Since a few people have mentioned Midi-Chlorians being mentioned in J.W. Rinzler's Making of Star Wars book from 2007, Rinzler made a blog post in 2013 clarifying that the word was added to the book at Lucas' request, "bringing his original words in line with his later thoughts and the events of the prequel trilogy." www.starwars.com/news/so-what-the-heck-are-midi-chlorians
WAIT WHAT. I have that book and was baffled/disappointed to find out that midi-chlorians weren’t invented for the prequels, but it turns out that Lucas is editing his own history and making special edition versions of his own early drafts? How isn’t this a bigger scandal? l
@@jakelloyd9482 When George declared that Ep 1 was going to be "his" movie in the lead up to its initial release, I realized that it was not going to be that good.. He was obviously addressing concerns that people on the inside had, and he sounded like a spoiled kid to me.. "Take your ball and leave then, crybaby.."
@@jakelloyd9482 I thought it was historical fact that midi-cs were in Lucas' original drafts. I mean...aren't they literally printed in one of the old scripts, Lucas request or not?
I definitely don't think Lucas would've modeled every Sith after Darth Vader. It may have been a Sith wardrobe in earlier drafts of ANH, but later drafts and especially during the making of ESB and ROTJ, they changed it so Vader is his own distinct character, especially with the Emperor also being established as a Sith but looking distinct. The Emperor was even gonna be alien at one point when making ESB, with concept art almost resembling Plagueis. The concept of the Sith changed a lot between ANH and ESB, no longer being an order that extended past what we see, but simply just Vader and the Emperor, which is why we don't see anyone else in them. A lot of things revolving around Vader's character changed between the two films, which isn't obvious to most, as the content in the movie itself still meshes pretty well with the Vader people know due to the sequels, and you only see the differences if you go looking for them. Vader was basically reimagined when making ESB; not just the reveal that he's Luke's father, but having a higher rank in the empire, and the extra emphasis on his cybernetic nature (tho his cybernetics were come up with during ANH; they just centered on them more in 5 & 6). This is where the changes to the suit came in, such as the shiny finish, more prominent chest plate, lights on the chest box, and overall more robotic look. Vader's suit wasn't just a Sith uniform at that point (and probably wasn't in the later drafts of ANH, too); there are Sith robes in there, but his mask and armor are unique to him. It made sense to develop a character like Maul for the prequels, who has the robes but is distinct from Vader because he's not a cyborg.
I really like the approach of following Lucas's early ideas rather than how you'd personally set up the movie. It highlights the uniqueness of Lucas's art, as well as it's most... questionable trends.
that's the problem with women. they simply can't resist making themselves the center of the story even if it is a long time a go in a galaxy far far away.
Kind of hot take, I love the politics of Phantom Menace. Having grown up in the time of prequels and vividly remembering when Revenge of the Sith released, I love the politics and the idea of the corruption leading the Republic to its demise.
Star Wars has always been political. One of the first things the original Star Wars novelization tells you is how the Republic slowly turned rotten from inside out. It should have been obvious that the prequels would have a bit more political intrigue than the later episodes.
@@RemnantCult and the first scenes is that of a princess diplomat and double agent trying to get out of a situation by invoking the will and power of the galactic senate, but is arrested for beeing a traitor to the empire
As many have said, the prequel’s story, its ideas and themes, are fantastic, the execution of it is what disappointed. I mean there’s no objectively good art but the writing needed more outside input and more drafting and less yes-men that never challenged George Lucas on his wooden dialogue and stilted writing, he’s a genius for the OT but everyone keeps ignoring how much of a collective work that was, the prequels were too but the script seemed bogged down with Lucas’ flaws in screenwriting, which had in the past often been offset by people like Lawrence Kasdan or Spielberg
I love it. It's a genuine observation of how liberalism (read: the ideology of capitalism) always chooses to ally with or turn to fascism rather than give in to the demands of workers. Brief explanation of that: the Republic (a liberal bourgeois democracy) uses a slave army to put down the CIS, a confederacy of worlds represented by labor unions, corporations, firms, co-ops, etc, and also a justified interplanetary liberation struggle from an empire in all but name. The Republic does nothing for them, but they still have to be part of their jurisdiction, and it is for that reason alone that the CIS deserved their independence. All the faults of the CIS aside, their own use of slavery etc....they were trying to cut ties with a parasite. George Lucas put some salient class dialogue in his movies. Sometimes it's a bit spotty, mostly in the form of thinly-veiled racializations of real people depicted as aliens, but it beats George Orwell.
As a fan of the Star Wars prequels, I initially feared that this type of video, which entirely reimagines these films against Lucas's original vision, might bore me once more. However, I was delightfully surprised - it is extraordinarily refreshing to see a Star Wars creator who employs such meticulous research. Many content creators could certainly learn from this level of detail. Superb!
You only like it, because it’s just aslight reimagining of the prequels, are of the same main ideas and themes are there, it’s not radically different.
@@dolphan9588 Certainly, I am among the many living proofs. My appreciation for these films stems from reasons beyond mere nostalgia, a motive often mistakenly attributed to genuine fondness. Nevertheless, these subjective opinions on cinema and its merits are surely unlikely to cause any discord. I deeply admire Lucas's „Star Wars“ hexalogy.
I never got the Star Wars vibe from the Prequals. Didn't feel like they were part of the Star Wars universe, only in name. Felt like they were a bad money grab on the Star Wars name. Bad acting. Bad writing. Jar Jar was a bad character. Terrible CGI. Especially when Maul was cut in half and the CGI was terrible when he was falling. Padme and Anakin had no life to their acting. Did not feel any love connection from therm. Anakin seemed more like he was creepin on her to be honest. Light Saber scenes were decent though.
This is the kind of story written by someone who understands structure and limitations and story craft, not just fantasy and wish fulfillment. The group of lost boys is so 80s and an incredible thought. And Owen staying on tatooine is a great plot point to get him there, to establish a relationship with obi wan, and give Anakin someone to miss.
Holy crap man, this is phenomenal! Would love to see what Episode II and III would look like under your vision! Maybe even the Sequel Trilogy if it happened around the time the Prequels did in the real timeline
Alternative sequels from the late ‘90s and early 2000s would definitely be interesting. It would probably deal more with the struggles to create a new democracy, like George wanted. The sequel books get into that a good bit, but the movies we got gloss over the politics.
@@goblintwo probably not as George Lucas also wasn't found of the Legends Expanded Universe being Canon and would've likely written them off either way Bullets and Blockbusters explain this in their sequel trilogy video on what could've been series.😊
@@jnnx No, he's using plot devices and overall elements from early drafts of TPM and the '77 SW, as well as the actual TPM final film. Which is something Lucas did for TPM. The Rise of Skywalker also uses elements from a version of George's sequel trilogy.
You're blowing my mind with the "Trade Federation is an extended Star Trek joke" revelation. Fucking _Nimoy-dians._ That aside, fantastic video. You did a great job marrying the original ideas for the first trilogy with the rough outline of Episode I, along with the politics of the time and the trends common through Lucas' work. I've seen a few "Prequel Trilogy Rewrite" videos in the past, I think the most famous one is probably Belated Media's, and while I did enjoy those, they did often feel like fanfiction, made to be the coolest possible version of things, more designed to _fix_ the Prequels than anything else. This version, however, feels like the sort of thing that Lucas would actually have made. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do for Episode II and III.
Best comment I’ve read. I couldn’t figure out the best way to express that this feels so much more authentic than the usual fanfiction, because he considers what would have been likely at the time in addition to just what would be cool in hindsight!
I remember stumbling across mentions of those tongue-in-cheek references made in the Star Wars movies, I just kept ignoring all of that stuff. I took it so religiously, I only semi-consciously realized it was all made up anyway. I just so wanted to believe that everything there made super perfect sense and that there was actually a galaxy far far away in which this stuff would play out exactly the same way. It wasn't just Star Wars though. I remember deliberately mispronouncing spells I read in fiction just to trick myself into thinking "oh, they would have worked out had I just gotten the word right". I mean, I _knew_ this was all bullshit, and yet at the same time I just refused to accept it. Those are genuinely some of the weirdest realizations I've had concerning my childhood-era way of thinking. Maybe a coping mechanism of sorts? Dunno.
I loved this video! The idea alone is super interesting, and you executed it really well using Lucas' own drafts and other realistic assumptions to make the story. I hope you make one for episode 2 and 3 🙌🙌🙌
I've said this for decades now. The Zahn novels were pretty decent. If Lucas had swallowed his Ewok El Jeffe pride, and adapted those novels like Diswoke is cherry picking from now,.. we'd have a proper ST in '99 with an original cast while they still looked relatively young. Then Lucas could've done the prequels with like "Iron Man" era CGI, vs. '99 PlayStation 1 CGI. It would've been glorious. Think about it.
@@jeremy4375 the Zahn novels are slow paced, engrossing military mystery novels with barely any action. And they take place over the same few weeks (no time gaps). I like them, but if you think they would have made good main SW episodes, you haven't read them. Large chunks of them are just searching for evidence in libraries or Thrawn talking for hours about his strategies. They were never meant to be blockbuster movies
49:32 "Luke. You will go to the Dagobah System. There you will learn from Yoda, the *JEDI* *MASTER* who instructed me." - Obi-Wan 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
yeah, that continuity error could have been fixed with a single throwaway line. Yoda "Start Anakin's training you will" with my help finish yours you shall"
In the prequels we got, Yoda instructed the Younglings before they are ready ro become Padawans, which Obi-Wan began as. Anakin never got the Youngling training as he began too late ("too old to begin training he is") so Obi-Wan had to provide that as well as the Padawan training. This is the one "plot hole" that doesnt really exist as its implied well enough.
@@LoveableNerd Agreed, I definitely don't see it as a continuity error. The analogy I would use today is academia: While I definitely got my PhD from Professor C, I took some really fundamental coursework about stuff I use today from Professor H. I definitely have suggested that people take a class with Professor H "who taught me".
wow… this is absolutely amazing. it’s extremely well-done, based almost entirely on actual pieces of work on the original version of the prequels. you should be really proud of the effort put into this because it’s magical. seeing what things could have been like, whether better or worse, with dozens of tiny details suddenly being really important to how the story ended up. this video is pure genius.
Please do part two. This was awesome. Somewhere in an alternate universe I'm getting the box set for all three of these as an alternate sequel trilogy is coming out in the 2000s
George Lucas (and the success the original trilogy gave him) ARE the soulless AI. That’s the real reason the prequels are so lame. The answer to why this movie wasn’t started in 1987 is simple: THE TECHNOLOGY WASN’T THERE YET.
@@jnnx Lucas destroyed his own legacy. Cheap animations for the original trilogy and he sold it all to Disney. Noone wants that crap anymore. The people ask for the Despecialized editions.
Okay, so you said Shatnerians and I knew I'd heard that name before. Then I realized, that's what Mike Stoklasa called the Neimoidians in his Phantom Menace review. As a deep cut joke, that's legitimately pretty good.
Sir, you’ve just earned yourself a subscriber. There’s so much fan bias and hate running rampant in the Star Wars fandom right now. Seeing someone who understands George’s work while also criticizing his more questionable aspects is a breath of fresh air. I’ve seen so many people do what if the Phantom Menace was good, better, blah blah blah etc. It’s not often you see a plausible what if that takes into consideration of the creator’s mindset rather than armchair filmmaker pushing their “superior take”.
@@jnnx It amuses me, on occasion, to think that, a thousand years hence, they'll still be hashing out a descendant version of this controversy with the same volatility that has existed between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity (which is about how long ago that schism took place - and I do believe that this is, indeed, a schism arising from a doctrinal dispute over keeping faith with the Master's vision). 🤔
A wonderful story, truly taking many elements from the whole Star Wars, and its origin material, mythos, while being unique and fun. If people like you worked at Disney, we would be ecstasy at new Star Wars material instead of praying its not horrible
This is a fantastic video, huge fan of the way you went about using Lucas' old notes and the SWTOR assets. I'm sure these are huge undertakings but I'd watch the hell out of an Episode II and III video.
One thing that would have been better without a doubt is the whole relationship between Anakin, Obi-wan and Owen. This speculation fits the whole context of Episode IV a lot better than what actually got established. Like the whole "damn fool idealistic crusade" thing for example.
I've been posting this on several websites and social media outlets for the last 10 years. The fact is, George Lucas seemed more focused on the special effects over the story, which is why he waited until 1997 to do the Special Editions, and then the Prequels in 1999 to 2005. If Lucas had done the Prequels earlier, like in 1987 to 1993, not only would each movie be set as the 10 year anniversary (Star Wars 1977, Empire Strikes Back 1980, and Return Of The Jedi 1983). The special effects would have been great for the Prequels in 1987. And if Lucas decided to do the 'Sequel trilogy', he could have filmed Episode 7 in 1997. The main cast, after having time away from playing Luke, Leia, and Han, would have (probably) returned to reprise their roles. At that point, Lucas could have chosen to base his Sequel trilogy after Timothy Zahn's Heir To The Empire novel series. A lot of what if's about what should have happened. Instead, Lucas waited, and then, Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, and now, people are mad at Disney.
I must say that this is a great hypothetical. Different time, somewhat different values and different technology available. Just think one point is missing. Yes, Lucas drew a lot from contemporary politics, but the fall of the republic and the emergence of the Empire, is heavily influenced by the history of Rome as well. Even the name of "Valorum" is telling.
I feel like Anakin's time as a slave on a neutral planet the Jedi and Republic refuse to invade and liberate is something that really should stay in some way.
Not sure about “neutral” but it was run by the Hutts. It would have been interesting had there been a piece of dialogue in there that actually mentioned “Tatooine? Why should we care about that backwater planet? Nothing of consequence ever came out of there.”
@@rumblehat4357 I meant neutral in the sense that, The Republic never cared about the outer rim, and the Trade Federation and later CIS didn't really go there either until the Clone Wars happened.
It adds too much moral ambiguity for what Lucas intended. Anakin is supposed to be responsible, becoming Vader out of a selfish lust for power. The Jedi are supposed to be the indisputable good guys, as their teachings are literally based on Lucas' own philosophy. The only reason people have conceived otherwise is because people hated the prequels, but fans came up with new interpretations in order to make them more interesting, taking unintentional things as deliberate and also just misinterpreting scenes (which isn't really their fault, the scripts are written poorly). The Jedi aren't supposed to be stale unlikable dicks; they come across this way because of bad writing and directing.
I thought a huge reason the prequels where made when they where was because of the development of CGI technology and Lucas, who was always one to push and innovate in special effects, really wanted to use it. And the whole movie kinda existed as a sort of CGI 'tech demo'. Using it to create whole otherworldly environments like the Gungan city, big battles like the Gungan vs Droid battle, or having an entirely CGI main character like the Gungan Jar Jar Binks. Though an interesting thought experiment with lots of research and thought put into it and I defiantly learned a lot from it, in a way Episode 1 would never come out like this. Though I guess in this world without a 20 year wait, perhaps a squeal trilogy would come out in that late 90s/early 2000s time frame and they where the movies to let Lucas play around with CGI.
You, sir, have somewhat startlingly reintroduced me to something I've lost in the last... let's say several... years. I won't try to assign a word to what I know I think you know I know I think I know you know... but I think you'll probably intuit it. So thanks much for that.
I clicked thinking (assuming) your focus would be on the practical effects and real filming locations that would have been used rather than CGI and am amazed at how much detail and research you've put into this video about the story and the hypothetical time frame in which this film would have been created. Great job!
The prequel trilogy featured an abundance of practical effects (The Phantom Menace had more than the entire original trilogy combined - confirmed by John Knoll). Those who claim otherwise have simply never delved deeply into the making of these films.
Damn, that was pretty amazing. Feels like a more human story than what we got, including some unsavory elements. Some of my favorite changes were some of the most drastic. I'm excited to see your take on the next two films.
There's some discussion of this in the documentaries that came with the DVD box set, early 2000's. Pretty vague, I don't recall any mention of how it would continue the existing story. Love to see what he gave Disney, I'm not convinced there was much. Story seems pretty well wrapped up at the end of RotJ.
Just wow. Great job dude. I was thoroughly entertained - more so than the recent Disney trilogy. I particularly enjoyed all the trivia and behind the scenes stuff about Lucas' life and thought processes.
I think people don't really understand midichlorians. Neither did I for a long time but one day it all kinda clicked for me and I'm all in on them..The very first movie establishes that the Force was created by life. "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things..." Yoda then confirms this in Empire. "Life creates it, makes it grow" and in Jedi it's confirmed that Force ability can be passed down generations - "The Emperor knew as I did that if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him." So the Force has always had a biological component. Logically speaking, if the Force was created at the beginning of life in the galaxy, it would have been created by single celled organisms. Probably not midichlorians, probably something even more basic.
I cannot wait to see if you go ahead with the rest of the prequels, this was a such a joy to watch. It also leads to a great discussion regarding film production, writing and everything else down to casting. Excellent work.
@ryanleadbitter7749 I don't think he'd have been welcomed. On 5, he threw out most of Lucas's notes. Didn't film shots he was told to film just to not leave anything for Lucas to edit "wrong." He also went so over budget that it threatened the future of Lucas film. Almost causes Lucas to lose ownership of the franchise and sequel rights. Empire is the best movie, but I understand not wanting that stress again
The Kenner merchandising made it very clear that Luke's black outfit in ROTJ was a "Jedi Knight Outfit." So when TPM came along, I found it surprising that the Jedi did not wear such clothing and instead all dressed like they were from Tattooine for some inexplicable reason. Your version makes more sense and does a better job explaining the huge errors with the Prequels, namely how Anakin was already an accomplished star pilot before Kenobi met him, and Anakin's and Owen's falling out over Anakin wanting to fight and Owen not wanting to get involved. One of the glaring problems about the Prequels is that Lucas had forgotten some rather key elements that were establilshed in the OT such as these, as well as Leia having memories of her real mother as a child. He was sloppy and everyone else was afraid to say anything, lest he Force choke them for standing up to him as he had solidly become his own Darth Vader by that tiime. The OT worked _because_ people disobeyed him and pushed back on him.
I would really love to see this expanded like this alt timeline would have effects on pop culture, for example in 1999 Weird Al released the song "the saga begins" which is a parody of American pie that recaps The phantom menace, so it's something similar happened in the universe? Like would it still be a parody of American pie?
7:50 I love ur blend of the robe and concept styles for the Jedi knight uniform for obi. I love the concept and wish it was used in the prequels but you did a great job making a more blended design ! Also can’t wait to see the next movies and how they are gonna follow these.
It’s so weird that Ben Kenobi’s costume came to form the basis of what we now recognise as Jedi garb, given that (even before the idea that he was specifically in hiding had emerged) he was clearly supposed to be in typical Tatooine civilian attire, NOT any kind of uniform. It would have made a lot more sense, when we were introduced to the Jedi in their prime in the prequels, if they had been dressed like Luke in Return of the Jedi.
In Return of the Jedi Anakin's ghost is wearing the exact same robe (yes even when it was Sebastian Shaw). There's even an interview with Alec Guinness from 1976 on the set of the first movie you can find online where he calls what he's wearing Jedi robes. I think the idea for the attire at the time was that Obi-Wan hid on Tatooine _because_ the outfits they wore looked like Jedi robes already and he could get by while staying spiritually strong by wearing his traditional Jedi attire. This is further supported by the fact that Obi-Wan only takes off the robe indoors without any threats and puts it back on when he goes to Mos Eisley and the Death Star, he only puts his hood up to fight Vader. This is the opposite of how the Jedi of the Prequels treat their robes, where they take them off before a fight.
This is the first interesting Star Wars-related video I have watched in a very, very long time. You nailed the story, the plot, the characters, everything. I would have loved to see this in 1987. So much better than what we got and easily the best rewrite I've heard, and I've heard a lot of them. Well done.
This is absolutely superb. Really enjoyable watch. Write the book, make a fortune. The whole thing feels more authentic and more easily character driven
Wow, mad respect for keeping George's initial ideas as the main structure for the story. I think I speak for everybody when I say we all enjoy a great fan fiction, but this approach just brings a whole new level of authenticity and it was refreshing to see this kind of dedication to the story & lore after... everything that has happened lately. Fantastic video, looking forward to more! (Maybe something for Episode II & III as well?)
Wow. This addresses so many issues I had with the prequels and their disconnect from the original trilogy. Things I've been complaining about for a quarter of a century and most of the fixes were right there in Lucas's old drafts. This is a great look into what could have been. The prequels we got felt like they made by someone who hadn't seen the originals since they came out. So many things were said in the OT that just didn't tally with what we were later given. An implied relationship between Anakin, Owen, and Obiwan was one that always got me. So many quotes about Anakin from Obiwan. But Yoda wielding a lightsabre always really bothered me in episode 2, along with the younglings - toddlers with lightsabres? that was insane. I always imagined Yoda as pure sage. Just as described in this video. All of this lines up so well.
You nailed it with the concept art! I also didn't know the Trade Ferderation were partly modeled on Star Trek! Gonna nitpick, the Obi Wan Padme (or Brea in this case) romance isn't really a romance, but more Brea feeling infatuated and Obi Wan feelinh awkward in response. That was the impression i got when I read the inital ideas behind TPM. Also Obi Wan saving Brea can be just him being a Jedi. After all, Brea is gonna be with Anakin further down the line.
5:35 Lucas wasn't just the producer of ESB and Jedi, he also was the story writer, Co- Screenwriter, VFX Director, Director for additional photography/pick up and uncredited Editor with Final Cut. And it's widely known that he essentially took over directing duties for Marquand on "Jedi" since Richard was overwhelmed with the scale of the production.
Hello, I have to say I've been a SW fan since I was 5 way back in 1977 and I'm not usually one to follow people's speculations on the trilogy, but you did an excellent job. This wasn't what YOU wanted Episode I to be, but what you thought it might be based on your alternative history scenario. I enjoyed the story and appreciate you using old GL notes and common sense to fashion your story. The inclusion of Owen was brilliant and one of the many nitpicks I have against GL in his storytelling. I wanted to know the history of Owen and Obi-Wan's animosity and we never got any. Liked what did and my only disagreement with your scenario is your belief that fans might not have liked it as much. Give yourself some credit. I think a reason for a lot "old fans" not enjoying the real prequels is due to our age and inability to look at it from a child's lens. We had all grown up and Jar Jar was just so fucking irritating. If this had happened in RL, I would have been 15 and I think I would have enjoyed your Episode I much more. A few years back I created a fake wiki centered around two conceits, one of which was FOX firing Lucas during development of Empire and the studio gaining full control. I also had the prequels released in the years '87, '90 and '93 and I can say that your story was better. Good job. I think we can all agree that you need to follow up with Attack and Revenge.
While I’m skeptical of the cast comprised almost entirely of kids and young adults, I really like this plot. I really respect your thought process of reasoning what could realistically have happened instead of just doing what you would have done! Still, your sensibilities make for a story that’s not just realistic but still might have even been better than what we got!
as far as i know it had something to do with them travelling to a whole new level of the star wars galaxy, like on a subatomic level or something like that. like being inside the force or the midichlorians i can't remember all :(
Great video!! Just in general, learning about all the ideas and influences for stories like star wars are super interesting to me, even just looking at concept art for any of the movies or shows and seeing how different things could have been really captivates my imagination
2000s: These 3-D Video-Gamegraphic are soulless 2020s: (same Graphics) Thank you for using not soulless AI Pictures nevertheless, great great video and the graphics are fitting
Watching Star Wars as a kid (before the prequels) I always imagined Uncle Owen as this badass retired war veteran who'd been working with Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars. But something regarding Anakin's fate and "death" had made them estranged. I also assumed Owen or Beru would have been somehow related to Anakin's mother. But instead we got a couple of glorified extras in a few scenes. They were even wearing the same clothes. Kind of dissapointing.
There’s a line in the deleted Luke/Biggs scene from A New Hope where Biggs says, “Your uncle could fend off a whole colony of sand people with one blaster.” Thinking about that line, the rewrites I started had him as an actual expert marksman and a supporting cast member for the whole trilogy, which I think would’ve made a lot more sense. Still, I really like this video’s explanation for Owen/Anakin/Obi-Wan’s relationship and fallout.
Really interesting concept. Would love to see an Ep. II & III version of these. Since watching, I’ve been wondering how this timeline would’ve handled Lucas seeing the technical marvels in Jurassic Park, which to him in real life signaled that digital movie-making had finally caught up to the vision he has had in mind for the prequels. Pretty awkward considering that the hypothetical Episode 3 you said would come out in May 1993 and Jurassic Park would’ve came out only a month later at least in real life😅I’m also wondering how this timeline would’ve affected the making of the second and third Indiana Jones movies, given his hypothetical involvement in these projects instead. Perhaps there could’ve been a world where we got 6 Star Wars movies before the turn of the century, yet only one Indiana Jones movie
Anakin's age should have been closer to 12-13, so he could have been a more plausible partner to Obi-Wan in the beginning. He would have also had a bit of teenage angst - anxiety which the Jedi Council could sense. The character was too young to be a sidekick, but if a bit older, this would have given Obi-Wan someone to interact with in scenes.
I remember Belated Media did their "What if Episode I was good" alternate story that clung closer to the Phantom Menace we got but made improvements. Also Ryan from the old "Ryan VS Dorkman" video wrote his story treatments for the prequels way back in 2010 I think.
I remember some casual viewers freaking out in 1980 over the Episode 5 crawl. I actually witnessed a couple heated arguments outside of theater after film. Lol My friend Pat and I both 11 at rhe time laughed at some old lady with her grandkids going off in whispers saying well we haven't seen the other 4 how do you know what's going on. Lol
47:40 this is actually a really great thing to add in! phantom menace really doesn’t give us enough inklings about who this master sith is, but almost too much in revenge of the sith before the actual reveal. this small piece of foreshadowing is great
This video is extraordinary... I absolutely LOVE those Blender renders and the way the story is told... I wasn't expecting this AT ALL when I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a random podcast, RUclips was recommending the video over and over and I never clicked on it, until it started playing by itself thanks to the autoplay after another video. I'm glad I discovered it!
Years ago, I believe it was Red Letter Media that did a “what if the prequels were good” series. I adored those back in the day for their creativity, but they did become extremely fan fiction-y towards the end as the series began to be propelled by its own continuity. If this ends up being a series (please), I could see it being a better-researched case study/analysis of how George Lucas’s vision evolved over time, which has significantly more educational value and is a lot more interesting than “here’s what I would’ve done instead.” Thank you for doing this, I’m really looking forward to potential sequels!
If Ep1 =1987 was true, I would have been a blue-eyed 12yr old loving every minute of "the new Star Wars", like the older kids did 10 years prior. Sadly, by 1999, we had so many years without any new Star Wars and I was a typical satirical teenager believing 100% what the Internet said ("it's terrible") - and didn't even go to the theatre.
Regarding George Lucases original sequel trilogy: I heard once that the reason for the whole Jabba the Hut scene, to be such a big part of Return of the Jedi, was because it was intended to be the climax of the movie. Tbh A Star Wars heist movie 33 years before Rogue One, made with practical effects would have been fun. xD
This is it. This should have been The Phantom Menace. The old-school Lucas vibes are there! BTW, kudos for using music from Star Wars for the NES - the game has a reputation of being hard as hell, but it's actually a pretty solid title, if viewed through the 80s/early 90s gaming lens. Same with ESB for NES.
This is perfect evidence for how good the prequels could have been had there been more people involved in the creative process and a little more thought put into the script, which was the case in the original trilogy and the reason it was even better than Lucas original version. Good job.
What an amazing amount of effort that gone into this - I love it ❤ going to have to watch it few times and think about it for some weeks to have a serious opinion tho 😅 Episode 1 has a few flaws but it’s still amazing, particularly the mind that came up with it.
I was really worried that you were going to use ai in the video but I'm so happy you didn't. It worked out really great. Your rewrites of the film is also well researched and doesn't just feel like another piece of fan fiction claiming to be in Lucas' original vision.
Since a few people have mentioned Midi-Chlorians being mentioned in J.W. Rinzler's Making of Star Wars book from 2007, Rinzler made a blog post in 2013 clarifying that the word was added to the book at Lucas' request, "bringing his original words in line with his later thoughts and the events of the prequel trilogy."
www.starwars.com/news/so-what-the-heck-are-midi-chlorians
WAIT WHAT. I have that book and was baffled/disappointed to find out that midi-chlorians weren’t invented for the prequels, but it turns out that Lucas is editing his own history and making special edition versions of his own early drafts? How isn’t this a bigger scandal? l
@@jakelloyd9482
It’s HIS story.
@@jakelloyd9482 When George declared that Ep 1 was going to be "his" movie in the lead up to its initial release, I realized that it was not going to be that good.. He was obviously addressing concerns that people on the inside had, and he sounded like a spoiled kid to me.. "Take your ball and leave then, crybaby.."
@@jakelloyd9482 I thought it was historical fact that midi-cs were in Lucas' original drafts. I mean...aren't they literally printed in one of the old scripts, Lucas request or not?
“Sir, I heard master Yoda talk about midichlorians. What are midichlorians?”
“It’s heroin”
I definitely don't think Lucas would've modeled every Sith after Darth Vader. It may have been a Sith wardrobe in earlier drafts of ANH, but later drafts and especially during the making of ESB and ROTJ, they changed it so Vader is his own distinct character, especially with the Emperor also being established as a Sith but looking distinct. The Emperor was even gonna be alien at one point when making ESB, with concept art almost resembling Plagueis. The concept of the Sith changed a lot between ANH and ESB, no longer being an order that extended past what we see, but simply just Vader and the Emperor, which is why we don't see anyone else in them. A lot of things revolving around Vader's character changed between the two films, which isn't obvious to most, as the content in the movie itself still meshes pretty well with the Vader people know due to the sequels, and you only see the differences if you go looking for them. Vader was basically reimagined when making ESB; not just the reveal that he's Luke's father, but having a higher rank in the empire, and the extra emphasis on his cybernetic nature (tho his cybernetics were come up with during ANH; they just centered on them more in 5 & 6). This is where the changes to the suit came in, such as the shiny finish, more prominent chest plate, lights on the chest box, and overall more robotic look. Vader's suit wasn't just a Sith uniform at that point (and probably wasn't in the later drafts of ANH, too); there are Sith robes in there, but his mask and armor are unique to him. It made sense to develop a character like Maul for the prequels, who has the robes but is distinct from Vader because he's not a cyborg.
I really like the approach of following Lucas's early ideas rather than how you'd personally set up the movie. It highlights the uniqueness of Lucas's art, as well as it's most... questionable trends.
that's the problem with women. they simply can't resist making themselves the center of the story even if it is a long time a go in a galaxy far far away.
Kind of hot take, I love the politics of Phantom Menace. Having grown up in the time of prequels and vividly remembering when Revenge of the Sith released, I love the politics and the idea of the corruption leading the Republic to its demise.
Me too, while it might have been too on the nose, i still like the story of a republic's fall into an empire
Star Wars has always been political. One of the first things the original Star Wars novelization tells you is how the Republic slowly turned rotten from inside out. It should have been obvious that the prequels would have a bit more political intrigue than the later episodes.
@@RemnantCult and the first scenes is that of a princess diplomat and double agent trying to get out of a situation by invoking the will and power of the galactic senate, but is arrested for beeing a traitor to the empire
As many have said, the prequel’s story, its ideas and themes, are fantastic, the execution of it is what disappointed. I mean there’s no objectively good art but the writing needed more outside input and more drafting and less yes-men that never challenged George Lucas on his wooden dialogue and stilted writing, he’s a genius for the OT but everyone keeps ignoring how much of a collective work that was, the prequels were too but the script seemed bogged down with Lucas’ flaws in screenwriting, which had in the past often been offset by people like Lawrence Kasdan or Spielberg
I love it. It's a genuine observation of how liberalism (read: the ideology of capitalism) always chooses to ally with or turn to fascism rather than give in to the demands of workers.
Brief explanation of that: the Republic (a liberal bourgeois democracy) uses a slave army to put down the CIS, a confederacy of worlds represented by labor unions, corporations, firms, co-ops, etc, and also a justified interplanetary liberation struggle from an empire in all but name. The Republic does nothing for them, but they still have to be part of their jurisdiction, and it is for that reason alone that the CIS deserved their independence. All the faults of the CIS aside, their own use of slavery etc....they were trying to cut ties with a parasite.
George Lucas put some salient class dialogue in his movies. Sometimes it's a bit spotty, mostly in the form of thinly-veiled racializations of real people depicted as aliens, but it beats George Orwell.
As a fan of the Star Wars prequels, I initially feared that this type of video, which entirely reimagines these films against Lucas's original vision, might bore me once more. However, I was delightfully surprised - it is extraordinarily refreshing to see a Star Wars creator who employs such meticulous research. Many content creators could certainly learn from this level of detail. Superb!
You only like it, because it’s just aslight reimagining of the prequels, are of the same main ideas and themes are there, it’s not radically different.
There are fans of the prequels?
@@dolphan9588
Certainly, I am among the many living proofs. My appreciation for these films stems from reasons beyond mere nostalgia, a motive often mistakenly attributed to genuine fondness. Nevertheless, these subjective opinions on cinema and its merits are surely unlikely to cause any discord. I deeply admire Lucas's „Star Wars“ hexalogy.
I never got the Star Wars vibe from the Prequals. Didn't feel like they were part of the Star Wars universe, only in name. Felt like they were a bad money grab on the Star Wars name. Bad acting. Bad writing. Jar Jar was a bad character. Terrible CGI. Especially when Maul was cut in half and the CGI was terrible when he was falling. Padme and Anakin had no life to their acting. Did not feel any love connection from therm. Anakin seemed more like he was creepin on her to be honest. Light Saber scenes were decent though.
@@luckymchl2074 you just have poor taste and thats fine
This is the kind of story written by someone who understands structure and limitations and story craft, not just fantasy and wish fulfillment. The group of lost boys is so 80s and an incredible thought. And Owen staying on tatooine is a great plot point to get him there, to establish a relationship with obi wan, and give Anakin someone to miss.
Holy crap man, this is phenomenal! Would love to see what Episode II and III would look like under your vision! Maybe even the Sequel Trilogy if it happened around the time the Prequels did in the real timeline
Alternative sequels from the late ‘90s and early 2000s would definitely be interesting. It would probably deal more with the struggles to create a new democracy, like George wanted. The sequel books get into that a good bit, but the movies we got gloss over the politics.
I second this.
@@thedapperdolphin1590I think those would be built off the original sequel novels
@@goblintwo probably not as George Lucas also wasn't found of the Legends Expanded Universe being Canon and would've likely written them off either way Bullets and Blockbusters explain this in their sequel trilogy video on what could've been series.😊
I've seen so many of those "50's technicolor" version of movies that this thing took me by surprise
I like that this isn't just some random fan fic and that you are using stuff from Lucas early script
Except this IS random fan fic, he’s just re-using older names.
@@jnnx No, he's using plot devices and overall elements from early drafts of TPM and the '77 SW, as well as the actual TPM final film. Which is something Lucas did for TPM. The Rise of Skywalker also uses elements from a version of George's sequel trilogy.
@@MalabarTheGreatbarely lmfaooooo. They practically through everything from George’s notes right in the garbage.
Doesn't make what I said any less true. @@CaptainRockoBD
why can't corporations just do this when there's always a huge swath of source material for adaptations... its happened to SW, Halo, comics...
This is well thought and I appreciate all the effort you put into getting "screenshots" etc.
You're blowing my mind with the "Trade Federation is an extended Star Trek joke" revelation. Fucking _Nimoy-dians._
That aside, fantastic video. You did a great job marrying the original ideas for the first trilogy with the rough outline of Episode I, along with the politics of the time and the trends common through Lucas' work. I've seen a few "Prequel Trilogy Rewrite" videos in the past, I think the most famous one is probably Belated Media's, and while I did enjoy those, they did often feel like fanfiction, made to be the coolest possible version of things, more designed to _fix_ the Prequels than anything else. This version, however, feels like the sort of thing that Lucas would actually have made.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you do for Episode II and III.
Best comment I’ve read. I couldn’t figure out the best way to express that this feels so much more authentic than the usual fanfiction, because he considers what would have been likely at the time in addition to just what would be cool in hindsight!
I remember stumbling across mentions of those tongue-in-cheek references made in the Star Wars movies, I just kept ignoring all of that stuff. I took it so religiously, I only semi-consciously realized it was all made up anyway. I just so wanted to believe that everything there made super perfect sense and that there was actually a galaxy far far away in which this stuff would play out exactly the same way.
It wasn't just Star Wars though. I remember deliberately mispronouncing spells I read in fiction just to trick myself into thinking "oh, they would have worked out had I just gotten the word right". I mean, I _knew_ this was all bullshit, and yet at the same time I just refused to accept it. Those are genuinely some of the weirdest realizations I've had concerning my childhood-era way of thinking. Maybe a coping mechanism of sorts? Dunno.
I loved this video! The idea alone is super interesting, and you executed it really well using Lucas' own drafts and other realistic assumptions to make the story.
I hope you make one for episode 2 and 3 🙌🙌🙌
Was that the Menace of 87?!
I was thinking about that moment when seeing the thumbnail
…WHAT?!!! WAS THAT SIDIOUS AFTON AND YODA EMILY?!!!
I've said this for decades now. The Zahn novels were pretty decent. If Lucas had swallowed his Ewok El Jeffe pride, and adapted those novels like Diswoke is cherry picking from now,.. we'd have a proper ST in '99 with an original cast while they still looked relatively young. Then Lucas could've done the prequels with like "Iron Man" era CGI, vs. '99 PlayStation 1 CGI.
It would've been glorious.
Think about it.
@@jeremy4375What kind of drugs are you on, JEREMY?
@@jeremy4375 the Zahn novels are slow paced, engrossing military mystery novels with barely any action. And they take place over the same few weeks (no time gaps). I like them, but if you think they would have made good main SW episodes, you haven't read them. Large chunks of them are just searching for evidence in libraries or Thrawn talking for hours about his strategies. They were never meant to be blockbuster movies
I wanna thank you for using the SW:TOR assets rather than AI to make the concept stills.
Lol why
Who got paid? Lmao
I second that. It would've look so superficial and pretentious, visually speaking, if he ever did that.
@@vancodling4223 🤡
@@vancodling4223 Because the cinematography of AI is still dogshit no matter how good the characters look.
49:32 "Luke. You will go to the Dagobah System. There you will learn from Yoda, the *JEDI* *MASTER* who instructed me." - Obi-Wan 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
I guess he meant not a jedi knight then
@@thejoker-rq6exYeah that seems to be where the misunderstanding was
yeah, that continuity error could have been fixed with a single throwaway line. Yoda "Start Anakin's training you will" with my help finish yours you shall"
In the prequels we got, Yoda instructed the Younglings before they are ready ro become Padawans, which Obi-Wan began as.
Anakin never got the Youngling training as he began too late ("too old to begin training he is") so Obi-Wan had to provide that as well as the Padawan training.
This is the one "plot hole" that doesnt really exist as its implied well enough.
@@LoveableNerd Agreed, I definitely don't see it as a continuity error.
The analogy I would use today is academia: While I definitely got my PhD from Professor C, I took some really fundamental coursework about stuff I use today from Professor H. I definitely have suggested that people take a class with Professor H "who taught me".
wow… this is absolutely amazing. it’s extremely well-done, based almost entirely on actual pieces of work on the original version of the prequels. you should be really proud of the effort put into this because it’s magical. seeing what things could have been like, whether better or worse, with dozens of tiny details suddenly being really important to how the story ended up. this video is pure genius.
looking forward to your episode two fanfic brother
Yes, please continue! I would be very curious to know where you think Lucas would have gone in 1990.
Please do part two. This was awesome. Somewhere in an alternate universe I'm getting the box set for all three of these as an alternate sequel trilogy is coming out in the 2000s
I really can’t wait to see Episodes 2 and 3 from this point of view it’s a really amazing concept and you’ve done wonderfully with it
Oh my god, I didn't realize the Droid's colors scheme was all a Star Trek reference.
And the name for the nemoidians always reminded me of star trek actor Lenard Nimoy
Glad to see no soulless AI being used for these concept frames! Your hard work goes acknowledged!!
that was a very pleasant surprise
George Lucas (and the success the original trilogy gave him) ARE the soulless AI. That’s the real reason the prequels are so lame. The answer to why this movie wasn’t started in 1987 is simple: THE TECHNOLOGY WASN’T THERE YET.
@@jnnx Lucas destroyed his own legacy. Cheap animations for the original trilogy and he sold it all to Disney. Noone wants that crap anymore. The people ask for the Despecialized editions.
@jnnx sure, what about the atrocious dialogue and appaling direction of the actors??
Technology not there yet???
@@jnnxprequels aren’t even lame you just don’t understand them.
Okay, so you said Shatnerians and I knew I'd heard that name before. Then I realized, that's what Mike Stoklasa called the Neimoidians in his Phantom Menace review. As a deep cut joke, that's legitimately pretty good.
I knew the aliens were actually called Neimoidians and that it was a Star Trek reference but always thought Mike came up with “Shatnerians”.
Sir, you’ve just earned yourself a subscriber. There’s so much fan bias and hate running rampant in the Star Wars fandom right now. Seeing someone who understands George’s work while also criticizing his more questionable aspects is a breath of fresh air. I’ve seen so many people do what if the Phantom Menace was good, better, blah blah blah etc. It’s not often you see a plausible what if that takes into consideration of the creator’s mindset rather than armchair filmmaker pushing their “superior take”.
It’s not “hate”. I swear, some of you are so overly hyperbolic and dramatic.
@@jnnx
It amuses me, on occasion, to think that, a thousand years hence, they'll still be hashing out a descendant version of this controversy with the same volatility that has existed between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity (which is about how long ago that schism took place - and I do believe that this is, indeed, a schism arising from a doctrinal dispute over keeping faith with the Master's vision). 🤔
A wonderful story, truly taking many elements from the whole Star Wars, and its origin material, mythos, while being unique and fun. If people like you worked at Disney, we would be ecstasy at new Star Wars material instead of praying its not horrible
This is a fantastic video, huge fan of the way you went about using Lucas' old notes and the SWTOR assets. I'm sure these are huge undertakings but I'd watch the hell out of an Episode II and III video.
He should also use Jedi knight's videogames art
One thing that would have been better without a doubt is the whole relationship between Anakin, Obi-wan and Owen. This speculation fits the whole context of Episode IV a lot better than what actually got established. Like the whole "damn fool idealistic crusade" thing for example.
I've been posting this on several websites and social media outlets for the last 10 years. The fact is, George Lucas seemed more focused on the special effects over the story, which is why he waited until 1997 to do the Special Editions, and then the Prequels in 1999 to 2005. If Lucas had done the Prequels earlier, like in 1987 to 1993, not only would each movie be set as the 10 year anniversary (Star Wars 1977, Empire Strikes Back 1980, and Return Of The Jedi 1983). The special effects would have been great for the Prequels in 1987. And if Lucas decided to do the 'Sequel trilogy', he could have filmed Episode 7 in 1997. The main cast, after having time away from playing Luke, Leia, and Han, would have (probably) returned to reprise their roles. At that point, Lucas could have chosen to base his Sequel trilogy after Timothy Zahn's Heir To The Empire novel series. A lot of what if's about what should have happened. Instead, Lucas waited, and then, Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, and now, people are mad at Disney.
I must say that this is a great hypothetical. Different time, somewhat different values and different technology available. Just think one point is missing. Yes, Lucas drew a lot from contemporary politics, but the fall of the republic and the emergence of the Empire, is heavily influenced by the history of Rome as well. Even the name of "Valorum" is telling.
I feel like Anakin's time as a slave on a neutral planet the Jedi and Republic refuse to invade and liberate is something that really should stay in some way.
I like that idea. In addition, I like the “Bookends” films type of thing.
Wait, isn't Tatooine basically neutral at the time? They were outside the Republic and basically nobody gave a shit about them.
Not sure about “neutral” but it was run by the Hutts. It would have been interesting had there been a piece of dialogue in there that actually mentioned “Tatooine? Why should we care about that backwater planet? Nothing of consequence ever came out of there.”
@@rumblehat4357 I meant neutral in the sense that, The Republic never cared about the outer rim, and the Trade Federation and later CIS didn't really go there either until the Clone Wars happened.
It adds too much moral ambiguity for what Lucas intended. Anakin is supposed to be responsible, becoming Vader out of a selfish lust for power. The Jedi are supposed to be the indisputable good guys, as their teachings are literally based on Lucas' own philosophy. The only reason people have conceived otherwise is because people hated the prequels, but fans came up with new interpretations in order to make them more interesting, taking unintentional things as deliberate and also just misinterpreting scenes (which isn't really their fault, the scripts are written poorly). The Jedi aren't supposed to be stale unlikable dicks; they come across this way because of bad writing and directing.
Subbing just because of your determination to imagine the look instead of feeding AI a prompt. Great video man!
I thought a huge reason the prequels where made when they where was because of the development of CGI technology and Lucas, who was always one to push and innovate in special effects, really wanted to use it. And the whole movie kinda existed as a sort of CGI 'tech demo'. Using it to create whole otherworldly environments like the Gungan city, big battles like the Gungan vs Droid battle, or having an entirely CGI main character like the Gungan Jar Jar Binks. Though an interesting thought experiment with lots of research and thought put into it and I defiantly learned a lot from it, in a way Episode 1 would never come out like this. Though I guess in this world without a 20 year wait, perhaps a squeal trilogy would come out in that late 90s/early 2000s time frame and they where the movies to let Lucas play around with CGI.
please continue this. i know you have probably been asked this a bunch already. im loving it and want a continuation. this feels undeniably star wars
You, sir, have somewhat startlingly reintroduced me to something I've lost in the last... let's say several... years. I won't try to assign a word to what I know I think you know I know I think I know you know... but I think you'll probably intuit it. So thanks much for that.
I clicked thinking (assuming) your focus would be on the practical effects and real filming locations that would have been used rather than CGI and am amazed at how much detail and research you've put into this video about the story and the hypothetical time frame in which this film would have been created. Great job!
The prequel trilogy featured an abundance of practical effects (The Phantom Menace had more than the entire original trilogy combined - confirmed by John Knoll). Those who claim otherwise have simply never delved deeply into the making of these films.
Damn, that was pretty amazing. Feels like a more human story than what we got, including some unsavory elements. Some of my favorite changes were some of the most drastic. I'm excited to see your take on the next two films.
Wow, that was amazingly well done. I am extremely impressed with how well researched and true to the old material this story was.
that was a fun watch, almost like an actual episode, I really appreciate the research you put into it
If you were old enough and were in the fan club- you received a letter explaining how there were 3 trilogies.
Really wish I still had that letter...
There's some discussion of this in the documentaries that came with the DVD box set, early 2000's. Pretty vague, I don't recall any mention of how it would continue the existing story. Love to see what he gave Disney, I'm not convinced there was much. Story seems pretty well wrapped up at the end of RotJ.
Just wow. Great job dude. I was thoroughly entertained - more so than the recent Disney trilogy. I particularly enjoyed all the trivia and behind the scenes stuff about Lucas' life and thought processes.
I think people don't really understand midichlorians. Neither did I for a long time but one day it all kinda clicked for me and I'm all in on them..The very first movie establishes that the Force was created by life. "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things..."
Yoda then confirms this in Empire. "Life creates it, makes it grow" and in Jedi it's confirmed that Force ability can be passed down generations - "The Emperor knew as I did that if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him."
So the Force has always had a biological component. Logically speaking, if the Force was created at the beginning of life in the galaxy, it would have been created by single celled organisms. Probably not midichlorians, probably something even more basic.
How does this not have more views? This is a really high quality video. Keep up the good work!
I cannot wait to see if you go ahead with the rest of the prequels, this was a such a joy to watch.
It also leads to a great discussion regarding film production, writing and everything else down to casting.
Excellent work.
Irvin Kersher, Episode V director, said he would have been willing to direct the prequels if they had started in the 80s.
Lucas probably saw Robocop 2 and was like "nah".
We just keep living in the bad timeline
@@joshimura1995 that came out in the 90s
Do we know why he didn’t do Return of the Jedi?
@ryanleadbitter7749 I don't think he'd have been welcomed. On 5, he threw out most of Lucas's notes. Didn't film shots he was told to film just to not leave anything for Lucas to edit "wrong." He also went so over budget that it threatened the future of Lucas film. Almost causes Lucas to lose ownership of the franchise and sequel rights. Empire is the best movie, but I understand not wanting that stress again
MORE!!!
This is really good.
Loved every second of it.
This was awesome, I loved all the rough draft lore that you gave to back up your story choices.
Neat! Looking forward to seeing what Episode 2 & 3 look like!
I’d watch this version. Very impressive and well-researched video.
An 87’ release would have been awesome, just for the practical effects alone.
The Kenner merchandising made it very clear that Luke's black outfit in ROTJ was a "Jedi Knight Outfit." So when TPM came along, I found it surprising that the Jedi did not wear such clothing and instead all dressed like they were from Tattooine for some inexplicable reason. Your version makes more sense and does a better job explaining the huge errors with the Prequels, namely how Anakin was already an accomplished star pilot before Kenobi met him, and Anakin's and Owen's falling out over Anakin wanting to fight and Owen not wanting to get involved. One of the glaring problems about the Prequels is that Lucas had forgotten some rather key elements that were establilshed in the OT such as these, as well as Leia having memories of her real mother as a child. He was sloppy and everyone else was afraid to say anything, lest he Force choke them for standing up to him as he had solidly become his own Darth Vader by that tiime. The OT worked _because_ people disobeyed him and pushed back on him.
I would really love to see this expanded like this alt timeline would have effects on pop culture, for example in 1999 Weird Al released the song "the saga begins" which is a parody of American pie that recaps The phantom menace, so it's something similar happened in the universe? Like would it still be a parody of American pie?
7:50 I love ur blend of the robe and concept styles for the Jedi knight uniform for obi. I love the concept and wish it was used in the prequels but you did a great job making a more blended design !
Also can’t wait to see the next movies and how they are gonna follow these.
It’s so weird that Ben Kenobi’s costume came to form the basis of what we now recognise as Jedi garb, given that (even before the idea that he was specifically in hiding had emerged) he was clearly supposed to be in typical Tatooine civilian attire, NOT any kind of uniform.
It would have made a lot more sense, when we were introduced to the Jedi in their prime in the prequels, if they had been dressed like Luke in Return of the Jedi.
In Return of the Jedi Anakin's ghost is wearing the exact same robe (yes even when it was Sebastian Shaw). There's even an interview with Alec Guinness from 1976 on the set of the first movie you can find online where he calls what he's wearing Jedi robes.
I think the idea for the attire at the time was that Obi-Wan hid on Tatooine _because_ the outfits they wore looked like Jedi robes already and he could get by while staying spiritually strong by wearing his traditional Jedi attire. This is further supported by the fact that Obi-Wan only takes off the robe indoors without any threats and puts it back on when he goes to Mos Eisley and the Death Star, he only puts his hood up to fight Vader. This is the opposite of how the Jedi of the Prequels treat their robes, where they take them off before a fight.
Jedi aren't western knights, they're edo period samurai/ronin who mostly wore robes rather than traditional armor.
This video was awesome! Please do 2 and 3!
I really enjoyed your approach to this video, subbing to be here for Attack of the Clones (1990)
The Force Unleashed music at the beginning is SO FITTING!!!
This is the first interesting Star Wars-related video I have watched in a very, very long time. You nailed the story, the plot, the characters, everything. I would have loved to see this in 1987. So much better than what we got and easily the best rewrite I've heard, and I've heard a lot of them. Well done.
interesting SW youtube video...that's a phase I've not heard in a long time...
I came to the Star Wars lore, I stayed for the fanfic.
This is absolutely superb. Really enjoyable watch. Write the book, make a fortune. The whole thing feels more authentic and more easily character driven
This was awesome. Please make this for Episode II & III too!
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
This is the channel that reignited my love for Star Wars after all the new media that I just couldn't be bothered with, looking forward to this video.
Im watching Episode 1 now in black & white because I dont like the animations. Its still better than anything from Disney.
Wow! This is really cool! You should do _Attack of the Clones_ (1990 version) and _Revenge of the Sith_ (1993 version)!
Wow, mad respect for keeping George's initial ideas as the main structure for the story. I think I speak for everybody when I say we all enjoy a great fan fiction, but this approach just brings a whole new level of authenticity and it was refreshing to see this kind of dedication to the story & lore after... everything that has happened lately. Fantastic video, looking forward to more! (Maybe something for Episode II & III as well?)
We get the tribe boys story in the last season of Bad Batch. Wild to think this is an OG Lucas concept.
Wow. This addresses so many issues I had with the prequels and their disconnect from the original trilogy. Things I've been complaining about for a quarter of a century and most of the fixes were right there in Lucas's old drafts. This is a great look into what could have been. The prequels we got felt like they made by someone who hadn't seen the originals since they came out. So many things were said in the OT that just didn't tally with what we were later given. An implied relationship between Anakin, Owen, and Obiwan was one that always got me. So many quotes about Anakin from Obiwan. But Yoda wielding a lightsabre always really bothered me in episode 2, along with the younglings - toddlers with lightsabres? that was insane. I always imagined Yoda as pure sage. Just as described in this video. All of this lines up so well.
1993 Revenge of the Sith would be freaky 😯
You nailed it with the concept art!
I also didn't know the Trade Ferderation were partly modeled on Star Trek!
Gonna nitpick, the Obi Wan Padme (or Brea in this case) romance isn't really a romance, but more Brea feeling infatuated and Obi Wan feelinh awkward in response. That was the impression i got when I read the inital ideas behind TPM. Also Obi Wan saving Brea can be just him being a Jedi. After all, Brea is gonna be with Anakin further down the line.
This truly felt like taking a peak into another timeline... thank you so much 😢
5:35 Lucas wasn't just the producer of ESB and Jedi, he also was the story writer, Co- Screenwriter, VFX Director, Director for additional photography/pick up and uncredited Editor with Final Cut.
And it's widely known that he essentially took over directing duties for Marquand on "Jedi" since Richard was overwhelmed with the scale of the production.
I have no idea where you find all of this great Star Wars-adjacent b-roll but I love it 😂
Hello,
I have to say I've been a SW fan since I was 5 way back in 1977 and I'm not usually one to follow people's speculations on the trilogy, but you did an excellent job. This wasn't what YOU wanted Episode I to be, but what you thought it might be based on your alternative history scenario.
I enjoyed the story and appreciate you using old GL notes and common sense to fashion your story. The inclusion of Owen was brilliant and one of the many nitpicks I have against GL in his storytelling. I wanted to know the history of Owen and Obi-Wan's animosity and we never got any.
Liked what did and my only disagreement with your scenario is your belief that fans might not have liked it as much. Give yourself some credit. I think a reason for a lot "old fans" not enjoying the real prequels is due to our age and inability to look at it from a child's lens. We had all grown up and Jar Jar was just so fucking irritating. If this had happened in RL, I would have been 15 and I think I would have enjoyed your Episode I much more.
A few years back I created a fake wiki centered around two conceits, one of which was FOX firing Lucas during development of Empire and the studio gaining full control. I also had the prequels released in the years '87, '90 and '93 and I can say that your story was better.
Good job. I think we can all agree that you need to follow up with Attack and Revenge.
While I’m skeptical of the cast comprised almost entirely of kids and young adults, I really like this plot. I really respect your thought process of reasoning what could realistically have happened instead of just doing what you would have done! Still, your sensibilities make for a story that’s not just realistic but still might have even been better than what we got!
What if Force Awakens came in 1987? There was rumors that Lucas planned to make another 3 movies, continuing story of Luke, Han and Leia.
as far as i know it had something to do with them travelling to a whole new level of the star wars galaxy, like on a subatomic level or something like that. like being inside the force or the midichlorians i can't remember all :(
Great video!! Just in general, learning about all the ideas and influences for stories like star wars are super interesting to me, even just looking at concept art for any of the movies or shows and seeing how different things could have been really captivates my imagination
You have such great insight on Star Wars. Thanks so much for making these videos!
2000s: These 3-D Video-Gamegraphic are soulless
2020s: (same Graphics) Thank you for using not soulless AI Pictures
nevertheless, great great video and the graphics are fitting
I'm awful impressed that there was so much Eastern ideas in a Western film, looking on both the early draft and the film we actually had.
Watching Star Wars as a kid (before the prequels) I always imagined Uncle Owen as this badass retired war veteran who'd been working with Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars. But something regarding Anakin's fate and "death" had made them estranged. I also assumed Owen or Beru would have been somehow related to Anakin's mother. But instead we got a couple of glorified extras in a few scenes. They were even wearing the same clothes. Kind of dissapointing.
There’s a line in the deleted Luke/Biggs scene from A New Hope where Biggs says, “Your uncle could fend off a whole colony of sand people with one blaster.” Thinking about that line, the rewrites I started had him as an actual expert marksman and a supporting cast member for the whole trilogy, which I think would’ve made a lot more sense. Still, I really like this video’s explanation for Owen/Anakin/Obi-Wan’s relationship and fallout.
Really interesting concept. Would love to see an Ep. II & III version of these. Since watching, I’ve been wondering how this timeline would’ve handled Lucas seeing the technical marvels in Jurassic Park, which to him in real life signaled that digital movie-making had finally caught up to the vision he has had in mind for the prequels. Pretty awkward considering that the hypothetical Episode 3 you said would come out in May 1993 and Jurassic Park would’ve came out only a month later at least in real life😅I’m also wondering how this timeline would’ve affected the making of the second and third Indiana Jones movies, given his hypothetical involvement in these projects instead. Perhaps there could’ve been a world where we got 6 Star Wars movies before the turn of the century, yet only one Indiana Jones movie
Anakin's age should have been closer to 12-13, so he could have been a more plausible partner to Obi-Wan in the beginning. He would have also had a bit of teenage angst - anxiety which the Jedi Council could sense. The character was too young to be a sidekick, but if a bit older, this would have given Obi-Wan someone to interact with in scenes.
That was quite good. Excited to see ep2 and 3 from you
I remember Belated Media did their "What if Episode I was good" alternate story that clung closer to the Phantom Menace we got but made improvements. Also Ryan from the old "Ryan VS Dorkman" video wrote his story treatments for the prequels way back in 2010 I think.
I was expecting Reagan to be included in some way and I was not disappointed.
I remember some casual viewers freaking out in 1980 over the Episode 5 crawl. I actually witnessed a couple heated arguments outside of theater after film. Lol My friend Pat and I both 11 at rhe time laughed at some old lady with her grandkids going off in whispers saying well we haven't seen the other 4 how do you know what's going on. Lol
47:40 this is actually a really great thing to add in! phantom menace really doesn’t give us enough inklings about who this master sith is, but almost too much in revenge of the sith before the actual reveal. this small piece of foreshadowing is great
This video is extraordinary... I absolutely LOVE those Blender renders and the way the story is told... I wasn't expecting this AT ALL when I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a random podcast, RUclips was recommending the video over and over and I never clicked on it, until it started playing by itself thanks to the autoplay after another video. I'm glad I discovered it!
Years ago, I believe it was Red Letter Media that did a “what if the prequels were good” series. I adored those back in the day for their creativity, but they did become extremely fan fiction-y towards the end as the series began to be propelled by its own continuity. If this ends up being a series (please), I could see it being a better-researched case study/analysis of how George Lucas’s vision evolved over time, which has significantly more educational value and is a lot more interesting than “here’s what I would’ve done instead.” Thank you for doing this, I’m really looking forward to potential sequels!
It was actually belated media that did the “what if the prequels were good” rewrite not red letter media.
@@hotrod0331 thank you for the correction, my bad!
I really liked those belated media videos. He did a pretty good job at preserving secrets/maintaining continuity.
Incredible work, with all this research!
If Ep1 =1987 was true, I would have been a blue-eyed 12yr old loving every minute of "the new Star Wars", like the older kids did 10 years prior. Sadly, by 1999, we had so many years without any new Star Wars and I was a typical satirical teenager believing 100% what the Internet said ("it's terrible") - and didn't even go to the theatre.
American Graffiti has always struck me as Lucas' best work, if only because he seemed like he enjoyed making it.
It was, after all, a tale he knew right down to his bone marrow. Inside, outside, upside down. 😉
This made a lot of sense. Very well done
Regarding George Lucases original sequel trilogy: I heard once that the reason for the whole Jabba the Hut scene, to be such a big part of Return of the Jedi, was because it was intended to be the climax of the movie. Tbh A Star Wars heist movie 33 years before Rogue One, made with practical effects would have been fun. xD
All 9 Star Wars films should have been wrapped up by 2001. Love Lucas, but if he had Spielberg's work ethic he could have done some crazy stuff.
This is it. This should have been The Phantom Menace. The old-school Lucas vibes are there! BTW, kudos for using music from Star Wars for the NES - the game has a reputation of being hard as hell, but it's actually a pretty solid title, if viewed through the 80s/early 90s gaming lens. Same with ESB for NES.
I'm hoping you have 500+ comments saying that when we saw Empire Srikes Back in 1980, UT was in fact NOT called "Episode 5".
This is perfect evidence for how good the prequels could have been had there been more people involved in the creative process and a little more thought put into the script, which was the case in the original trilogy and the reason it was even better than Lucas original version. Good job.
I would love to see what if Attack of the Clones came out in 1990, carrying these concepts into the next film.
"I've been looking forward to this"
What an amazing amount of effort that gone into this - I love it ❤ going to have to watch it few times and think about it for some weeks to have a serious opinion tho 😅 Episode 1 has a few flaws but it’s still amazing, particularly the mind that came up with it.
I was really worried that you were going to use ai in the video but I'm so happy you didn't. It worked out really great. Your rewrites of the film is also well researched and doesn't just feel like another piece of fan fiction claiming to be in Lucas' original vision.