PT What would the popularity of the saga be like today if the prequels were never made?

Well, there are other variables here beyond just the three OT films - as has been mentioned, where does the EU fit in this hypothetical situation? Back in 1991 (after years of there being very little new SW material out there) both "Heir to the Empire" (the first novel by Timothy Zahn in the HTTE trilogy) and the first issue of "Dark Empire" (by DH comics) came out - both were huge sellers, which proved that interest in the franchise was far from gone. And, this led to a very healthy publishing program which included both new and reprinted comics, new novels, etc. And, this was all long before Episode 1 was released in 1999.

And, even without the PT, I disagree completely that the OT would have died completely. There would always have been new fans getting interested in the franchise re: their parents, friends, word of mouth, the Internet, etc.

I'm sorry, but as an old school fan this is wishful thinking. Without furthur films to support the Saga, the OT would be highly regarded, classic films from the 80s with a slowly fading fanbase. Steve Sansweet nailed it when he said without more films to support Star Wars, the franchise will fade and be relegated to a small, but loyal group of fans.

Without the PT, there would not be a Hasbro line today, the comic series would have eventually lost sales and book releases would dwindle as well as there is no vehicle to generate interest from the general public. Sure us geeks and our nerd children could keep the Star Wars flame lit, but it would be a small flicker versus where Star Wars fandom is today.

Yancy

Yes, I'm also an old-skool fan who grew up with the OOT, and I agree with you 100%. Maybe I wasn't clear in my last post. What I meant was that there would be still be the old & some new fans of the SW franchise, but I agree the fanbase wouldn't be big.

That being said, as I mentioned in my first post on this thread, if the PT had never come out are we also assuming that the SE Trilogy from '97 never came out? Because, IIRC, the SE did result in a brief resurgence of interest in the franchise with newspaper/magazine articles, an increase of interest in the then-new SW POTF2 toyline ,etc.

Back to the Future is its own Holy Trilogy.

I was five when "Star Wars" came out in 1977 and I was fan all through the OOT, including a tween crush on Han Solo, but my fandom fizzled out after ROTJ. I was too busy being a teenager, listening to hair bands, watching all the really good mid-to-late 80s movies (including Back to the Future) and taking a huge interest in guys.

My fandom revived with the release of the SEs in 1997. I was 25 and the "see it again on the big screen!" ads were geared at people like me--and it worked. And I enjoyed the prequels.

In 1999 when The Phantom Menace came out, I was a rabid 13-year-old Star Wars fanboy who drooled over the full-page production-photo spreads in the Star Wars Insider and watched high-quality versions of the trailers step-frame so I could try to figure out what was going on to cobble together as much as I could of what the movie would be like. Needless to say, my expectations were set horribly for when I sat down in the theatre. The first time seeing the movie was what could best be described as a jarring experience. I liked it, but the fact that I had radically different expectations for it (I was sure the Clone Wars was going to start at the end of the movie, for one) really had me feeling disappointed at first. I saw TPM in the cinema three more times before its run was over, and I liked it more and more each time. I feel it really helped adjust my expectations as I approached AotC and RotS in the six years following. I really made the principle "Like them for what they are, don't hate them for what they're not" my own where the Star Wars prequels are concerned. My two favorite Star Wars films of all are still ESB at #1 and AotC at #2, an opinion unchanged since I sat down on a weekend and watched both trilogies about five years ago or so.

I provide that heartfelt testimonial just as a precursor to state that I for one am very grateful the PT was made, if for no other reason than it has introduced a whole new generation of fans... not to three "crappy Lucas projects," but to the Star Wars community of fans who love the tales from that galaxy far, far away.

I've often considered the possibility that Star Wars might somehow fall prey to the "remake" pandemic in Hollywood these days, but I concede that there is - at least so far - a reverence for the movies with devotee fanbase (or cult following) such as the Back to the Future trilogy. What I think that the PT has lent to the saga is not simply an expansion of Star Wars, but a realization of - if you will - the potential for immortality. Not to veer too far into Sequel Trilogy territory with this discussion, but I think the Prequels were a great experiment into how building a modern addition onto the OT's foundation has made it virtually impossible for the original films to be forgotten or remade. Without them, I feel it very possible that the Star Wars trilogy may have eventually lost a lot of ground in culture (who makes references to Jurassic Park scenes and lines anymore?) and personally I believe, by the 2020's would have been remade.