At this point I've realised that discussions with people about what could have or should have been done better is not the same as discussing with other writers how best to go about rewriting it.
so this has not gone at all how I thought it would. Basically go nuts because I'm not even sure where, if anywhere this threads going.
Sorry T_T Honestly though, I feel the best way to go about rewriting the series is to start with an idea, and go from there. What the idea is, I don't really know, since I suck at writing and storyboarding non Isekai/SI stories.
I heavily disagree. You can still keep the theme of star wars without following Lucas' plot. Yes, a lot of people love the "Original Series" Style Star Wars, but really, how much is that just nostalgia talking? Like, I enjoyed EU and Old Republic Far more than I actually enjoyed the Original Series.
I mean, the OT are demonstrably better films than the Prequels. People like the Prequels because they were kids when the films came out and there was an entire EU ecosystem built up to contextualize the PT and do the heavy lifting of helping them make sense, not because they're actually good films.
Rewriting the Prequels makes sense, but rewriting the OT doesn't, unless you're doing some wag-the-dog thing where you're trying to make the OT fit with the PT. The PT has a good story but it's buried under a botched execution and half-assed direction. Finding a better story to convey the ideas Lucas was trying to convey makes sense.
I mean, the OT are demonstrably better films than the Prequels. People like the Prequels because they were kids when the films came out and there was an entire EU ecosystem built up to contextualize the PT and do the heavy lifting of helping them make sense, not because they're actually good films.
Rewriting the Prequels makes sense, but rewriting the OT doesn't, unless you're doing some wag-the-dog thing where you're trying to make the OT fit with the PT. The PT has a good story but it's buried under a botched execution and half-assed direction. Finding a better story to convey the ideas Lucas was trying to convey makes sense.
But like...the Prequels literally only exist to explain the OT. The OT was written first - it's just that years later Lucas decided to go back and expand on a few throwaway lines of backstory. Being "railroaded in a single direction" is their entire reason for existing - the PT only gains meaning by virtue of preceding Star Wars.
But like...the Prequels literally only exist to explain the OT. The OT was written first - it's just that years later Lucas decided to go back and expand on a few throwaway lines of backstory. Being "railroaded in a single direction" is their entire reason for existing - the PT only gains meaning by virtue of preceding Star Wars.
While this is true, I personally prefer the prequels over the OT, so we aren't going to get anywhere debating this. We're here to rewrite star wars. So, how would you go about doing that?
While this is true, I personally prefer the prequels over the OT, so we aren't going to get anywhere debating this. We're here to rewrite star wars. So, how would you go about doing that?
A year or two ago I scribbled down some loose notes about what I'd do if I was gonna re-do the Prequels root and branch (in fact apparently I once got incredibly stoned and explained them all in detail to my girlfriend, and it's a miracle she didn't break up with me on the spot). I don't have the original notes on me, but the gist was:
Episode 1 (the most fleshed out) - The Phantom Menace:
Naboo is Alderaan, and it's being threatened by the Clone Legions - these weird Geiger-esque biomechanical clones that roam the galaxy ala the Mongol Hordes or Vikings or whatever. The galaxy's largely de-militarized and decentralized, so Alderaan's in trouble. The Republic secretly dispatches General Qui-Gon Jinn, a veteran of the Republic's earlier wars, and Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, to meet with the King and help bolster their defenses. Unfortunately, the Clones (lead by the Sith warrior Darth Mauk) attack and quickly seize the planet. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and the surviving royals lead by Princess Padme flee the planet, while Prince Bail remains behind to lead the resistance.
The heroes land on the planet Utapau to find a new ship, and find the self proclaimed "brothers" Anakin Skywalker and Owen Lars, who own a repair shop. The two fled Clone attacks on the Outer Rim, and have grown up on Utapau fixing and repairing ships. Anakin wins the money in a podrace to buy a ship, but Owen takes his share to retire to a farm on Tattooine. The "brothers" share an emotional farewell and Anakin leaves with Obi-Wan and Padme.
They arrive on Coruscant and fail to convince the Republic to help liberate Alderaan. They rally what scattered military forces agree to help and return to Alderaan. In orbit, they devise a plan of attack - Anakin and some fighter pilots will attack the Clone's flaghship, opening a hole for the ground troops to land and link up with Bail's forces. They'll then assault the palace to capture Darth Maul and destroy the Clone's jamming equipment, letting Padme rally the people.
Heroes launch the final battle, with Anakin flying in a starfighter and Padme and Obi-Wan fighting on the ground. Qui-Gon sacrifices himself to Darth Maul in order to distract him and let the troops escape. Obi-Wan and Maul have a vicious-but-inconclusive duel that ends with Maul's escape. The heroes win the day and liberate the planet.
General vibe here is "Classic Star Wars - a bit of WW2 movie, some samurai movies, you get the idea.
Episode II - The Revenge of the Sith (less fleshed out):
Big debate in the Republic between the militarists and the Federalists. The Clone Legions have only gained in strength after the liberation of Alderaan, and the Republic is splintering between systems that want to form a strong central government (and military) to fight the Clones, and those systems that want to build up local militaries for self-defense.
Obi-Wan suspects that someone else must be funding the Clones, but Anakin (now Obi-Wan's pupil) doesn't believe so and favors the militarists (along with Padme). Obi-wan remains neutral but sees both sides have a point. Obi-Wan calls a meeting of the secretive Jedi Council and asks permission to seek out the hidden master he senses. The Jedi Council are torn, but agree to his request. Anakin and Obi-Wan part on friendly terms.
Some kind of conference is planned to mediate both sides - Anakin gets drawn closer to Senator Palpatine who's presenting himself as a moderate between both sides. Obi-wan's investigation draws him to Count Dooku, a former Jedi who's rumored to have fallen to the Dark Side. After a long journey, Obi-wan finds and confronts Dooku, only to for him to reveal that Palpatine is the secret Sith and the Clone's backer. Obi-wan is shocked, and agrees to join Dooku's effort to defeat him.
Obi-wan rushes to the conference to expose Palpatine, only to land in the middle of a Clone attack, Dozens of Senators are killed, and Palpatine risks his life to defeat the Clones. His position secure, he is elected Chancellor with the support of Anakin and Padme, leaving Obi-wan with little allies.
General vibe here is closer to 60's conspiracy thrillers - Obi-wan's trying to untangle this vast conspiracy that is ensnaring Padme and Anakin, and Palpatine pulls off his gambit before Obi-wan can expose him.
Episode III - No Planned Title (least fleshed out):
Obi-wan and Dooku's reveal that Palpatine is a Sith to the Jedi Council, who agree to find a way to stop him.
The Republic fights a forever war with the Clones - the Republic is "winning" but is becoming increasingly authoritarian to fuel the war effort. Planets that refuse to fund the military are punished. Anakin defends the measures as necessary in wartime, while Padme begins to regret supporting Palpatine. The two begin to drift apart. Eventually, the Clones are "defeated", and Maul killed by Anakin after Obi-wan refuses.
Obi-wan, Dooku, the Jedi, and rogue elements of the military plot a coup against Palpatine. Obi-wan attempts to bring Anakin into the plot, and he seems to agree to join. However, when the plotters launch their coup, Palpatine defeats them and reveals that Anakin sold them out. The Jedi Council is either killed, captured, or goes to ground. In response, Palpatine declares the formation of the Galactic Empire, and sends the military to destroy the remnants of Dooku's rebellion.
Dooku, Obi-wan, and Padme rally a few scattered systems to their banner and confronts the Imperial military over Mustafar. Anakin leads the imperial military, but after Padme reveals she's pregnant he hesitates to fire. A battle ensues regardless, with Padme's ship crashing on the surface.
Anakin heads to the surface to find Padme and reconcile her, but Obi-wan intercepts him. He lies to Anakin that Padme is dead and the two former friends have a brief-but-vicious-duel. Anakin is defeated, and Obi-wan leaves him on the battlefield. He finds Padme, who escapes to Alderaan. They find refuge with Bail, and Padme gives birth to twins. To hide them from the newly crowned Emperor, Padme goes into hiding as a handmaiden of Bail's wife, and Obi-wan takes the infant Luke to Owen on Tatooine. Consumed with his failures, Obi-wan walks alone into the desert.
General vibe would be something like Seven Days In May or Valkyrie mashed into a war film. The first deals with the grinding war against an amorphous enemy the Republic is ensnaring itself in, and the second would be the coup being planned and ultimately thwarted.
I also have that draft of "What if TROS was good?" floating around I started working on as a storytelling exercise, if people are interested in that I'll post it as well.
Pretty much. I was hopping this would turn into something like a round robin, but instead it's more like an office meeting where everyone has different ideas and they all have merit but there isn't anyone obviously better than the rest aaaaand we don't have a final authority to just cut through it and say "this is what we are doing.
I mean, it's my thread so I could, but that would defeat the entire purpose so I'm very much not going to do that.
