Also with regard to your comment that you wanted to love the ST believe me every single OT fan wanted to love the PT when it came out. We even kept going back over and over like battered housewives trying to brainwash ourselves into loving the new films, lol. But even though I can endlessly bash them I still don't hate them and find myself revisiting them quite often.
I saw TPM 5x in the theater.. AOTC 2x and ROTS 3X.
I actually like TPM more now then I did then.. I was just sort of in shock the first time I saw it in the theaters.. I was kind of embarrassed also as I took a friend with me who was just getting into SW movies. He liked the dark aspect of the OT so having Jar Jar and Anakin on the screen was just making me cringe sitting next to him
I ddid love that Pod Race and Darth Maul and having a new ST film in the theaters.. So that is what kept me coming back.
I saw AOTC with another friend of mine and he said it sucked right off the bat.. I would not resist the SWs though. I was just so happy there was no Jar Jar I was willing to give the film a big pass.. Was much less impressed the 2nd time. Pretty much saw it for what it is on my home video viewing.
I liked ROTS the first time.. I was with another friend who thought it was.. Ok... I still liked it with my 2nd and 3rd viewing.
Then something happened.. I started watching them back to back.. They just were not very goof movies to me and then I realized this was it.. no more Star Wars... and I started getting angry. This is all we were going to get? These goofy acted silly movies with bad romance and average story telling. Films that messed up some of my fav OT characters like Yoda and Vader. What the hell.. Really thats it... They also hurt my enjoyment of the OT.. It took a long time for me to ignore them and pretend they never happened.
Then I started watching TCW and that eased the pain. Then RO had Gen Organa and the ST had mentions of the PT.. and it all helped me accept the PT.
But it took getting to TROS to really feel this way.. I was in deep SW depression after TLJ.. I figured I was done with all SW moves accept the PT and the Star Wars story stand alone movies.
The fun of TROS is why I voted ST.. It saved both the ST and PT for me and renewed my love for all things SW. Its been great ever since.
My main reasons for voting PT is because for as long as I have known Star Wars the original films were called Episodes IV, V and VI. Quite an obvious hint that there'd be a I, II and III and those were what I fantasized about. Whether or not there would ever be a VII, VIII and IX seemed much more up in the air so I don't think I really gave that possibility serious thought. Besides, post-ROTJ was being covered by the EU. The prequel era seemed to be off-limits for bookwriters, one assumed for a good reason.
Lastly, on the most basic level there is a nice symmetry to the PT and the OT - the fall of the Republic/rise of the Empire in the PT and the rise of the Rebellion/fall of the Empire in the OT. Throw the ST into the mix and you get this tacked-on afterthought - Rebels rebrand and fight against rebranded Empire, not exactly an essential continuation which makes it all the more easy for me to dismiss for whatever additional reasons it gives me.
I agree here.. I never had any hopes for a part 7,8, and 9... But we had to have a part 1,2, and 3.. That was the story i wanted to see and imagined when I was a kid.
the ST does feel more like an Epilogue than it does a true continuation to the story.. Kind of like the Burning of the Shore in the LOTR book.
Prequels in my eyes are also more “iconic” to Star Wars as a brand to me.
Darth Maul, Jango Fett, General Grievous, etc. are all faces of that brand and household names alongside your Darth Vaders, C-3POs, R2-D2s and Boba Fetts. Even Jar Jar Binks in an infamy of sorts.
I can’t really say the same about the ST characters. With the Prequels, it felt like there was an actual world/universe that existed outside of the movies, ya know? Prequel era had great video games, comics, and cartoons that allowed these characters to live and breath in other media, not necessarily having to conform to the movies. The Sequel Trilogy characters don’t really have that going for them. They’re very much confined to their own movies and it’s just well, boring.
What I’m trying to say is, I guess the overall lore of Star Wars was much more fun and interesting and innovative when it was being overseen by Lucas. Seeing him in action, collaborating with artists to help create his vision, from Ralph Mcquarrie to Joe Johnston to Doug Chiang really put things in perspective. Like when you see concepts of Boba Fett or General Grievous getting his “Lucas stamp of approval” where he signs off and approvals the final concept/idea of a story character. It’s just something the Sequel Trilogy was sorely missing. Despite the story inconsistencies/contradictions, there’s a connective tissue between the Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy, or feels that way anyway. When you look at Return of the Jedi and the Phantom Menace, it feels like it was made by the same people. I can’t say the same for the sequels.
Agree again.. Lucas has the perfect imagination for SW. The one thing that the PT was missing most of all was his imagination. And he knew how to sell it. Even when TFA was the biggest movie of all time Disney did not seem to know how to push its product. I dont think there was a single tie in video game accept for Lego SW.
Also as has already been mentioned the publicity push before TPM was so huge that everyone knew the name Darth Maul before the film ever came out. AOTC's Jango had the same feel to him but he looked like everyones fav bounty hunter. Jar Jar is a household name for all the wrong reasons.
I remember people being interested in Phasma.. Seemed like that was the big name of interest before those films got released. ha ha
Like I said the ST feels more like an Epilogue then true continuation... Its one of the reasons that I do like hints of it in the Mando series as it broadens the ST universe and ties it in a little more to the rest of the saga.
