Creating a version of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy that can be watched in chronological order without spoiling any of the Original Trilogy’s twists.

I love the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but I can’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be to watch the entire Star Wars saga in chronological order and still be surprised by all the original trilogy’s twists and reveals. It would be hard to accomplish, but I want to know if it’s possible. So, I’ve been writing a rough outline of how I think a no-spoiler version of The Phantom Menace should go.

Part 1 outlined an alternative opening.

Part 2 discussed Naboo and outlined the call to adventure.

Part 3 introduced the Trade Federation and the Droids.

Part 4 focused on Mos Espa, Watto’s Junkyard and Anakin.

Part 5 involved Podracing, a slave revolt and the start of Anakin’s fall

Part 6 took place on Coruscant and acted as the calm before the storm.

Part 7 will cover the Battle of Naboo and the films conclusion.

How many battles?

The Battle of Naboo is a difficult nut to crack. The film involves four simultaneous battles: a field battle (Gungans vs Droids), an urban battle in Theed (Padme captures Nute Gunray), a space battle (Anakin destroys the control ship from the inside) and a Lightsaber battle (Qui Gon and Obi-Wan fight Maul).

Each of these battles has something going for it. If I had to rank them, I’d say the Lightsaber battle is the best, followed by the field Battle (if only for the Battle Droid visuals), then the Space battle and the urban Theed battle is last. Watching them all at the same time, however, is a bit much.

This is a point that George Lucas himself has made.

Since I’ve already changed so much, I may as well change this. The final act should be modified to improve the film’s flow. This will also improve the experience of watching the saga in chronological order.

To my understanding, the idea behind the four simultaneous battles was to one-up Return of the Jedi’s final act (that film had three battles). This ‘one-upping’ has been an ongoing process. A New Hope concludes with a single space battle; Empire Strikes Back has two battles, a Lightsaber fight and the Cloud City escape; Return of the Jedi has three, a Lightsaber fight, ground battle and space battle.

They wanted to up the stakes with each release. But again, it’s too much. Moreover, upping the stakes is unnecessary in a version that’s meant to be watched chronologically.

If anything, the stakes should be lower in The Phantom Menace (more comparable to A New Hope) and then ramped up to something huge in Revenge of the Sith. Otherwise, the stakes would be getting lower as the story progresses.

Which Battles to keep?

I’ve already repurposed the Gungan vs Droid field battle. (Qui Gon was shown footage of the invasion and battle during the initial call-to-adventure). That reduces the final act to three battles. I’m inclined to reduce it further.

My first instinct is to cut the attack on Theed and just focus on the space battle and Lightsaber duel. The latter would probably take place aboard the Trade Federation’s capital ship.

However, the main characters haven’t actually been to Naboo in this version. There have only been snapshots of the planet. It feels like an oversight, and I want to address it now.

Besides, there have already been action scenes aboard the Trade Federation ship. It would be visually repetitive to do another one. An altered version of Theed will be the main battle.

The Blockade

In the actual movie, the characters sneak down to Naboo and raise a local Gungan army. In this version, a Naboo-led task force of peripheral militias is attempting to liberate the planet. This implies a fairly straightforward series of events.

To retake the capital and capture Trade Federation Viceroy, Nute Gunray, they need to get past the blockade. Most of the blockading ships should have been removed by this point (due to the expense). There will just be one massive ship in orbit. They can destroy this in a similar way to the actual movie (from the inside) and then land at Theed.

The Naboo pilots (recruited on Coruscant) should want to launch a direct attack, but Qui Gon and Obi-Wan, doubting the militia’s ability to defeat a massive warship, will decide to scout ahead in a non-descript shuttle. At this point, they’ll discover that Anakin and Padme have snuck along/are on the shuttle.

As they near the Trade Federation warship, Anakin could propose flying inside, perhaps sharing an anecdote from the Podracing circuit (about a pilot who flew through a rival repair yard and destroyed it). Obi-Wan will instruct Anakin to take control while he operates the cannons. The ship will be destroyed just in time for the task force to arrive.

The Trade Federation leaders in the Theed palace, panicking at their ship’s destruction, will turn to Darth Maul. The task force militia, landing on the surface, will rendezvous with the Naboo-Gungan resistance and prepare to recapture Theed.

The Battle

The attack should start with the task force Starfighters suppressing the Trade Federation defences from the air. (In the brief calm before the battle, it can be mentioned that the Trade Federation lost its Droid Starfighters when their ship was destroyed.)

With the droids distracted by the air attack, the task force and resistance members can sneak into the city (with Gungan warriors going via the river) and, approaching the Palace, will launch a full-blown ground attack.

Qui Gon and Obi-Wan will lead the charge, side by side, with the Queen and militia captains. (Anakin and Padme will be made to stay with the ships, with someone to watch them). The Jedi should be dominating this battle, carving through the battle droids.

Darth Maul will be waiting for them in the palace (behind blast doors like the actual film). The Jedi can then fight Maul whilst the Queen’s troops go to capture Nute Gunray. There is one change I want to make here: Qui Gon shouldn’t want to fight Maul.

Despite his power, Maul is just one guy. He can’t single-handedly take on two Jedi and the task force simultaneously. He clearly wanted to lure the Jedi away, and I don’t think Qui Gon would fall for it. Obi-Wan will fall for it.

The character arc I’ve been trying to construct for Obi-Wan (now that he’s been recast as the main character) is about recklessness and impatience. The final fight should lean into that.

Obi-Wan will charge after Maul, with Qui Gon shouting that it’s a trap. Qui Gon will then chase after Obi-Wan (leaving Nute Gunray to the task force). This will mean that Obi-Wan’s reckless behaviour is indirectly responsible for Qui Gon’s death. His subsequent guilt will be a motivating factor going forward.

The actual film’s Lightsaber fight is amazing, and I have no further comment. I’m not changing a single detail here. It will end, as in the actual film, with Maul killing Qui Gon and then Obi-Wan cutting Maul in half. The dying Qui Gon then whispers for Obi-Wan to train Anakin.

Meanwhile, the Queen and her troops will capture Nute Gunray and the Federation leadership, ending the war on Naboo.

Maul’s Death

A part of me does think that Maul should escape and be a recurring villain throughout the prequels. But I’m going to leave it as it is. Maul’s return in The Clone Wars TV show already scratches this itch, and my self-imposed rules (maintaining existing continuity) don’t allow it.

Besides, I like what George Lucas did with the prequel villains. Palpatine tries out several apprentices (Maul, Dooku, Grievous) before finding Vader. It’s conducive to the chronological viewing to go through several villains of the week – who the heroes always defeat – only to arrive at a competent villain who keeps winning. It means the stakes will get higher.

Maul’s death will also pave the way for Obi-Wan’s rapid promotion to the Jedi council (he’s the first Jedi to defeat a Sith in centuries).

The Conclusion

The ending will be essentially the same. There will be a celebration on Naboo and then a funeral. There are some minor changes that I want to make, however, for continuity’s sake.

In the actual film, Palpatine arrives on the planet having just been elected Supreme Chancellor. In this version, Palpatine (still a senator) will tell the Queen that Chancellor Valorum’s support is collapsing due to his inaction over Naboo (corrupt Senators are jumping ship).

Palpatine’s own popularity will be soaring and the Queen will suggest that he run for the Chancellorship and unite the divided Republic (with his subtle suggestion).

Meanwhile, a peripheral militia captain will loudly declare that the crisis has shown the Republic to be redundant. “We saved Naboo without the Republic’s help. We don’t need them to protect us.” This is essential for the rest of the prequel trilogy. It sets up the separatist crisis in the next film.

Finally, Yoda won’t be present at Qui Gon’s funeral. His absence does seem conspicuous, but I want to preserve his big reveal in the Empire Strikes Back. Some comments can be made about his health (there’ll probably be a second funeral at the Jedi Temple anyway).

Yoda and Mace Windu’s conversation about there always being two Sith, a master and apprentice, will instead be had by Mace Windu and Obi-Wan.

Mace Windu will further tell Obi-Wan that Yoda has decided to personally complete his training, explaining the original trilogy point about Yoda training Obi-Wan. Windu will also say that, at Yoda’s insistence, Anakin is being inducted into the order. His initiation will take time, however, and by then, Obi-Wan will have been knighted and able to train him, as Qui Gon wanted.

And then roll credits.

-Dexter