Let's fix the prequal trilogy

[Sionnach Glic]

I think everyone pretty much agrees that episodes I - III mostly sucked in their own respective ways. So, if given control of the PT, how would you have it unfold?

You have complete control of what happens. The only requirements is that at some point in the PT, the Empire must be formed, the Clone Wars must occur, Luke and Leia must be born, the Jedi Order must be destroyed and Anakin must become Darth Vader.

Other than that, it's all up to you. How the Empire was formed, what the Clone War actualy was and even the structure and role of the Jedi Order is completely free for you to change.

So, how do you have events unfold?

[Aaron]

I keep the overall plot but simply introduce Anikan as a teenage padawan in Ep 1 and have his back story established through dialogue. Originally apprenticed to Jinn with Obi-Wan taking over after the characters death.

I have Amidala fall for Anikan because she craves companionship that her position denies her and that she never got thanks to growing up as a public servant.

The only radical change I think I would go for is to have both sides in the Clone Wars use clones, so it's actually a Clone War rather then a half clone half droid war.

[Monroe]

Padme would have to be older. A 14 year old elected Queen?!?! I'd scrap that out completely. Make her in her mid to late twenties at the earliest. And like you said, raise Anakin's age some.

[Aaron]

Padme would have to be older. A 14 year old elected Queen?!?! I'd scrap that out completely. Make her in her mid to late twenties at the earliest. And like you said, raise Anakin's age some.

Indeed that was ridiculous.

[Tyyr]

I think everyone pretty much agrees that episodes I - III mostly sucked in their own respective ways. So, if given control of the PT, how would you have it unfold?

You have complete control of what happens. The only requirements is that at some point in the PT, the Empire must be formed, the Clone Wars must occur, Luke and Leia must be born, the Jedi Order must be destroyed and Anakin must become Darth Vader.

Other than that, it's all up to you. How the Empire was formed, what the Clone War actualy was and even the structure and role of the Jedi Order is completely free for you to change.

So, how do you have events unfold?

Wow...

Well, first I have to stick up for George Lucas. If you forget the shitty writing and just focus on the story the Prequels are actually VERY good. It's classic space opera. Where it falls apart is that Lucas can't write or direct worth a shit. He's best as a concepts guy. Let him do the outline of the prequels and let more qualified people take over. As such I'm not going to radically change what was done, just try to remove the suck.

Episode I
The first thing I change is JarJar, he's deleted in his entirety. In his place I stick a far far less annoying alien. Lucas has an issue with making every major lead character male so just for fun this alien is a chick. Same general relation to the rest of the Naboo situation. Her species lives on Naboo as well and does not get along with the humans. She's not an outcast, maybe an advance scout tracking the droid invasion. The Gungan leadership sends her along with the Jedi as a guide and she gets caught up in it and brought along. I'd probably make her rather down to earth to counter the Jedi's hopeless optimism and Padme's royal annoyance. Anakin is introduced as a teenager, maybe 14 or 15. He's Qui Gonn's padawan (can he have two? I don't recall a one padawan rule) in addition to Obi who's 18 or 19 and on the cups of Knighthood. Anakin has no lightsaber. Padme is at least 20.

The escape from Naboo plays out pretty much the same. Tatooine goes a bit differently. Anakin's mother is never seen, she died shortly after Qui Gonn found him and bought him and Shme off Watto. Anakin visibly hates being on Tatooine again, even more so when he get drug back into pod racing (What can I say, I enjoyed it.) Anakin has a natural infectious attitude and Padme starts to get closer to him in her handmaiden guise.

The fight for Naboo goes down differently. The battle between the resident aliens and the droids goes down differently. Instead of redcoat style the aliens take up positionin the ruins we've seen on the forest edge and the droids come after them. The aliens use actual weapons instead of glowing balls and fight like an army. They start to be driven back though and are saved by a large force of human soldiers. In the palace the Obi, Qui, Maul fight goes down as is. Anakin intentionally joins the space fight instead of being drug in. There is NO "spinning" line, and Anakin demonstrates exceptional skill in fighting. We get a little post episode hint of Padme and Anakin spending a bit more time together than is Jedi-approved.

Episode II
...where to start. First I cast someone belivable to play Anakin, someone who is tall and physically imposing who can pull off troubled and conflicted without seeming like an emo-douche.

Most of the movie plays out as it did, just with better writing overall and acting on Anakin's part. A lot of the movie's focus is on Anakin/Padme and how they're getting close. Towards the end we focus a good bit on how he fears losing her the way he lost his mother. With Shme already dead the whole painful Tatooine thing doesn't go down.

Honestly, I leave this one mostly alone. Again, the big problem is just that Lucas can't write or direct and Hayden can't act. We don't have a Gungan-esque group this time which was a big cause of many of the changes I'd have made to the last one.

Episode III
Again, there's just not much I change. The big thing I'd change is to have some back story on Grevious. Yes, he was detailed in the Clone Wars cartoons, I'd bet 90% of the auidience had no clue who he was though. I'd push Anakin a bit harder overall, have him losing some people and getting more and more frantic about it. I'd definitely lose about 2/3rds of the lines about democracy. I think that anvil has been dropped plenty. Ultimately Padme doesn't die because she loses the will to live, Anakin does kill her. Not immediately on Mustafar but say his choking her has led to complications. She choses to have the babies but dies because of the strain on her damaged and weakened body. I lose the whole "NOOOOOOO!" Vader line. The last we see of him is the first mechanical breath.

[Teaos]

I mostly agree with Tyyr, the over all plot of the movies was pretty good. It was just handled poorly.

[stitch626]

IMO, Tyyr has it down near perfect.

[Mark]

Agreed, but I'd throw in a bit more attention to what was said in the first set of movies. Obi Wan said "I thought I could train him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong." I would have had Yoda refuse to train Anakin for the darkness inside him, and never brought him up to the level of "hero of the republic" that they portrayed him as. I never would have orginized the Jedi into a massive force like that, but kept it a loosly knit orginization, without a temple or anything....just master and apprentice. Like the Sith.

And am I the only one that just can't believe that neither Vader nor Palpatine could SENSE the twins in the Force??? Vader was supposed to be stronger than Yoda. Ok, I can accept that because he's more attuned to death than life I suppose, but it still blows me away that the FIRST time he saw Leia (I don't think it was in A NEW HOPE, they seemed to know each other already), he WOULDN'T have FELT that she was his daughter.

Anyway..........as for the rest of it, I agree. Tyyr pretty much nailed it.

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

Episode 1: First off, get rid of Jar Jar. He's the w*orst character ever to grace a Star Wars Film. Have Gungans talk in an alien language with subtitles, as well as have their army be more...conventional. Blasters, tanks, close air support, etc. Second off, it'll take place in 40 BBY, four years after the Katana Fleet was launched.

Anakin. He's an 18 year old racer on Tattooine, and a former slave who already lost his arm in a racing accident. He's a kind kid, yet a bit naive. He dreams of becoming a Jedi and has a charisma that gets people to follow him. When found by Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (already Knighted because he was Yoda's personal Padawan after Dooku), he helps them get the parts needed to repair the Regency's hyperdrive.

Naboo itself. Make the human population smaller, have more Twi'leks and Rodians and other races around. Not only that, have the reasons it was invaded changed. Taxation rights? Really? I'd change it to the Trade Federation being an independent entity of the Republic that trades mostly on the BLACK MARKET. Hence, the Trade Federation blockades and invades Naboo to gain slaves for the Black Market.

Padme and Amidala are two different people. Padme is still a handmaiden, but Amidala gives her the chance to go out and see the Galaxy after the invasion. Padme would be 18, same age as Anakin, and Amidala would be the 40 year old Regent of Naboo.

The Droids...they've got to go. All except for those worth a damn, the Droideka. Instead, we have mostly a mercenary army invading, all paid by Nute Gunnray's pocket.

Darth Maul. First off, I'd give him many more lines. Give him a TRUE personality. Second, I'd change his weapon from a double-bladed Lightsaber to a light saber spear-a long metal shaft about six feet long with the emitters on top. Still a cool weapon, but can actually be used to its full power.

When Qui-Gon dies, Obi-wan defies the Council to train Anakin as a Jedi.

Finally Valorum is a strong willed Chancellor. He sends a fleet of about 30 ships (Dreadnaughts and the newest ship, the first Victory-class Star Destroyer) to break the Blockade. However, by the end of the film, he's been killed off mysteriously and Palpatine's risen to the rank of Chancellor by emergency election.

Episode II: It's three years after the Naboo. Because of Palpatine's manipulations, Gunray is released from prison. Gunray then begins to make a Clone Army, using an Echani Template for the Clones. The movie'll take place over a few years, with the opening shots of the Clone Wars taking place in 34 BBY.

Both sides use Clones, which number in the trillions. The Republic uses a Mandalorian Template (none of Traviss Wankage though) to combat the Confederacy's Echani Template. Not only that, both sides make use of normal soldiers too.

Dooku is pretty much the same, but he gets more screentime. He also sees himself as a different Sith-fighting against Republic Tyranny. He doesn't see himself as evil either. He sees himself more as an enlightened being.

And finally, Anakin and Padme get together much more realistically. The actors would have excellent chemistry, and it would be believable for them to get together.

The First Battle, carrying the tradition of the second film of the series, would be a disastorous defeat for the Republic. The Battle would be the 'Battle of Jabiim' from the Clone Wars comics.

At the end of the movie, General Grevious debuts. Doing so, he kills 20 Jedi and leaves Obi-wan barely alive.

Episode III: The Clone Wars have dredged on for 14 bloody long years. Anakin and Padme have gotten married (public. The Jedi do not consider romance a way to the Dark Side in this). Most of the war has been a bloody stalemate between the Republic and the Confederacy, with nearly 2000 Jedi dead and thousands of worlds razed.

Like in Canon, Palpatine has stayed in power much longer than a normal Chancellor, and is effectively a 'Dictator' in the Roman Republic sense. He's been playing both sides, like canon, and knows its time for his endgame. He knows it'll be difficult to get Anakin on his side, but he's sure he can do it.

Midway through the movie, Coruscant is invaded by a massive Confederate Fleet and Palpatine is kidnapped. Anakin and Obi-wan fight their way through the Fleet in the newest ship, the Imperator-class Star Destroyer, which is flanked by 25 Venator-class Star Destroyers all the way to the Invisible Hand. The ISD outguns the Invisible hand by a considerable margin, and boarding teams are sent over. Anakin and Obi-wan fight their way up to where Palpatine is being kept, and as part of his plan...Dooku 'kills' him, leaving the Republic 'leaderless'. The Battle of Coruscant is won, but the Chancellor is dead, leaving everything in chaos.

Obi-wan is the one who beats Dooku while Anakin tries to revive Palpatine, but to no prevail. He starts doubting himself, doubting his power, and things get worse when Padme reveals she is pregnant. The 'mysterious' Darth Sidious arrives and begins to poison Anakin's mind with thoughts of Padme dying, as well as Obi-wan and his other friends at the Jedi Temple. And Anakin learns that Padme is pregnant, which is the only good thing that'll happen to him in this movie.

Finally, when the Jedi Council FINALLY figures out that Palaptine is alive and he and Sidious are one in the same, they go to apprehend the Sith Lord, lead by Mace Windu. Only Mace and Kit Fisto survives the battle and Palpatine enacts Order 66. The factor of the clones who follow the order is a factor of 60/40, with some helping their Jedi Generals escape. However, 5500 Jedi are killed in the massacre.

And then Palpatine convinces Anakin to join him after a brief duel. "If you can't beat me boy, there is no chance you'll save your wife and child!" Anakin is utterly beaten, emotionally and physically exhausted, and pledges his allegiance to Palpatine. Before Palpatine can chose his Sith Name, he choses 'Darth Vader' and dawns a Sith Mask to keep his identity secret. He leads the 501st to attack the Temple, and personally kills many Knights and Masters.

Obi-wan, meanwhile, had fought and triumphed over the Jedi Murderer and Butcher of Duro, General Grevious. And Yoda has fought and defeated Ventress (introed in Episode II) on Kashyyyk when they both feel the deaths of many jedi.

After the purging of the Temple, where only the Younglings and several young Padawans manage to escape thanks to Jedi Knight Aal'ya Secura, who escapes with them, the Jedi are virtually extinct and Palpatine sends Vader to end the war and kill the Confederate Leadership. He goes to Mustafar, fights his way through, and slaughters everyone.

Palpatine reveals himself, saying that it was the Jedi who were plotting his death and he felt it necessary to fake it. The Senate, which had been under his thumb for nearly two decades, welcome him back and he proclaims the end of the Republic into the rise of the Galactic Empire, proclaiming himself Emperor to thunderous applause.

Obi-wan fights Vader on Mustafar, Padme stowing away. She fights against Vader, and is effortlessly knocked out. The battle between Obi-wan and Vader is viscious, both taking hits but neither'll quit. The duel reaches its climax when Obi-wan gains the high ground, Vader leaps and loses his artificial arm, and both legs. Also...his mask shatters and Obi-wan's eyes widen in horror to see the face of his former Padawan and best friend. He can't bring himself to kill Anakin, goes off and takes Padme off the planet while Palpatine arrives.

Padme gives birth to the twins. She has been wounded severely, and it shortens her life span to two or three years. For their protection, Leia and Luke are seperated, Leia going to Alderaan and Luke going to Tattooine. Padme fakes her own death so Vader won't look for her, and helps raise Leia on Alderaan until she dies two years later.

Finally, Vader becomes what we see in the Original Trilogy, and the final shot is of the Prototype Death Star test firing...

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

Agreed, but I'd throw in a bit more attention to what was said in the first set of movies. Obi Wan said "I thought I could train him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong." I would have had Yoda refuse to train Anakin for the darkness inside him, and never brought him up to the level of "hero of the republic" that they portrayed him as. I never would have orginized the Jedi into a massive force like that, but kept it a loosly knit orginization, without a temple or anything....just master and apprentice. Like the Sith.

That's not what the Jedi nor Sith were like.

The Jedi are supposed to be the police force and religion of the Republic. They have to have one main temple on Coruscant and dozens of Enclaves all over the Republic.

You do know why there were only two Sith during the time of the movies, right Mark?

[Captain Seafort]

That's not what the Jedi nor Sith were like.

And? Who cares what they turned out to be - we're discussing what could have made the PT better.

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

That's not what the Jedi nor Sith were like.

And? Who cares what they turned out to be - we're discussing what could have made the PT better.

I'm going by the whole EU in the way that the Jedi and Sith are, Seafort.

[Sionnach Glic]

None of that was stated in the OT. Therefore you're able to restructure it whichever way you wish.

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

None of that was stated in the OT. Therefore you're able to restructure it whichever way you wish.

There wasn't even such a thing as SITH mentioned in the OT. All we got was vague things.

[Captain Seafort]

There wasn't even such a thing as SITH mentioned in the OT. All we got was vague things.

Vader was specifically described as a Dark Lord of the Sith in the novelisation of ANH, which came out before the film