What If... The Phantom Menace came out in 1987?
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- A hypothetical look at what Star Wars: Episode I might have been like if George Lucas hadn't waited to make the prequels.
You can find the story-only version of the video here:
• (STORY SYNOPSIS) What ...
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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 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.
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.
Love hearing the Kotor music sprinkled in there.
This version of Owen fits way better
The later prequels were so infulenced by Bush/Iraq War, especially Revenge Of The Sith, I wonder what direction Lucas would have gone without that, perhapes attaching some of plot to mid-late 90s geopolitics
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.
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've seen so many of those "50's technicolor" version of movies that this thing took me by surprise
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
I came to the Star Wars lore, I stayed for the fanfic.
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.
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.
This is well thought and I appreciate all the effort you put into getting "screenshots" etc.
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
Oh my god, I didn't realize the Droid's colors scheme was all a Star Trek reference.
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".
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). 🤔
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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
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 :(
1993 Revenge of the Sith would be freaky 😯
Subbing just because of your determination to imagine the look instead of feeding AI a prompt. Great video man!
I have no idea where you find all of this great Star Wars-adjacent b-roll but I love it 😂
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
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.
The Force Unleashed music at the beginning is SO FITTING!!!
I really enjoyed this video and its rewrite - well researched and reasoned - and I especially appreciate the caveats at the end as you surmise how it may have been received. Its all too easy to be overcome by Star Wars as a decades old unstoppable cultural juggernaut rather than a brand whose direction and success is contingent on many factors and decisions.
Creatively I enjoyed alot of this story you've strong together - its a tight action adventure film and im looking forward to its follow-ups. Never the less I certainly fall into that camp put off by the goonies. I like the lars, anakin and obiwan dynamic but a cast of almost entirely teenagers galivanting around the galaxy to save the day would pale in comparison to the depth provided by the organized rebel alliance combating the forces of the empire.
I think its often understated but I think the uniforms - the foot soldiers, officers and pilots - who make up the waring factions of these Star Wars do a great deal to distance these adventures from out right Saturday morning cartoon to a slightly more believable world of depth by underscoring the conflicts with a streak of more relatable mundanity that pairs well in contrast to our fantastical heros and villans.
How does this not have more views? This is a really high quality video. Keep up the good work!
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 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.
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 looking forward to this"
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 was expecting Reagan to be included in some way and I was not disappointed.
Not gonna lie, I like the whole lost boys aesthetic you gave Anakin and Owen in this version
I am curious about their dynamic here, specifically how similar it is to Ponyboy and Dally in the Outsiders [Both the Book and Movie).
Was that a source of inspiration here?
A good question indeed...one that had occurred to me only less than five minutes ago! 😄
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.
This was incredible work. The only other video I’ve seen of yours was for the Rise of Skywalker, and that was also excellent.
I have to say, when you mentioned what the criticisms leveled at this movie might have been, they were believable. I think this movie would have diluted the brand, because these original ideas Lucas was juggling and that you took inspiration from and honored, are kind of convoluted and… silly. I can see why in the actual episode 1 the queen had a security detail with her going after the viceroy.
The Goonie squad and Obi-Wan and Breha taking on an entire blockade stretches my suspension of disbelief, and the entire detour to Tatooine taking so much time away from the finale doesn’t help.
I think you constructed a believable Episode 1 from ‘87 and it’s damn good work, please don’t mistake me, I’m more or less critiquing the underlying George Lucas-isms that always seem to be one good idea surrounded by three not so good ones.
In particular though I really enjoyed your pod race, Anakin using his anger to succeed in the finale, how R2-D2 and C-3PO were used, the friction between Obi-Wan and Owen (though it feels like Beru was shafted a bit), and Valorum being more like Jimmy Carter.
I wonder, in part 2, will you reveal Palpatine colluded with the Shatnarians and has been stoking the flames of the senate to take power ala the Prequels and Georges original “Richard Nixon taking power” angle? Because something I wish had been executed better in the actual Prequels was Palpatines rise and the Republics fall.
Excellent work! Just subscribed.
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.
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.
Who would you have cast as young Obi Wan in 1986?
Lucas probably would’ve gone with another up-and-coming actor who wasn’t in much like Hamil
This version of episode 1 seems much better. Ep1 and 2 tried to be CGI showcases at the expense of making star wars look bad. Meeting Own and Anakin this way felt way more logical.
You have such great insight on Star Wars. Thanks so much for making these videos!
Id suggest changing the thumbnail to something more ‘‘video essay esque“. The wqy it looked in my subbox seemed more like a podcast episode especially paired with the second video with basically the same thumbnail. I almost skipped it and i feel like lots of people might have for that reason
I don’t understand your reasoning at all lol
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.
that was a fun watch, almost like an actual episode, I really appreciate the research you put into it
Wow, that was amazingly well done. I am extremely impressed with how well researched and true to the old material this story was.
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'm surprised you didn't mention that the company that did the CGI for Last Starfighter actually made a piece of X-Wing test footage but Lucas rejected the proposal. Maybe in this alternative timeline Lucas does work with them?
ruclips.net/video/pUZL5o7NHS8/видео.html
Some early CGI was used in New Hope for Death Star schematics for example.
Any ideas as to who the cast could have been? Obviously completely speculative but irl Kenneth Branagh was almost Obi-Wan but they went with the younger Ewan McGregor. Here Branagh would have been the perfect age, although he wasn't really a very known actor in 1987. If Labyrinth isn't made Jennifer Connelly might be Padme/Breha instead
I think with the money issues mentioned here, there would be a good chance he’d hire some cheaper guys. Also helps to connect the face more with the franchise than the actor
Gary oldman as obi wan - jen connely breah/padme river phoenix anakin
Dude Jennifer Connelly would have been perfect!
@@RebelTrooperHoththis is probably likely since the cast would also be primarily young adults, who would definitely be mostly unknown actors. Still, they could probably swing for a few names
No, he wasn't really well known at the time (his big break with Henry V coming out in 1989). But it doesn't require too great a stretch of the imagination to conjure up a set of circumstances wherein Master Lucas receives word of a promising up-and-comer across the Pond who might be had for a relatively small fee. 🌟 🤩
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 think with less extreme of a generational gap there'd be less hostility to the kid characters.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
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.
gonna be the millionth comment saying that I clicked on this video assuming it was a lazy AI art thing and it wasn’t! Really appreciate using 3d models instead of
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
37:23 That did seem to possibly be a bit of a parody, a lot of the Man of Action pulps of the era would have a sort of stock plot of the protagonist eventually marrying his boss's daughter who he met when she was too young. Indy may have oritianlly been a meaner parody in spirit that would take that trope to its gross extreme, before they walked it back
Or possibly not. Who knows.
This was awesome, I loved all the rough draft lore that you gave to back up your story choices.
Thanks for the credit. Very good video.
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
It’s crazy if George Lucas just gave credit to Irvin Kershner and not left the dga, Spielberg probably directs Return of the Jedi and there would have probably been better writers and directors for the prequels
I'll bet with the CGI limitations of 1987, the Prequels would have been forced to be better.
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. 😉
I’d watch this version. Very impressive and well-researched video.
5:25 I know they wanted shots of Jabba moving across the ground, but that CGI Jabba just never even resembled the 'real' Jabba we know and are used to. lol. Too sad and hopeless looking in the eyes. Even if Han did just step on his tail. You’d think he’d look a little cunning or conniving, let alone the big, soulless eyes like with the live-action Jabba.
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...
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.
amazong video. please make ep2 !!
The funny thing about you repeatedly showing VHS boxes to illustrate the hypothetical time shift of the release date is that for poor kids, like myself, the Phantom Menace actually WAS released on VHS - even though it hit home video formats in 2000.
of course, since this is 1987 we have to consider all of the possibilities. So in the title, it’s called “The Phantom Menace,” meaning the phantoms in this case could be referring to some type of ghost or phantom such as the ones seen in Five Nights at Freddy’s 3. The menace obviously meaning William Afton due to the fact that this man menacingly destroyed these childrens’ childhoods. So we have confirmed that the great William Afton is finally gone. being a “phantom”
„We will follow your career with great interest.“ 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Idk I think that maybe this would be close to what Lucas would have wanted at the time, but I imagine that there would have been a lot of outside influences that would have curved it into something with less characters and just something different
I feel like the group of boys would probably be reduced. This video is excellent and does utilise Lucas' ideas, but right off the bat, that particular idea of Lucas needs some development to prevent them feeling like a group of extras, and instead make them feel like a group of individuals. This is not the video creator's fault, as the purpose of this video is to reconstruct what the film may have been like at the time given Lucas' ideas.
Also, I would hope Lucas would develop the Sith a lot more through the drafting process. Again, not this video creator's fault.
@@RezzanineI pictured the boys ensemble as like in Hook, where they mostly function as a group but have individual personalities that just sort of provide some background detail
Waiting for episode II soon
I think I like this !
Also, no AI is the best AI to make this fan work. I can't be more thankful for what you came up with with this video, the respect for the raw material and the creativity. I hope that you're willing to work on the sequel then hehe.
This truly felt like taking a peak into another timeline... thank you so much 😢
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.
This is absolutely superb. Really enjoyable watch. Write the book, make a fortune. The whole thing feels more authentic and more easily character driven
I love this! It solves all the problems with the real Episode 1: The lack of consistency with backstory hinted in Episode 4, the lack of agency and depth in the protagonists, the absurd portrayal of Nimoidians and Gungans that made it hard to take the story seriously, Midichlorians taking the mystery out of the Force, and the hamfisted way that C3P0 and R2D2 were forced into the backstory. The main plot of the film is a ragtag bunch of kids lead by someone barely an adult who manage to get things done while the adults are still talking it over, but still make some serious mistakes due to their hubris and inexperience. A very 80s theme, and a cohesive one that makes the movie interesting in its own right and justifies the fact that Anakin and the Queen are kids. Young protagonists won’t bother fans if it is actually an integral part of the story this movie is telling, and not just a sacrifice for the sake of continuity. The Breakfast Club in space.
I still think Lucas would have shoehorned some sort of comic relief, especially back in the '80s when that type of character was absolutely everywhere, especially movies for teenagers. If anything, Jar Jar was late to the party as is (although he arguably put the final nail in the coffin of the comic relief archetype as nobody ever tried to have it occupy as much runtime as Jar Jar did).
Neat! Looking forward to seeing what Episode 2 & 3 look like!
It's taken me a couple of weeks to watch this but I still wanted to comment. This 'What-if' scenario was really well made. Regarding Star Wars as whole, I like the franchise rather than love it. In saying that Return of the Jedi is one of my favourite movies of all time and that creates an anchor for this situation. You did an amazing job of balancing original concepts, technological limitations, cultural influences of the time and also not wanting to repeat the storybeats of Jedi.
I listened to a few other people's take on a similar situation and there were some parallels but each was still a unique take. What would be an interesting take would be a situation where the series began with Episode 1 in 1977, with A Hope being made in the late 90's with 'almost age appropriate Luke' allowing the same actors to reprise their roles. it also raises the question of the the Solo and Roque One movies, if they would make appropriate bridges or if you would need emotional investment to have support for those moves.
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.
George was really handsome in the 80"s.
More like The Handsome Menace.
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.
Awesome. I really enjoyed it. I always wished the prequels had been more faithful to what had been revealed in the original trilogy and that they had been made with the same kind of movie making technology. I especially enjoy seeing Obi-Wan returned to his proper role and a proper dynamic between Owen, Anakin, and Kenobi. "He feared you might follow old Obi Wan on some damn-fool idealistic crusade like your father did." Looking forward to your take on Attack of the Clones.
Really liked your version. It stays true to George Lucas intention, even if they might not be the best/most popular ideas (like a bunch of children going along with the story)
If you age up Anakin just a tad, one of Lucas and Spielberg’s old favorites could play him: River Phoenix.
Also, since you’ve borrowed a lot from Lucas’ collaborations with Jim Henson, how about Jennifer Connelly as Padme/Breha?
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.
first off it was already known in 1977/78 that Star wars was indeed chapter 4, it was very clearly explained in the making of featurettes from george's own mouth, that it was only one George could make with the tech and budget of that time, the only reason didnt get added to the title crawl was he didnt think it was going to get a good reception and allow for others to be made.
This was great! I really enjoyed! Love the nuggets about the Trade Federation and its influence from Star Trek. People may not know that Lucas was an original “Trekker” who loved The Original Series. My one gripe with this video - WHERE WAS THE CASTING? You did everything but cast the 87 prequel starter. I kept waiting for that. Patrick Swayze as Obi Wan? Winona Ryder as the Queen? Ricky Schroeder as Anakin? Danny Glover as Macey Windu? Oh the possibilities…
Riv Phoenix for Anakin
Saw another comment suggest Jennifer Connelly for the Queen!
@@nairrdlairrd Great choice!!
I keep thinking that this sounds like "The Outcasts in Space", probably because of Owen's hair style and the "teenage gang" dynamic it has going on.😅
Overall, I'm glad that it took so long for Episode I to be released. It felt like a major event to have a new Star Wars movie in theaters after such a long time, especially since I was born after Return of the Jedi was released. It's a concept almost lost to modern movie makers (as well as game developers) that waiting for a sequel might make people anticipate it that much more.