PT Rumors concerning the possibility of Disney throwing out the Prequels

I've heard that before even if they did, doesn't mean a new deal can't and won't be struck.

 

That's true. But I'd still be shocked if they were to alter the deal (pun intended) to a point where the movies could be retconned. Especially knowing George. He decided to sell to Disney because he trusts them and believes the franchise would be in the best hands.

 

There will be a complete reboot eventually. Hopefully they don't reboot the OT and force it into the confines of the PT/TCW.

 

Well said, FS.

I've heard that too. I don't trust the Mouse. If you choose to believe the line that the movies are untouchable, more power to ya. I don't.

 

The way I see it, as long as George kept a clause in the contract to ensure that the movies are untouchable (again, would be extremely shocked if he didn't), then Disney must adhere to it. If any negotiations were to be made to alter that line, they would have to get George to agree with it.

... unless I'm missing something about the way these contracts work and/or George decided not to put said clause in the contract, for some strange reason. lol

 

You have your view, I have mine. They differ, it's cool.

 

True.

I mean I could be totally wrong. George could have left it completely open in the contract for all I know. I would just be flabbergasted if he did. lol

 

I don't know how long it will take but a reboot will happen.
I will not be surprised if the reboots will be official canon over everything we have now.
At that point I'll be done. I'll probably watch them but the stories as we know them is SW to me and always will be.

 

After Return of the Jedi it was said that no more Star Wars movies would be made. *They were.*

After the Prequels there was to be a Star Wars TV live action show. *Never happened*

Lucas said many times he was done with Star Wars and there would be no sequels. *There are.*

Heard from all the SW fans that Lucas would never "sell" Star Wars, it was his baby. *He sold it.*

Harrison Ford would NEVER play Han Solo again. *He is.*

Was ASSURED there was no way Disney would throw out the 30+ years of EU. *It's gone.*

There's no way Disney would ever throw out the Prequels in order to free that timeline up for their own vision. *??*

There's no way that, down the line, Disney would decide to reboot the whole thing. *??*

 

Force Smuggler That would be terrible. Nothing could replace the original movies for me. The movies we have now is what defines Star Wars. I really hope George covered all this in the contract before selling.

 

Assured by who?

 

The people on this very forum.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas allowed it.

 

loki41872 I gotta admit I was surprised by the EU blanket retcon. But Disney's referral to the movies as "immovable" leads me to believe that they are contractually obliged to keep the current movies canon.

Could that change? Yes. Is it possible that they have no such contractual obligations? Yes. But it just doesn't seem to be in George's nature to allow that.

This is all IMO though. In reality we don't know what's in the fine print.

Force Smuggler Really? What makes you think he would allow it? I'm just curious. I've always got the impression that he's still somewhat protective of his films.

 

Hasn't stopped him from changing them in the meantime.........

 

That's true. But making changes to 'fit his vision' of the movies vs. allowing Disney to retcon/remake all of them would seem to be contradictory. At least imo.

 

The decision to reboot the PT is strictly business related and "damage control," but in all honesty it's not fair to the PT fans. The overabundance of CGI is not a good excuse to reboot the PT because look at other modern blockbusters. Poor scripts? Same thing. Poor acting? Same thing. Cos it has Hayden? Wow.

If they do decide to reboot the PT, then reboot the OT as well.

 

Not his movies anymore so what does he care?

 

Force Smuggler George wants the new generation to pick up the next chapter of the saga. So in a sense, yes, he has let go. But it seems to me like he still wants to preserve the authenticity of Ep. 1-6. After all, he did speak about how Disney was the only company he would trust with his franchise with the task of getting a new generation to pick up the next chapter. And he said "I could've said I'll just sell to somebody else". That to me suggests there were some contractual obligations that needed to be followed. And again, Disney has described the movies to be "immovable". Again that suggests to me a possible contractual obligation regarding the status of those movies.

That's my hunch on it though. I could be very unpleasantly surprised in the future... and I hope that day never comes. lol

 

Won't be for a while but it will happen.

 

Fair to the PT fans? What about when the OT got PT added to it? Or take a look at Hasbro's offerings over the last 10 years- 75% Prequel and most of the OT stuff was regulated to exclusives. The MTT and Republic Attack Shuttle tanked and crashed the huge vehicle range while the Millennium Falcon and AT-AT were successful. Multiple releases of Mace Windu while Princess Leia has not been available in her iconic buns for almost a decade. Even in the Vintage Collection, the Phantom Menace wave sat and clogged shelves (barring Maul).

Or look at the Saga Blu-Ray. Kiddie Anakin is right on the cover, while Luke is ghostly with his back turned to us.

It seemed like Lucas hated the OT. Maybe he wanted to punish people for not liking the Prequels and SEs. It must have sucked when 1977-1997 were near constant praise and then from 1997-2011 the tables turned. He could have cut himself a big break by releasing the OOT, and listening when people gave him constructive criticism. He was told Jar Jar was a bad idea, and his ego didn't let him listen. There was no Marcia Lucas or Gary Kurtz, someone who could speak their mind and stand up to him. McCallum was spineless and reeked of butt kissing middle management. He left the actors to fend for themselves, while he focused more on the special effects. Its no wonder they gave off performances. Selling and retiring was the best thing he could have done.

But don't try and play the PT pity card. Disney is shrewd. They know the OT is where the success is. Even the Clone Wars only found success when they took a lesson from the OT style and changed the characters personalities around (Anakin especially). In the eyes of the the general public, the OT trumps the PT. The ST has Kasdan back on scripting duties. The big three are back. JJ Abrams who is energetic and in love with the Saga. Real effects taking center stage and real sets.

That is what Disney is banking on. Take a look at their online Star Wars store. 99% OT based. The OT fans time has come.

 

This is the kind of thinking that saddens me. Using the OT as a crutch in order to either embrace or create new SW material will only kill the franchise. The OT was great, but it's time to move on. As I said in other threads, Lucas tried to create new things in the PT via newer technology. Star Wars was built on the idea of revolutionizing technology and reverting back to late 1970s filmmaking in order to prolong the idea of "OT > PT" is counterproductive and quite sad.

 

I don't see them as using the OT as a crutch, but as expanding the story with characters who have been loved for 35 years. I'm sure if it was PT-heavy inspiration you would be ecstatic.

Lucas used the new technologies at the expense of the stories and performances. He really needed someone to stand up to him and a co-writer on the scripts.
You do know that there is going to be the use of new technology and techniques right? How much better will the puppetry and sets be? 3D printing is huge right now, and the rumor is that models will be made using that technology allowing them to be cheaper and easier to produce mass quantities of them. There will be CGI in this movie, and it will enhance the practical effects done in camera. JJ wants as much to be real as possible, so you don't end up with what happened in the Prequels, actors lost in a sea of green screen and CGI. Everything will be composited with computers and I'm sure the lightsabers and balsters will be like the prequels.

CGI will never replace practical. Take a look at the CGI Yoda vs the 80's Puppet. Or Sy Snootles 97 vs 83 editions. The puppets look more real and have aged better than the CGI

 

Or it had nothing to do with it. Speculation works both ways.

And the list of other characters whose personalities were "changed around"?

 

Except that they are. The ST, imo, should be inventive, original, and stand alone on its own without OT life support. As you mention, their attitude and marketing is being built on a OT approved foundation, with the way they are producing Episode VII to the presentation of SW.com's shop.

As for the technology aspect, let's not forget that George Lucas was always technology first, actors second. Per many interviews, Lucas just wasn't an actor's director. His love for technology enabled him to pioneer and eventually deliver the idea of CGI into movies. While it's fair game to say that he shouldn't have fully used the PT as a vehicle to showcase what the technology could do, to say that CGI will always take a backseat is only suppressing the advancing evolution of filmmaking. I don't agree with Disney nor JJ's usage of practical effects and "real sets" because I see it as ways to only prolong the common go-to PT criticisms. They want to embrace the OT because, as you say, the OT trumps the PT. Nostalgia is being used to great effect and it's actually good marketing if you look at it, but imo it's not right.