Slashdot Mirror


Another Star Wars Prequel?

boarder8925 writes "George Lucas said he was finished with the Star Wars movies, but it seems George Lucas has an idea for another add-on to the Star Wars movie series: a prequel to The Phantom Menace. The story would follow the Jedi regaining control of the universe from the many Dark Lords some 88 years before Anakin Skywalker ever graced the universe. Yoda, who, according to Lucas, was instrumental in the effort, would apparently have a headlining role. However, Lucas, now age 60, says he won't be captaining such a ship if it ever happens."

28 of 661 comments (clear)

  1. Well, /. has one thing right... by achurch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

    1. Re:Well, /. has one thing right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful


      however young Jedi this story is not for us, its here just to continue to reinforce the "Star Wars" brand in your mind again, 150m in 2days from the film is not enough, keep thinking Star Wars, Star Wars, repeat it again !, sounds nice doesnt it?, notice you remember it when you are in a

      Toy Store
      Food Store
      Video Store
      Gas Station
      Watching TV
      Magazines
      Newspapers
      Websites
      Walking

      the marketing force is strong Luke

    2. Re:Well, /. has one thing right... by Radres · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do we really need to point out this bug every time it happens? These posts are about as pointless as the overlords/1,?,3 profit/soviet russia posts.

    3. Re:Well, /. has one thing right... by Anti+Frozt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Having played and finished SW: KotOR, they mention in the game that the Sith as a race died out long ago, but that Korriban (the Sith home planet) was populated by outcast Jedi who took on the Sith name as a faction.

      More information here

      --
      In C++, friends can touch each others private parts.
  2. Well, duh! by samael · · Score: 2, Insightful

    He's already got books, comics and computer games spread throughout his history, written by other people and controlled by him (so that they pretty much all fit together, with a few exceptions). There's no reason not to have films too.

    But him not writing/directing them is a good thing - so long as they get someone in who _can_.

  3. Could be interesting. by TiggsPanther · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Could also stand a good chance of being done right. Personally I enjoyed Episodes I & II (not seen RoTS yet), but I can see the main problem with them - which wouldn't be so pronounced in a much earlier prequel.

    Episodes I through III were dealing in the too recent past directly dealing with known characters who many older fans have had 20 years to come up with their own theories about.

    Now a pre-Phantom-Menace film wouldn't have quite so much "known" events to deal with. It would be somewhat harder to really jar with people's own perceptions of what could have happened. Plus if Lucas did step back and leave such a prequel to someone else it might well end up better than the current prequels. Not many people can create good stories in on their own - and even those who do don't (usually) do films on their own.
    Editors, screenwriters, directors. As long as they're not all at odds then they stand a better chance of coming up with a great finished product.

    --
    Tiggs
    "120 chars should be enough for everyone..."
    1. Re:Could be interesting. by theefer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Episodes I through III were dealing in the too recent past directly dealing with known characters who many older fans have had 20 years to come up with their own theories about.


      No.

      I just saw Episode III last night and it was just as I thought: plain, without any originality or feelings. Bad.

      The reason why Episodes I-III are so bad has nothing to do with the fans. Nothing to do with them growing up, their imagination, or whatever. It has to do with George Lucas' (in)ability to screenplay and direct a movie. The dialogues are pathetic from beginning to end (not to mention the love scenes), the actors (though all capable of excellent performances) look bored as hell as they walk through the ridiculous evolution of their character. The complexity of the storyline is as astounding as you would expect from a 13 year-old boy, without any surprise or depth. Most of it is an excuse to visit dozens of various environments, rendered by gorgeous yet overused FX.

      There is not a single tiny bit of emotion in these three movies, although that 3rd movie was supposed to be the emotional apotheosis of the saga, with the beloved Anakin turning to the Dark Side, Padme dying, etc. But instead, the spectator is too busy bitching at how Lucas screw up those parts by putting them together in the most primitive, easy way one could think of.

      There is no talent in here. George Lucas was simply not good enough a director to make these prequels worth watching, let alone enjoyable. The same thing happened with the Matrix Trilogy, brilliant at first but then spoiled by the greed of the Wachowsky Brothers who couldn't handle the breadth of what they had started. Many praise to Peter Jackson built his trilogy with true genius.

      Maybe a Star Wars pre-prequel could be interesting as long as Lucas stays away from it.
      --
      theefer
    2. Re:Could be interesting. by Kombat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I just saw Episode III last night and it was just as I thought: plain, without any originality or feelings. Bad.

      Wow. You were so sure you'd hate it, that you rushed out during its first week in theatres and couldn't wait to stand in line and pay full price to see it, eh?

      People like you really annoy me. You try so hard to come off as sarcastic and cynical (yes, I'm well aware of the irony in my own post, get over it), so you can feel accepted by the "we hate everything that's popular" crowd.

      You've lost all credibility with me.

      --
      Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
    3. Re:Could be interesting. by Lisandro · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As you pointed, cheesy dialogues, love scenes, character development, etc... the only thing that saves the day (or night if u didnt go to matinee) is that after the movie ends, you think "it was cool how Anakin die and how he become DV, and how he become to the Dark Side, and how Yoda fought Darth Sith...", this is, just the "things" that happened... I think I can not explain myslef here, but for it it was like to see how things happened was the cool thing, but if I had not seen the other movies it would be an ok SciFi movie with terrible effects/dialogue/etc...

      I have to disagree, the way the story unraveled was EXTREMELY poor, IMHO. So, basically, Anakin turned to the Dark Side because he was a whiny brat?

      (Spoilers below, sort of)

      Palpatine: "Kill him".
      Anakin: "No, it's not the Jedi way."
      Palpatine: "Come on, just do it."
      Anakin: "Ah.. well, ok"

      Or my favorite ...

      Sidious: "Join the dark side!"
      Anakin: "NO! I'm a Jedi!"
      Sidious: "Come on.. do it!"
      Anakin: "No.."
      Sidious: "Come on now, you fool. Don't be a meanie."
      Anakin: "Oh, OK. You're my master now and i'll do what you say!"

      Come on, Lucas had 3 MOVIES to get it right, and not only we find Anakin turning into Darth Vader in 5 minutes of plot, it's also because of the most retarded reasons posible. Not to mention the terrible dialogs, the way all Jedis are killed (weren't they Jedi *MASTERS*?! Sheeze...), and the cherry on top: Vader screaming "Nooooo!" with fists up, like it was a teen soap opera. Darth Vader, one of the meanest bad guys in movies ever.

      I could go all day with things that were wrong in that film. Just like Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, i kept my expectations low to avoid dissapointment and got something much worse than i imagined possible.

    4. Re:Could be interesting. by Kombat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And when Anakin cuts Mace Windu arm and Darth Sith kills him, and "suddenly" Anakin says "ok, I am on your knees, at your service" WTF! it didnt took to much time for him.

      I had this discussion with a friend of mine after the movie, and I concluded that I don't think there's any problem at all with the speed with which Anakin turns to the dark side. The explanation is simple, and you've heard it before: "You underestimate the power of the dark side." Once Anakin started to turn, the dark side drew him in faster than anyone could have expected (except Yoda, he's the one who was always warning us about it in the first place). Also, don't forget that Palpatine wasn't just a smooth-talking politician. He was the surpreme overlord of the Sith. The ultimate manifestation of the dark side. It's not inconceivable that he was exercising mind control to help push Anakin over to the dark side.

      --
      Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
    5. Re:Could be interesting. by Sir+dies+alot · · Score: 2, Insightful

      OK, I don't know what movie you saw, but the Episode III that I saw was IMHO rather well done. The purpose of the movie (being a prequel and all) was to explain how ANH came to be. This involves developing and progressing the universe and characters within it to a point that makes ANH the next step. This movie did just that. This is a rather difficult task in that it covers so many bases, first the characters have to be developed further than before, especially with these characters who have been so well developed in the original trilogy.

      This movie showed the fall of the entire jedi order, and yes I am aware that a great many of the jedi were killed very rapidly, but that added to the development of the universe. If they had not been killed rapidly and simultaneously, a war would ensue that would delay if not prevent the success of the Empire. Someone please explain how that would have made sense in respect to the original trilogy?

      Another commonly disliked point is how quickly Anakin fell to the dark side. This is just an outright lack of vision on YOUR part. Anakin's fall to the dark side was well developed, in fact, it started back in episode II. His fall began when he slaughtered the camp of sandpeople that killed his mother. His emotions of love for his family are what caused him to fall to the dark side. He started down that path on his own, Palpatine simply prodded him to continue in that direction. His fall did remain rather subtle throughout the beginning of ep III, but if you look he was falling the entire time. His loyalty wavered and he questioned the council's judgement. Not to mention the whole lying about the marriage thing. The moment he crossed blades with Windu was the proverbial straw on the camel's back, so his fall was complete at that point, why not swear loyalty to the sith master at that point?

      One final thing I noticed during the movie that seems to have been overlooked by everyone that was looking for faults as opposed to just enjoying the movie was the CG issue so many of those same people complained about throughout the prequels. If you watch carefully, the CG starts out with the full effects from ep I and II, but at the end of ep III its almost back to the level of graphics of ANH. This was one of the things I thought Lucas did very well as I hardly noticed until right at the end, during the much hated "NOOOO" scene.

      Oh and on a side note, I loved the droid remarks and the antics of R2D2 in ep III. One of the things I didn't like about ep I was that the majority of the fight scenes were with expressionless droids, it was a one-sided fight and not all that particularly entertaining. You can only see a droid get sliced in half so many times before you start to yawn. By adding the remarks of the droids, it added a tiny amount of depth to the driods and made it far more entertaining to me to see them in action.

      To be honest the majority of you who didn't like the films probably knew you wouldn't before you ever went to the theater, and went to the movie looking for reasons to hate it. I loved it, and at least liked ep I and II.

      --
      The stupidity of your average American is just about the same as the average European, we simply show it off better.
    6. Re:Could be interesting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Disclaimer: My experience with Star Wars is limited to the films only: I've never read any of the books, played any video games, seen the TV specials or cartoon series, etc. I don't have anything against the EU, just no time to jump in. I did see the original films in the theatres though, and was involved in many playground discussions revolving around the rumor that Vader was Luke's Dad...

      If you had asked me back before Phantom Menace, I would have said, "Yes, please, give us all nine films!" I remember hearing back in the 80s that Lucas had nine stories, and was thrilled to hear that they were doing episodes 1-3.

      Having watched and enjoyed 1-3, I still feel that Lucas was successful in doing what I expected and hoped for him to do with the prequel trilogy: he made me see 4-6 in a new light. After seeing RotS on opening night, I watched the unmasking scene from RotJ yesterday ("I need to save you, father." "You already have, Luke.") and this 280-pound alpha geek cried.

      And so now I see how, from my admittedly uninformed perspective, 7-9 can't really make sense: the story is about Anakin Skywalker. For 20 years Star Wars was about Luke Skywalker, but the prequels made me see that I was wrong: the story is about his father. So for 7-9 to make sense to me in this frame of mind, they would have to involve Anakin somehow, and if that were the case, his last lines in episode IX would be "For pete's sake, it's about time I moved on!"

      A pre-prequel seems to me to suffer from the same issue, unless it somehow involved Shmi's experience, but the article sets the date too early for that to seem possible.

      Of course, I realize that 7-9 could make more sense in this light if Lucas were to re-write 4-6 (and I wouldn't put it past him, especially after his 20-30% comment).

      And I also realize that my ignorance of the EU makes me not appreciate the rest of te Star Wars universe. But if one places the films on a higher pedestal in the canon than everything else (which I think most people do), the 6 episodes very clearly and completely revolve about the rise, fall and redemption of one man.

      The prequel trilogy made me realize his. But, then, how might a new film (or trilogy) redefine it for me again?

      <lurk>
    7. Re:Could be interesting. by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be honest the majority of you who didn't like the films probably knew you wouldn't before you ever went to the theater, and went to the movie looking for reasons to hate it. I loved it, and at least liked ep I and II.

      Come on. I wanted to like it, but it became evident the emperor had (again) no clothes 30 minutes into the movie. And i wasn't alone, pretty much all of my friends thought the same. It was mindless fun, great to watch (CG galore!)... but boring. Filled with plot holes and poor dialogues. And, the storyline was awful. It seemed to me that since Episodes I & II didn't really add much to the story, Lucas had to fit everything in the two hours of Ep III. It didn't came out good.

      Not only that, i actually felt insulted in a couple of scenes. Darth Vader, lord of all evil, yelling "Noooooo!" like a girl? Anakin turning to the Dark Side in 5 minutes? He loves Padme so much... that he slays a group of infants? Darth Vader needs a respirator because he got 3rd degree burns - in a world where they can replace a limb with zero issues? Obi Wan winning a fight because he has the "high ground"? Padme dies because she "lost her will to live"? I could go on for an hour.

      I read a lot of reviews online, and was looking forward to this movie - with low expectatives after I & II, but looking forward to it, nevertheless. I felt like i saw a whole different film.

  4. Re:Ideas by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Vader seems to be subordinate of Tarkin

    According to the backstory, Tarkin was challenging Palpatine for Emperor at one point, so this could be correct.

    What's more puzzling is why Palpatine keeps Vader on the payroll at all, when he allows the Death Star to be destroyed, lets Luke escape in ESB and is clearly treacherous ("join me, and we will rule the galaxy as father and son"). I'd have relegated him to droid-polishing duties after Ep IV.

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
  5. Re:Ideas by Eminence · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Vader seems to be subordinate of Tarkin

    According to the backstory, Tarkin was challenging Palpatine for Emperor at one point, so this could be correct.

    This makes no sense, since Vader knows best that a guy not familiar with the ways of the Force can't even get near being a threat for the Emperor.

    What's more puzzling is why Palpatine keeps Vader on the payroll at all, when he allows the Death Star to be destroyed, lets Luke escape in ESB and is clearly treacherous ("join me, and we will rule the galaxy as father and son"). I'd have relegated him to droid-polishing duties after Ep IV.

    This is quite clear and can be easily explained within the known canonical storyline.

    Being treacherous against your master is a behavior for a Sith apprentice, after all the only way to get promoted to a Sith Lord is by slaying your master. Any good Sith apprentice is expected to plot to kill his master at some point. So, this is part of the game and who would know it better than Sidious, who has been there?

    But this is not as simple as that, of course. Some of the things Vader/Anakin says that are apparently against the Sidious/Palpatine are just a deception aimed at a particular person - as it was shown in EP III.

    Anyway, in this situation Sidious can't get rid of Vader. He needs an apprentice. He has his own plot to get Luke as the new one, but to achieve this he needs Luke to slay Vader. For him it's a win-win situation - one of them would remain to serve him. He can't predict, of course, that Vader would turn into Anakin again and kill him.

    BTW apparently, the advancement in the Sith is only by slaying - first you have to kill a Sith apprentice to become one. Then you have to kill your Sith master to become one yourself. Nice clan, indeed.

  6. Re:Return of the originals? by robfoo · · Score: 2, Insightful
    how will he convince anybody to buy the collection of all six?

    Easy:
    • Shiny New Box!
    • Super-Extended Scenes! Never Seen Before Credits!
    • Everyone Shoots First!
    • More Commentary And Other Useless Shit Than Ever Before!
    • More Animated Menus! With Annoying Looping Sound!

    People buy this shit. Who knows why, but they do.

    Now who's cynical? :p
  7. Re:This can only lead to good by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And this is the main problem around here with Star Wars, you watched it as a child and now moan you are an adult (ok thats debatable in a lot of cases) you dont view movies with the same child like wonder and amazement. How so many slashdotters manage to blame Lucas for the ageing process and their overactive childhood imagination has always escaped me.

    Face it, the ground breaking special effect aside star was was nothing special. Its an old tried and trusted story of young boy with destiny meets mystical mentor yada yada yada. Replace excalibur with light sabres, the black knight with vader and off you go. The story is a rehash of a couple of old concepts, the acting was dire, the dialog chronic. The only redeeming feature is the effects, you no longer needed an imagination because it looked to a child like the fucking things were real. And this is why we loved it as kids, now we just see the crap acting and dialog.

    Just because you dont like the current trilogy does not mean Lucas is somehow trying to destroy your childhood memories or abuse you in some way. Also since its his rehashed idea Lucas can do whatever he wants with the story and clearly from the amount the current trilogy has grossed people are quit happy to part with their cash to see the results.

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
  8. Re:Hmm... by Golias · · Score: 2, Insightful

    and the guy REALLY came up with it all is dead, his name was Frank Herbert

    You spelled Jack Kirby's name wrong.

    (Google for the comic "New Gods" sometime. The Hero was on the verge of turning evil, and did not know he was the villain's son... they relied on a cosmic power called "the source"... The list goes on.)

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  9. Re:Dune was much more deeper than SW by fleck_99_99 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think Dune, SW, Matrix, etc all share a lot of themes due to use of standard heroic story forms. (The Call, Acceptance, yada yada.)

    Don't skip the sociopolitical commentary of Dune. Let's see... valuable substance, used for damn near everything, only found in a desert place, guarded by fierce people with a suspiciously Arabic language... Nope, no idea what he was talking about there.

    SW doesn't (or at least, doesn't seem to) try to pull these concepts in. (Phew -- just think, if the dialog is bad NOW....)

    --
    seven two six five
    seven four six one seven
    two six four two e
  10. Re:Dune was much more deeper than SW by cahiha · · Score: 3, Insightful

    LOL and though it was written well before any of this became relevant, the Emperor is Shaddam! On the note of plagiarism:

    Reusing themes, ideas, concepts, characters, etc. may be copyright infringement in our new corporate-copyright-overlord-dominated media culture, but it isn't plagiarism.

    If such similarities were plagiarism, most great Western literature and art would have to be considered "plagiarized".

  11. Re:The slashdot prequal. by Catbeller · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Slashdotters are like hippies, they don't have money. Lock them in a basement and give them a guitar and some joints. Just go with it."

    When, O South Park Republican white suburban boys, have any of you met a hippie? There hasn't been a hippy in thirty years, yet you keep channeling your daddies' rage against the guys who got all the chicks in the sixties.

    Hackers and goths and alty people of all stripes are the new hippies. They're all around you, man. Hate them, they're closer in chronologically.

  12. Re:This can only lead to good by stlhawkeye · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The acting was fine in V and acceptable in VI. Coincidentally, Lucas didn't direct either film. The screenplay for V is the best of all the films by any reasonably standard. Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett. Kasdan also did Indiana Jones with Lucas. Lucas didn't direct Jones either. In fact, every film George Lucas has ever directed has been a pile of festering crap. Two of his films, Howard the Duck and Ishtar, have become synonymous with bad films in pop culture. "This is the worst film since Howard the Duck!"

    I think it's fair to say that Lucas struck gold once and then wisely let other people handle the aspect of filmmaking that he sucks at. Namely, directing and authoring. Lucas is a talented and imaginative story creator (plagiariser, depending on your perspective), but he cannot tell a story to save his life. Star Wars was a western in space, I'm tired of this "space opera" bullshit. It's a western. The good guys wear white. The bad guy wears black. The stormtroopers are only white so the audience wouldn't confuse them with Vader. They swing over chasms, escape from a room where the walls are closing in. I'm surprised Lucas didn't have Leia tied down over some railroad tracks while Tarken twirled his moustache.

    And there's no question that the acting was superior in the original films. Compare Harrison Ford saying, "You're trembling" in V with Christianson saying it in III. Ford's acting carries emotional weight and significant. Christianson is reciting something he read in the script.

    --
    "I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
  13. No, no, and no by freeweed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've said it before, and I'll say it every time someone posts this tripe: this is most definitely NOT the rose-coloured glasses of aging here.

    Listen, when Star Wars came out in 1977, millions of adults went to see it, loved it, and anxiously awaited the sequels. So did millions of kids. However, the children's market was nowhere near as established as it is today. Star Wars would NEVER have been as successful if it only appealed to children. My parents, who in general can't stand sci-fi or action films, and were in their late 30s at the time, loved it. THEY were almost as interested in seeing the sequels as I was.

    Flash-forward to the prequels. By and large, 6-12 year olds love them. Other than that, however, the vast majority of adults don't. Believe it or not, there are many people in their 20s and 30s now who've never seen Star Wars before. And most of them really don't think the prequels are all that good.

    Believe me, many things from my childhood I can now recognize as the crap it is. The original Star Wars movies were good back then, and are still good. The prequels are less so.

    --
    Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
    1. Re:No, no, and no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Flash-forward to the prequels. By and large, 6-12 year olds love them. Other than that, however, the vast majority of adults don't.

      That's because Star Wars IV - VI were amazing pioneers of special effects compared to what was available at the time, while episodes I to III are not as far ahead, if ahead at all, of the competition.

      To prove you wrong, how many adults do you know that still watch episodes 4 through 6?

  14. Re:Simpler explanation: by Ucklak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A) Because it looks cool
    B) So Ma and Pa Sixpack get an idea of what's happening because
    C) If it didn't tilt, every movie mistake geek would point it out as it pertains to the Star Wars Universe Physics

    I did like the quick shutters on the glass breaking scenes.

    Star Wars is fun. Nothing more. There isn't weighty subject matter like Lord of the Rings but just a bunch of fast moving ships, blasters, light sabers, good guys, bad guys, and a plethora of creatures.
    The sound effects are cool too.

    This is our generation Western serial. They had bad dialogue, bad guys, good guys, romances that didn't make sense and quick to evolve, cliffhangers, fast moving horses and trains, gunfights, and secret hideaways.

    --
    if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
  15. Re:Simpler explanation: by swv3752 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can accept artificial gravity and space stations the size of a moon, but the orientation of a badly damaged ship bothers you?

    I figured it was pretty easy to explain. The engines are in the back so that is where the anti gravity field that was keeping the up is the last to go. So as the antigravity field goes, the artificial gravity goes, and the planet's normal gravity asserts itself.

    But all that is besides the point. Star Wars is not science fiction. It is fantasy. In fact, Star Wars epitomizes a sub-genre of fantasy known as space opera. Instead of dragons, unicorns, and wizards; you have lasers, robots, and spaceships.

    --
    Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
  16. Re:Hi! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    He's a neocon?

    How'd you figure that out by his post?

    What a fucktard you are, faggot. Go stab yourself to sleep.

  17. Re:Simpler explanation: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I consider the Star Wars saga to be science fantasy, not science fiction. IMHO, the difference is that in the world of fantasy, anything goes. The "artist" is free to use his or her imagination to create a desired effect.

    However, I would agree that Lucas has lost touch with the real world. This is clearly evident in his script. The dialogue is very dry. If another Star Wars movie is made, I would more than welcome another writer to tackle the script.