A no-spoiler version of the Prequel Trilogy

(Part 2 available here)

I want to preface this by saying that I love the prequel trilogy; I grew up watching them. They don’t especially need to be remade or replaced. But they do have problems, which distract from an otherwise great story about the collapse of democracy and the rise of Darth Vader. I’ve thought, at length, about how I would fix them (a fairly easy task since I’m ultimately just critiquing someone else’s work). With nothing better to do, I have started outlining my version of the Phantom Menace.

I’m not the only person who’s done this; there have been a lot of rewrite ideas. To justify my attempt, I want to see if it’s possible to make a version of the prequel trilogy that covers all of the essential plot points without spoiling any of the original trilogy’s twists. I want it to be possible for a new fan to watch the entire saga in chronological order and still be surprised by the episode 5 reveal of Darth Vader’s true identity. It will be difficult, but with another discipline, I do think it’s possible.

Discipline is always important for creating a good story. Sometimes, a great idea just doesn’t fit and has to be excluded. The actual prequels suffered from a lack of discipline. I’ve previously outlined the rules that I think a prequel remake should follow (Available Here), and I’ll be abiding by those guidelines now. Chief among them, the general structure of the trilogy should remain intact. Partly out of respect for George Lucas and partly to provide a framework.

I have seen it suggested that The Phantom Menace should be omitted entirely. I disagree. Any remake should be an exercise in tweaking, not wholly restructuring. Besides, introducing Anakin as a kid is an excellent opportunity to begin his fall to the dark side. His fall should be a gradual and ongoing process, and the younger he is when it starts, the easier it will be to conceal the “I am your father” twist.

The Opening Scene

The Phantom Menace has to do a lot of leg work. It has to introduce Anakin, detail Palpatine’s rise to power and set up all the political conflicts that will eventually create the Empire. It also has to be good. The film’s premise is inherently steeped with politics. The actual film, subsequently, involves a lot of exposition and a lot of meetings (this is a problem of the prequels more generally). A bit of that is fine, but having too many dry council meetings isn’t fun to watch. It is possible, however, to establish the political issues in a more visually exciting way.

It’s an important plot point of the prequel trilogy that the Republic doesn’t have a standing army, whilst the Mega Corporations do. The Republic is also mired in bureaucratic and political deadlock, unable to respond to threats effectively. Another plot point (that the Phantom Menace doesn’t include but arguably should) is that the Republic has become divided. It has an overpopulated industrial core (with all the associated problems) alongside an ignored, exploited and lawless periphery. This is the central problem that initiates the Clone Wars. Still, it’s not very apparent in the first film and probably should be. Otherwise, the Separatist crisis of episode 2 has to be set up and explained during episode 2 (a seriously convoluted film).

These plot points can be demonstrated in one visually interesting stroke. In the old Expanded Universe (now called Star Wars Legends), there was a pre-Phantom Menace conflict called the Hyper Stark War. To summarise, it involved a pirate army (led by a guy called Stark) seizing control of an important Hyper Space Lane. A Republic task force was then sent to retake it. I’m not suggesting that the Expanded Universe event should be adapted verbatim, but an altered version of the Hyper Stark War could be an exciting way to start the film.

Say, for instance, the Republic has already defeated the pirate space fleet, and the remaining pirates have retreated to a planet-side fortress (one equipped with shield generators, heavy canons, and full of prisoners). The film will start with a disorganised Republic ground force preparing to attack the fortress. This will first demonstrate the importance of Hyper Space Lanes (another critical plot point), since they’re fighting a war to save one. In the opening crawl, it can be mentioned that the pirates were motivated by Space Lane taxation. It can also be shown that the Republic has no standing army and is internally divided.

The Republic troops should be a mix-matched force of militia fighters and Judicial Officers (the Republic’s overstretched federal police). In the calm before the battle, as the Republic forces quietly approach the pirate stronghold, the core world and peripheral militiamen should be constantly bickering (almost revealing their position). As a bonus, a young Wilhuff Tarkin could be there with his father and household troops. I like the idea of introducing aristocratic military families that can later become an institutional foundation for the Empire.

The battle can also introduce the Jedi. A band of Jedi Knights, coordinating with Republic troops, will enter the fortress, rescue the prisoners, and deactivate the energy shield. Since my goal here is to create a no-spoiler version of the prequels (so the saga can be watched in chronological order), this scene should be treated as if the audience has never heard of Jedi. This is their first chronological appearance, and it should portray them at their best. They should be skilful and powerful, highly effective and concerned chiefly with saving the prisoners.

The focal point, during the short battle scene, will be the Jedi Knight Qui Gon Jinn and his reckless student, Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the previous list of rules, I said that Obi-Wan should be the main character during the prequels (with Anakin being the saga’s overall main character). I’m sticking with this decision, Obi-Wan is going to be the main character and the opening battle will serve as his introduction.

Obi-Wan’s character arc during the prequels should see him evolve from a reckless and impatient warrior to a serious and careful Jedi Master. If he’s going to wait around in a desert for 20 years, then his character arc should obviously revolve around impatience. There is also a reference to this in episode 5 (Yoda: “You are reckless.” Obi-Wan: “So was I, if you remember.”). During the battle, Obi-Wan will prove himself a skilful Jedi, almost ready to be knighted. But will also take needless risks and ignore Qui Gon’s orders. Perhaps, when the pirate leader Stark tries to flee, Obi-Wan will give chase and almost get killed.

After the battle, an unspecified Jedi Master should chastise Obi-Wan for his reckless behaviour. Qui Gon will approach during the lecture and defend Obi-Wan’s actions; the audience needs to like Qui Gon. The unspecified Master will then run off to stop a brawl between core and peripheral militiamen (reinforcing that Galactic division). Qui Gon will also criticise Obi-Wan’s recklessness but in a nicer and more understanding way. It can be said, here, that Jedi do not seek adventure and are guided only by the Force, followed by a succinct and poetic summary of their religion (since this is meant to be watched in chronological order).

Meanwhile, Stark should have a brief scene in which, after the battle, he appeals to a hologram of Darth Sidious for help. He’ll then be force-strangled to prevent him from talking. This will be the set-up for the mystery of the Sith. In this scene, it will also be revealed that Sidious initiated the Hyper Stark War to distract the single-minded Republic and draw their attention away from the peripheral world of Naboo.

End of Part 1

I have written a lot about this, but most of it is an unedited and incoherent ramble. I also don’t want this article to be absurdly long. So, I’m going to upload it in several parts. Part 2 will start with a ‘call to adventure’ (for want of a better term) and some elaboration on Naboo. See y’all then.

-Dexter