What if the PT and OT were switched?

[flukeman]

How would it be if the story shown in 1977 was the story of the prequels? What if we were just now waiting to find out if Darth Vader truly was Luke's father, if Han would ever escape the carbonite, or it the Rebels could save the galaxy?

Who would have starred in the PT if it were the first trilogy to be shown? Would it have gained such a massive fan base? What if the latest technology was used today to create the lightsabers, space battles, etc.? How would ROTJ look different?

Just me waxing hypothetically, I think it's something interesting to think about.

[LordofKings]

i think SW would be just as big. and the OT woyld be vastly improved with new CGI. And you are saying the OT would not be changed right?

[Ethan Hunt]

COOL THREAD.
If they were swith then lucas wouldnt have the technology to create Jar Jar and we would all be saved . YEAH

[fett0619]

To go a step further, Imagine if they were completely flopped around.
Luke would be Anakin's father and pod racing manager.

[LordofKings]

lol.. But really i think the SW would be great, and finding out Vader is LUKES fathers would be that much better and more of a shock. And seeing Vader grow from kid to badass would be amazing.

[Ethan Hunt]

And you could make boba fett have a bigger part and not be killed in ROTJ .(oops for those of you who havent seen star wars boba fett doesnt get killed) ......................................he gets eaten.

[flukeman]

I think the progression in "real time" so to speak would be great too - the newest events would look the newest in relation to each other and there wouldn't need to be such a need to clean up effects, etc. to make things match.

Do you think the Vader=Luke's father and Leia=Luke's sister plots would have been spoiled/leaked by now?

[fett0619]

Originally posted by flukeman
Do you think the Vader=Luke's father and Leia=Luke's sister plots would have been spoiled/leaked by now?

Yes and no. I think that some kind of family relation would have been "leaked" but it would most likely have been run through the grapevine so many times that it would get so distorted and unbeleivable that eventually jpdill would have told us all that Lando was Han's brother.

[droidguy1119]

Well, I think this would end up being basically the same, except the prequels would be well-written and universal because Lucas wasn't senile.

No, wait, dammit, I'm being cynical again.

[LordofKings]

same old cynical droidguy

[fett0619]

Originally posted by droidguy1119
Well, I think this would end up being basically the same, except the prequels would be well-written and universal because Lucas wasn't senile.

No, wait, dammit, I'm being cynical again.

Actually, I honestly don't think you are that far off. To be honest, I think Lucas, over the years, has surrounded himself with waaaay to many yes men. If he had filmed everything a lot closer together, he probably would have dealt with a lot of the people who helped him with the OT and had a lot more colaboration than "whatever George wants, George gets" type of thing.

[LordofKings]

you could be right.

[droidguy1119]

Let me adjust my comment for everyone else: in 1976, it seems like he cared about the audience, the story and the characters, and he had respect for people other than himself.

[fett0619]

He also had to struggle to get his film made. As I recall, he went to a lot of production companies before FOX and even they restricted his budget. When you work under a super tight budget, your questions are "How can we do this?" and then you have a lot of people replying "Well we can't do this but how about this?" - colaboration. Today, Lucas has loads of money at his fingertips and instead of asking, he is pretty much saying "I want this." and noone seems to have the cahones to say anything against him as they all consider him God.

The above is my own humble opinion intermingled with some facts.

Added = I also seem to recall that George Lucas saw special effects as a tool to tell the story and that the story shouldn't be overshadowed by the effects. Also that he wanted the Star Wars universe to have a lived in feeling. What happened to the PT? - even the dirt looks clean and a walking special effect ruined PTM for me.

I am at work currently so I can't really research the above, but if anyone wants I can try to find where I read this - I would just need a little time.

[droidguy1119]

I just think that when you have to fight for something, you have to believe in it in a way that you don't get when you simply get what you want. That's the spirit of a younger, more caring Lucas that shows through Star Wars.

[flukeman]

Originally posted by fett0619
Added = I also seem to recall that George Lucas saw special effects as a tool to tell the story and that the story shouldn't be overshadowed by the effects. Also that he wanted the Star Wars universe to have a lived in feeling. What happened to the PT? - even the dirt looks clean and a walking special effect ruined PTM for me.

I am at work currently so I can't really research the above, but if anyone wants I can try to find where I read this - I would just need a little time.

He did - I remember him talking a great deal about it on the From Star Wrs to Jedi: The Making of a Saga behind the scenes video/documentary. I have it at home, I should watch it again and think of the good old days. I originally wanted to work in special effects/CG and George's feelings were very inspirational I thought.

[droidguy1119]

There was a rule in filmmaking that stated that special-effects comedy never worked because comedy had to be loose, inspired, and seemingly spontaneous and natural, but visual effects were meticulous, detailed, and took hours of work. Now it seems the rule is dead because special effects are too easy to create.

As long as something doesn't take any work, no work is going to be put into it...

[Grimbatul2k4]

If the OT and the PT were switched i think it wouldn´t be a shock any more that Vader is Lukes father. Because u already know that he is the son of ani and Padme...

[LordofKings]

but if they filmed the PT first, i think they would have hid that fact better, or done a plot twist to make Vader being lukes father more of a shock.

[fett0619]

Originally posted by LordofKings
but if they filmed the PT first, i think they would have hid that fact better, or done a plot twist to make Vader being lukes father more of a shock.

Of course.. because if they don't show Anakin becoming Vader and we beleive that he met some other sort of fate (notice no spoliers) and Vader just arives on the scene much like Maul and dooku. When Vader say's "I am your father" it would shock the used popcorn out of you.

[Alexander JL]

Originally posted by flukeman
How would it be if the story shown in 1977 was the story of the prequels? What if we were just now waiting to find out if Darth Vader truly was Luke's father, if Han would ever escape the carbonite, or it the Rebels could save the galaxy?

Who would have starred in the PT if it were the first trilogy to be shown? Would it have gained such a massive fan base? What if the latest technology was used today to create the lightsabers, space battles, etc.? How would ROTJ look different?

Just me waxing hypothetically, I think it's something interesting to think about.

Regarding whether this trilogy would have recieved such a massive fan base, my answer would be a resounding... NO!

The original trilogy had things going for it that is severely lacking in the prequels. For starters, it appeals to everyone. We have aspects of a easily accessible fairy tale setting (knight rescuing the princess) which brings us back to childhood in a way, we have the cowboy setting (just the whole Mos Eisley thing... and Han Solo!), we have dogfights, we have very much likable characters, and we have an *gasp* engaging story! Fun for the whole family!

The prequels just focused on the Jedi, with a hint of dogfights, and a ton of eye-candy CGI fights which added nothing to the story... (I was bored out of my mind during the Pod Race sequence in TPM, and the climactic 'battle' in AOTC).

And lets face it. The Star Wars saga probably has gained close to no fans with its prequels, which were aimed at Die-Hard fans of the OT... And even then, most found fault with the prequels anyway. If the PT were released way back when, it would simply disappear into obscurity like those cheesy Sci-Fi movies of the 70s.

What would be fun though is this. How would you guys cast the prequel trilogy using ONLY actors from the original trilogy, and how would you cast the OT using ONLY actors from the PT?

[fett0619]

I see what you ar saying BUT, I also think the PT would definately have run a different path if created first AND in the 70's as Lucas wouldn't have had all of the CG created wizardry to rely on and had to depend on storytelling like he did back then. A whole different story most likely would have emerged - and who knows what could have happened or who would have liked or hated it. Jar Jar would NOT have been in it, pod race if in it would have been totally different (cars/speeders) and porbably shorter as no budget to destroy so many vehicles, double bladed lightsaber, all those elaaborate sets, Lightsaber battles that involve jumping around like pants are on fire, etc etc. The list goes on. Imagine a three way battle between Obi Wan, Darth Maul, and Qui Gon where you don't have the special effects to use - who knows how it could have gone.

My personal opinion is that without the CG the PT would:
A: Look lived in.
B: Be a hell of a lot more character driven.
C: May not have had Jar Jar (Gungans may not have been big slobbering nuts).
D: More than likely taken a whole different direction

So like I said - who knows - we can only speculate.

[droidguy1119]

Well, I think Alexander JL has a good point -- this is really a retelling of classic fairy tales, and the PT isn't.

I guess one benefit that everyone picks on about the PT -- the technology wouldn't have advanced backwards.

[true fan11212]

This prequel bashing thread number?...

Anyway, I honestly prefer the way the Prequels have been released. Its more interesting to learn how it all began, after seeing how it all ended.

[Alexander JL]

Originally posted by fett0619
I see what you ar saying BUT, I also think the PT would definately have run a different path if created first AND in the 70's as Lucas wouldn't have had all of the CG created wizardry to rely on and had to depend on storytelling like he did back then. A whole different story most likely would have emerged - and who knows what could have happened or who would have liked or hated it. Jar Jar would NOT have been in it, pod race if in it would have been totally different (cars/speeders) and porbably shorter as no budget to destroy so many vehicles, double bladed lightsaber, all those elaaborate sets, Lightsaber battles that involve jumping around like pants are on fire, etc etc. The list goes on. Imagine a three way battle between Obi Wan, Darth Maul, and Qui Gon where you don't have the special effects to use - who knows how it could have gone.

My personal opinion is that without the CG the PT would:
A: Look lived in.
B: Be a hell of a lot more character driven.
C: May not have had Jar Jar (Gungans may not have been big slobbering nuts).
D: More than likely taken a whole different direction

So like I said - who knows - we can only speculate.

Well then you aren't talking about the prequels anymore... your talking about an entirely different trilogy.

Originally posted by true fan11212
This prequel bashing thread number?...

Anyway, I honestly prefer the way the Prequels have been released. Its more interesting to learn how it all began, after seeing how it all ended.

...and thats the only reason to see the PT