You should write that shit. You should definitely write that shit.

 

I concur. Fucking write it.

 

Uh oh. Expectations.

 

I'm totally willing to help you.

 

Well, maybe after the holidays.

 

Hahahahaaa!
Right? It's another word for 'dread.'

 

In my opinion, the best thing to come out of the prequels was The Clone Wars (Both the actual conflict and the TV show). Looking back on it TPM can becompletely cut from the trilogy and everything would still make sense. If need be, it can be shorted down to 20 minutes and tacked onto the begining of AOTC.

The best thing about The Clone Wars (TV) was Anakin himself. In the movies, he came off as unlikeable and a weak protagonist in comparison to Obi-Wan but in the show he shined. We rooted for him, cheered him on and his romance with Padme was actually believable.

So Clone Wars (TV) should have been Episode II and AOTC Episode I and TPB scrapped. As for Episode III, most of the plot poitns weren't too bad, it's just the execution that came off as a bit unbelievable. Just general restructure of that movie to perhaps mirror Episode VI in some way.

Also, Darth Jar Jar. Enough said.

By the way, is there any truth to those rumours a couple years back about some tension between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley on set? Just curious.

 

How would any of us know if Nat and Key were beefing? We weren't there.

 

My friend hasn't seen the new one yet and has decided to watch all of the movies, including the prequels, which has given us a chance to talk about them and their deficiencies. We came up with a lot of ways to fix little pieces, but the main problem was that Anakin's transition was terrible. Basically in episode 1 he's just a kid, seems good hearted despite being a slave. But by episode 2 (and 10 years later) he's just a dick.

I like the idea of something like instead of a story of romance, it's a story of lust.

Just a few thoughts.

 

Thing is, this Anakin doesn't have any reason to really care about Luke.

After Luke refuses him in ESB, he'd just be a filthy traitor like his mother.

 

Well, yes? I guess I don't see the problem.

 

Given that, I don't think he'd save Luke from Palpatine.

 

The problem comes in when the idea was that the exercise is predicated on the assumption that whatever changes are made to the prequels will still be in line with the original trilogy. Removing the "father-son love", for lack of a better term, removes Vader's redemption arc entirely. It's not a bad thing, but it's not quite in line with the exercise, to my understanding anyway.

 

Was that a deliberate change or an honest mistake in mixing up the films and the TFU game?

 

To me, this just seems to compound the issues with Anakin's character in relation to the point of his arc as Darth Vader.

Anakin Skywalker is a hero who became the villain. That's literally all the originals give us of him. He was a great warrior, pilot, Jedi and friend. IMO the issue isn't that him becoming a whiny bitch doesn't have enough to justify it, it's that he's a whiny bitch at all. His flaws should be related to the negative traits that are expressed to the exclusion of all else as Darth Vader. His ruthlessness and authoritarianism. Rather than barely acknowledged with a throw away line in episode 2 about the senate and then it suddenly being his goal at the end of 3, it should have been the core of his arc. His desire to do whatever it takes to protect the people from the horrors of war and chaos leads to him becoming their oppressor, and with Darth Vader, the means have become the ends.

Basically rather than an issue of a story of love or lust, I don't think it should have been either, not in so blatant a sense. I get the whole 'poetry' thing of turning for love and turning back for love, but I don't think it worked very well in practice. The loss of the ones he loves should merely be the cost of his actions, and then he throws away all that he's built with those actions for that love for them he thought he no longer had.

 

I guess the way I'd do it--which I'd sort of intended to at some point--would be like this.

Okay, so the general story arc of the entire series is Anakin's, right? I didn't like him in Episode 1 (did anyone?) but I like the overall background for him--I mean, think about it. A lowly slave on the Outer Rim rose to become one of the most feared men in the galaxy. How? That I always felt deserved some attention. Obi-wan would make a good protagonist, too, in a mirror to how Luke was the main character of the original trilogy despite it being Anakin's story, but I'd want to take a closer look at the man behind the still-metaphorical mask.

So. Anakin. Quite a progression, isn't it? Kind of a waste of all of it to have been a matter of chance, huh? One of the things that always bothered me about the prequals was that it wasn't really a story of choices and slow descents; mainly, Anakin was just told to go do various things and did, barring a few really dumb choices on his part.

What if, instead, the story followed his ascent, leading up to his fall? The 'first movie' in my story would have been all about that; a young Anakin unknowingly using his powerful Force abilities to navigate his way out of Tatooine. I'd want to cement that Anakin was a kid and definitely good, but that he was willing to get his hands dirty for the sake of the people he cared about and himself. His mother? His friends? All those other people the movie version just forgot about instantly the moment he left? Make it about them.

So he gambles. He lies, cheats, and steals. A few Force tricks come into play as he gets feelings, shifts opinions, and etc. and he uses them like a young Voldemort did magic. All of which leading up to a podrace that he's not afraid to cheat in, part of a deal he'd made with Jabba the Hut in return for obtaining his own freedom.

And he gets it, along with everything else he needs. Not just because he's skilled--though he is--but because he cheats like a motherfucker. He takes his freedom, takes his money, and the first thing he does is get/steal a ship to get his entire crew out of there.

Including his brother Owen. Yeah, some people have talked about needing another non-Jedi Character/influence on Anakin's life; what about his brother. In the movies, it was all 'Yeah, you exist', but what if he stuck around? They hitch a flight over to Malastare, where they leverage their skills to supporting themselves; Anakin races and bets with his brother's help and they make fat stacks.

Then everything starts going to shit with the Trade Federation, causing a divide in the Republic and the Galaxy. As things start to worsen, it causes a reaction as, instead of ignoring the issue entirely, the Republic responds to the conquest of Naboo. As the Trade Federation's blockade and harassment of ships worsens, they start paying a lot for good fliers and smugglers. It's a dangerous good, but extremely well paying, and podracing isn't exactly safe itself.

That's how Anakin and his brother get involved with things--stuff goes awry and they go out of their way to help deal with some problems, picking up a few stragglers trying to escape and get more than they expected. One thing leads to another and suddenly the two are flying and fighting to save lives. After the battle, when the awards are being handed out, Anakin and Owen get some attention, especially from the Jedi they'd helped in the battle, Obi-wan. Anakin especially, Obi-wan senses great power from, and after their whole adventure where they'd teamed up and fought/saved each other repeatedly, he makes an offer.

That's the start of it all, the beginning of a rise through the ranks. In due time, Anakin and Owen would go higher and higher, the former among the Jedi and the latter in the growing military. Power, skill, and a willingness to get their hands dirty sees them far.

But where do things start breaking down?

Ironically, the same place they began. An obvious way to begin Anakin's decline was right there from the beginning and I was honestly shocked no one took it.

The Clones. A group of people created and raised to fight and serve. In the various animated series and book, we've seen how they're treated and what happens to them, and it's kind of shitty. Most everyone looks at them and thinks expendable.

But would Anakin? The Clones are the only things protecting and upholding the Republic and they're made to die constantly by those in power and the other Generals in a call back to Anakin's roots. All throughout the story, you see him fighting for more action throughout the Galaxy, trying to stamp out slavery, but the very Republic is growing to be built upon it.

What if it's Anakin who first starts reaching out to people like Senetor Palpatine? If, after seeing a few of the more grievous oversights, he...forcibly takes command of several armies, playing the political field to allow it and strengthen his own hold, pushing here and there against Senators and Jedi alike?

And, of course, as the fighting continues, it's not merely Palpatine that seeks to gain more emergency powers...

 

How about this:

Instead of starting as a slave on Tatooine, Anakin spent his whole life in the Temple, having been discovered by the Jedi as a baby. He was taken fairly early as a padawan by a master and knew Obi-Wan as the cool older padawan whom he admired.

Now, Anakin's master was one of the Lost Twenty and left the Order because of a disagreement with the Council he had about the Jedi Code, taking Anakin with him. Together they travelled around the galaxy as more-or-less helpful mercenaries, Anakin's master telling him of his disappointment and former dream of changing the Jedi for the better. Unfortunately, one day they stumble upon the Sith and Anakin's master is killed by Darth Maul. Anakin, reaching for the Dark Side, manages to kill Darth Maul. Holding his dying master in his arms, Anakin promises him to somehow make the master's dream come true. On Maul's corpse he finds evidence that there's a master Sith somewhere out there and vows that he will bring him to justice for the good of the Republic and for the memory of his master.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and the Jedi deal with the usual Republic politics. As in canon, the Clone Wars begin, with Count Dooku at the head of the Seps. The Jedi also already have suspicions that the Sith are involved. There is general mobilization throughout the Republic and Anakin, seeing how dire the situation is, follows the call like millions of others. He rises quickly in the ranks, but soon he and his superiors know that it won't be enough. They need the Jedi. He returns to the Jedi Order and gives an impassioned speech to the Jedi, calling them to arms against the enemies of the Republic, but the Order hesitates. The Council feels that joining would be a mistake and so forbid it.

Obi-Wan speaks personally to Anakin and is convinced that joining the war is the right idea. Following the will of the Force, as his master Qui-Gon always told him, he joins Anakin. And seeing as the perfect Jedi Knight Kenobi joins, countless others do it too.

Obi-Wan and Anakin become best friends, fighting next to each other, encountering Sith apprentices all over and becoming heroes. Palpatine comes in contact with Anakin because of that, working together tightly in a PR campaign for more recruits in the army.

Then, Anakin is sent to Naboo, which is occupied by Sep forces. He meets Padme in the wilds of Naboo, using guerrilla tactics to fight the Seps, and they join forces; Padme with her eclectic mix of gungans and Nabooians and Anakin with his soldiers/former Jedi. They fall in love and don't hesitate to marry. Unfortunately, not everything is going well. The Seps are winning and Anakin's troops are losing ground. He loses a lot of good friends and uses the Dark Side more and more, especially after Padme is injured once (she survives).

Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and the Jedi discover that Palpatine is the Sith master. They try to arrest him but he flees. Then they go in front of the Senate to accuse him. But Palpatine rigged the whole Senate building with powerful explosives which blow up right in the meeting (also a Jedi plot, naturally ). Palpatine appears on the holonet, explaining to the public that the Jedi have betrayed them. That Dooku, a puppet of the Jedi, was used by them to instigate war and that the Jedi wanted to take over when the Seps had won. Right in that moment of his speech, the Republic fleet over Coruscant carries out the order to bomb the Temple into the Stone Age. They do so. Only through luck and a Force Vision do Yoda and some others escape through tunnels. They leave the planet.

With the Jedi and the Senate effectively dead, Palpatine gives the orders for the war to turn around. The Republic begins winning, the Seps partly retreating, partly giving up. Dooku, who sees Palpatine's speech as a betrayal -- which it is, fights with what remaining forces are loyal to him to the end. There's also a bit of good in him. He starts to feel remorse, having initially been a reformer.

Anakin and Padme are rescued by Republic forces that take back control of Naboo. They are thankful that Palpatine rescued them, but they still can't believe that the Jedi and Senate are gone -- or that the Jedi are traitors. Palpatine, being his usual charming self, convinces Anakin that this is so, giving him enough "evidence" that support this. Obi-Wan isn't convinced. He and some others disappear, searching for their lost brethren. Palpatine tells Anakin that Obi-Wan was a spy too. Anakin doesn't believe that. Palpatine sends Anakin and some former Jedi who are loyal to Anakin after Obi-Wan to find the rest of the Jedi and bring them to justice.

Obi-Wan finds Qui-Gon and Yoda alive with some younglings and a pitiful rest of the Temple survivors. Qui-Gon quickly convinces Obi-Wan and his group of Jedi that they're not traitors and that Palpatine is a Sith. In that moment Anakin and his group appears, having followed Obi-Wan. They try to convince him that they are the good guys, but in that moment Count Dooku appears. Yoda managed to reach a cease-fire agreement with Dooku, who had not completely fallen to the Dark Side. The Fall of the Temple made a great impact on the Count as did Palpatine's betrayal. Unfortunately, Anakin takes this as proof for the Jedi betrayal. There is a free-for-all, with Anakin getting his limbs cut off. He's saved by some of his men as they retreat.

Anakin, now completely in Palpatine's control, returns to Coruscant, having failed. The only thing keeping him going through the pain is the fact that Padme's pregnant. Padme, in the mean time, has been having some doubts about the whole new Empire thing; it's not enough for her to go against the new regime, but it's enough that when a Jedi strike team comes to Coruscant to abduct her -- the Jedi heard about the babies and knew that it would be horrible for the Light Side if they grew up under Palpatine's influence -- she doesn't struggle too much. Once they are back at the Rebel base on Dantooine, she is quickly convinced that Palpatine is bad news, especially after Bail Organa helps convince her. She is certain that she can make Anakin see it too.

Anakin, when he comes out in his new shiny black armor, is consumed by rage. The Jedi abducted his wife! He tracks her down, cutting down Jedi and younglings in his path, and is even more incensed when he finds her being friendly with Obi-Wan. When she tells him that Palpatine -- the man who saved him and her -- is evil, he is convinced that she has betrayed him too, as did all the others. He chokes her like in canon and duels Obi-Wan, who manages to injure him enough for Obi-Wan, Padme and any other survivors to flee to Alderaan. Padme delivers the twins, but it takes her months to recover and she doesn't recover completely, dying several years after the birth, thus getting to know Leia but not Luke.

The Jedi dispers, Obi-Wan taking Luke to Tatooine and finding Shmi, who takes her grandson in, having been told that Anakin died in the war. But she dies soon after, leaving Luke in the hands of Owen and Beru.

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, word reaches Anakin that the army found Padme's corpse along with those of two babies in a ship -- something the Jedi prepared to get him to leave his wife and kids alone. Anakin believes it and, grieving, feeling betrayed and lost, he takes the solution presented to him by Palpatine: to become his apprentice, Lord Vader, and rebuild a new, better Order as his first master -- the only man aside from Palpatine who never betrayed him, he feels -- had dreamed of. Not called the Jedi Order, of course, but with Palpatine and Vader at its head. They already have the former Jedi who followed Anakin as the first members.

In the following years the Jedi are hunted down by this Order, leaving only Obi-Wan and Yoda alive.

And so we come to the situation we find in Episode IV.

 

Atri, I'm quite fond of that write up, and think it would work well as a fanfic version of the prequels.

I don't think it could work as a film trilogy, however. The plot is too unevenly spread, which means creating a lot of filler or packing the films together, and I think bits of it wouldn't translate well to a film (Padme, Obi-Wan crisscrossing the galaxy, PoV/reveal issues, the lack of a perspective on the Jedi side to really show us much about them aside from ObiWan, and a way to cover the investigation into/reveal of the Clone Army).

 

Eh, perhaps you're right and it should be a bit revised for a movie. I did write it up at 2 am in the morning, so maybe that influenced things a bit too.