them, but for the non-programmed ones... why and how?

To be honest I was basing this off of real life a bit. The clones we have today are genetic copies but most of them die prematurely especially as the organism becomes more and more complicated. I was suggesting that not even in the technologically advanced universe of Star Wars where "faith" and "soul" physically manifest themselves in the Force could cloning be perfected. We know a clone army isn't used by the Emperor in OT (though many believe the Storm Troopers are clones) and we know that in TFA, they are training/kidnapping children from as early as birth.

The Emperor didn't just stop using clones because it was immoral. He practically represents the devil. Having them be defected would be a perfect motivation for the Emperor to stop using them and not only this but gradually kill the remaining clones as well. Once again showing how evil the Emperor is for taking life that he literally gave.

 

 

 

Just don't have him return. He should have died there... just like Boba should have died in the Sarlacc pit in Ep. VI. Sometimes it seems as though they just can't let a character go...

 

 

I'm actually mixed on this one. Darth Maul and Boba Fett had a lot of potential that was they failed to utilize. Unfortunately it is now sealed in the new canon that Darth Maul survived. Both from TCW and SW:R... I believe they plan on bringing Boba back as well... 

 

So I guess the cutting off the legs rather than splitting in half at the torso is a lesser of two evils in regards to retconning what is already there.

 

 

 

That was originally supposed to be Sido-Dias, a pseudonym for you know who, but was changed as the result of a typing error.

 

That's too bad. Though I'm not surprised.

[ChrisC26 12]

A little embarrassed... Where is the delete post option?