PT Irreplaceable things the prequels gave to the Star Wars Franchise.

Here’s one I’m surprised nobody has mentioned. Many famous fantasies (and Star Wars is a fantasy) have their own internal mythology and legendry. The Lord of the Rings has The Tale of Beren and Lúthien. Game of Thrones has The Tale of the Rat Cook, among others. Even Harry Potter has The Tale of the Three Brothers.

However, Star Wars did not have its own internal mythos for the longest time. That all changed near the end of the prequel trilogy with The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis. Instead of relating this information in the form of exposition, as in previous films, he imparts it in the form of a legend or a fable. Yes, it’s heavily implied that Palpatine was, in fact, the apprentice in the story and that he’s obscuring his own role in the story, but that means that we’re already seeing the tale being embellished and added to with each telling.

If there’s one element from the prequels I really wanna see carry over to the new films, it’s the idea that this universe has its own set of legends, myths, and fables.

 

It made Star Wars more mature (subjective, I suppose) and complex
Breathtaking new planets
New sides of old characters like Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Palpatine
New interesting characters like Padmé, Dooku, Windu, Qui-Gon
The best era in the Star Wars universe (my opinion)
My favorite and 2nd favorite Star Wars soundtracks (ROTS, TPM)
More philosophical elements
Blurred sides (not clear cut good and evil); a more grey storyline
The Clone Wars

Did I miss anything?

 

Memories. TPM was the last movie I went to the cinema with my mum, AOTC and RoTS were both seen on dates. The PT represented my teenage years and Star Wars was an escape for me; a fantasy world, which I loved, and characters who I desired to be.

My generation got to see the digitally remastered movies in the 90s, but this was a whole expansion on the franchise for us.

 

"Sith" and "Sith Lord" for sure.

I don't think most Star Wars fans appreciate how the term Sith was ever once uttered in the OT, and more casual fans may not even realize it. Sure it didn't originate with the prequels, but the prequels sure popularized it, to the point where everybody now just treats it like it was canon all along. Compare the context of its usage with the context of "Midi-chlorian" for instance. Mention Midi-chlorians to some Internet blogger and there's a strong possibility you'll get a reaction like "eww prequels, worst movies everrrr, fail in every way, Midi-chlorians ruined the Force" but mention Sith and it'll be more like "yeah Star Wars is awesome, I love Darth Vader and Force lightning and Force chokes." But both are basically products of the prequels. "Sith" has enriched and become an irreplaceable part of the pop cultural idea of Star Wars, even as Midi-chlorians supposedly screwed it up forever. So... the prequels: fans can't have Star Wars with them, but they certainly can't have Star Wars without them.

 

San Jackson in Star Wars.

 

He should have been a Sith and screamed " Yes I am glad they died and hope they burn in hell " at Yoda lol

 

Nah him being a Jedi was great

 

um, the Jedi Council Forums...? *drum roll*.... Seriously, there are so many assets, I'm going structurally not per detail:

- The greatest dystopian downfall story in B-movies history: Showing how demagogues can make a democracy and a people stumble over their own failings and corruption into darkness - all that mirrored by the tragedy of a young man destroying everything he swore to protect.
Note how the Empire slowly grows out of the Republic like a cancer: this is demonstrated by the evolutionary ship designs too (eg Starfighter as police ship has basic form of Stardestroyers etc).

- One of the best written scheming villains ever (Palpatine, not Maul!), who actually WINS in the end by wiping out all his enemies (Jedi) and allies (Dooku, Grievous, Federations etc).

- Accordingly, one of the most awesome rise to power narrative - beginning with Ep I (making Palps chancellor) EpII (creating civil war and an army) to EpIII (corrupting everything and destroy them all).

- Designs: The best and most creative assortment of designs in film history only rivaled and surpassed by the OT: new vehicle concepts like pod racers, Jedi Starfighters, 6 feet walkers, battle droid armies etc (my fav: hail fire droids)

- World building: Imaginative worlds and planet designs far surpassing the OT, such as Naboo, Couruscant, Geonosis, Kamino, Mustafar etc.

- A institutional and narrative backbone: in the OT things like the capitol or the Sith or their workings are not even mentioned

- Order 66 and the Jedi immolation

- The Balance of the Force concept (meaning destruction of the dark side as a disease/disturbance, not equivalence of dark and bright)

- The music (self evident unless you are tone deaf), sound design and many, many wonderfully cheesy quotes.

- Some great action scenes and fight - the Yoda vs Palps where they figuratively and literally destroy the Senate (Democracy) is one of the best metaphors ever, and yeah the Ep1 fight is great and very lethal too.

Last but not least, the PT made me a fan after years of refusal to watch that "kiddy crap".

 

Brilliant post, Tristan. I agree with every word.

 

A nice symmetrical war for the EU to work wonders with.

 

I love this summation! Did he do it in a tweet or an interview?

 

Yes! Absolutely.

It is common among prequel haters to particularly dislike TPM and/or ignore it when they grudgingly watch some of the prequels in the machete order. (To psychoanalyze a bit, it makes sense, as it's a reflection of those SW fans - as they aged - being unable to enjoy the relatively lighter and more optimistic third of the prequels.) And these type of prequel haters usually complain about the fact that there's nothing important about TPM anyway, that it adds nothing to the storyline and that Anakin should just have been some random Padawan. (To psychoanalyze further, I wonder how many of these SW fans are more into sci-fi than fantasy, where the trope of the Destined One is a cliché.)

The whole point is that Anakin Skywalker is not a random Jedi who turns bad, but a good kid, with a good parental role model, who was optimistic and happy overall - even while being a slave. That the kid who became Darth Vader did so BECAUSE of the Jedi taking him from his mother and teaching him that attachment was bad, BECAUSE the bad guy was kind to him and became a parental role model, and because it was his destiny. Anakin is a victim of the Force as well, if one were to see the Force as a type of extension of nature that was reacting to happenings in the galaxy.

Also, although it is a cliché of fantasy fiction, the Destined One is a trope that is successful for a reason. It allows the readers - especially with massively long series or more commonly trilogies - to connect with a character that is brought into a world of magic and thus explaining the rules and the stakes of the world. Magical worldbuilding is easier to explain to the reader through characters who are learning about the world as we do.

I'm in my forties, so I grew up loving the OT, but the PT elevated the whole saga for me - as a fantasy fan - because it took a well made Hero's Journey storyline into an epic fantasy one (I refer to the subgenre which is credited to begin with Lord of the Rings). I've seen all of the movies so many times, it's unlikely for me to see and watch one from beginning to end (unless I'm showing them to a Star Wars virgin), but I put on scenes all the time, and outside of the Luke/Vader/Emperor scene, I am much more likely to put on a prequel scene.

Anyway, those are my two cents.

 

The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise

 

The Clones - we now know who the Storm Troopers are based on.
TCW TV show - needed the PT as the template. TCW is basically the animated version of the PT and features many characters from it.
Pod Racing - Disney could make a whole movie or cartoon based on that alone.

 

Eopies. I love those guys.

 

More quality, scope, depth and authenticity.

 

And in other realms of entertainment, I honestly wouldn't mind a more modern take on Racer Revenge. Podracers could make for a kickass racing game

 

Mario Kart: Star Wars Edition - Podracing!

 

"Don't center on your anxieties"

MJ

 

"Well, whaddya know?"

 

What irreplaceable thing?

Almost two decades on from the OT - it gave Star Wars continued life - it gave it an existence in the hearts of the continuing generation of many and made it the continuing universe it is today - the upcoming films included.

...and also great action scenes, and lightsaber combat and great new locations etc. etc.

 

That would make sense if the heroes of the film weren't equally as derivative of the OT.

Regardless, I don't think Star Wars should be some self-referential meta narrative about Star Wars. Star Wars is about bigger and more transcendent things than the consumerist culture surrounding itself.

 

Jurassic World tried this "self-referential meta narrative about itself" schtick as well. Didn´t stop it from being a trash either.

 

I think its abit unfair to say Kylo doesn't acknowledge Anakin because most of the people involved with this franchise including lucas himself have tried to separate anakin from Vader because i assume they wanted to show that anakin is good and vader is bad?

Vader visually is something else, a symbol to kylo who he likely doesn't care who is under the helmet

Another example would be in rebels where Vaders mask is half broken and you can see Anakins eye underneath and you are almost getting half anakin and half vader right there with Ashoka

Although Personally is suspect Hayden will cameo in TLJ but we will see.

 

I personally think Jar Jar is irreplaceable. Not only because he's funny, but because his innocense really helps things go in Palpatine's favor in Attack of the Clones and afterward.