Solo4114
Master Member
Well, two things.
First, I don't mind Jedi being IN the show. The Jedi presumably still exist and are still being hunted at this point. that's part of the appeal of doing a "rise of the Rebellion/Empire" era show. You get to see the hunt for the remaining Jedi, you get to see the consolidation of Imperial power, and you get to see what made the population of the galaxy -- or a portion of it -- say "Enough" and take up arms against the Empire. The Jedi can and should be part of any story in that time period. What I don't want, though (and what it sounds like you don't want) is the sole focus to be on the Jedi, especially as portrayed in the prequels, and especially at the expense of telling the stories of other regular folks.
Second, I know what Lucas has said, but I dispute that the six films are "about Anakin." The prequel films are kinda sorta about Anakin, although I find them to be far less focused on him (or on any one thing, really) than that they feature him. Anakin is the focal point of much of the action, but you could just as easily argue that it's Obi-Wan's story. Most of that is because of how Lucas focused the films (or rather, didn't focus them exactly). I don't think he had a really clear vision from film to film, and the narrative flow of the PT shows that. That's as may be, of course. I don't think that the story not actually being about Anakin is a bad thing, per se, regardless of whatever other complaints one might lob at the PT.
The OT, though, is definitely NOT about Anakin. It's about his son, and his son's friends. Anakin is a background player in those stories, and no amount of Special Edition manipulation will ever change that. The OT simply isn't "The story of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker," any more than it's the story of Obi-Wan or Chewbacca. Lucas may have wished it had been after the fact, but that doesn't mean that's what the story is really about. Again, that's as may be. I don't care that Lucas was wrong about what he claims the focus was "supposed" to be. At this point, I tend to disregard most of his "I always intended to"-esque statements and just take the films at face value. Regardless, the film -- again -- not being about Anakin isn't a problem in and of itself.
The OT is clearly about the Jedi, but the thing is it was ALSO about other stuff. Whereas the PT, to me, felt like it was pretty much JUST about the Jedi, and frankly, I'm bored with them. I don't mind them as part of the story. That's part of what makes it Star Wars. But there's more to Star Wars than lightsabres and force powers, and sometimes I feel like both the fandom (not you, but in general) and those in the C-suite have lost sight of that fact. I'm hoping the new ownership and the pre-OT era focus will help shift that, and that it'll also apply to the new films.
