Monday, November 23, 2009

The Alternate Prequels

Hey guys, Dorkman here.

Regular listeners will recall that back when we did our MATRIX: RELOADED commentary, the guys also turned the mics on post-show so I could drunkenly blather out a pseudo-pitch to an alternative storyline -- in essence, the way I would have done the movie had someone asked me. If you missed it, you can listen to it here:









Since the "MATRIX: REWRITTEN" sprang from my dissatisfaction with how the story was handled, it should come as no real surprise that I have gone through the same exercise with the Star Wars prequels. It helps me practice my story-crafting skills as a writer, and gives me a more constructive outlet for my frustration as a fan.

I've spent a lot of time on these internets of ours bewailing what they did wrong, so I want to put my money where my mouth is and share my thoughts on one way I think they could have been done "right."

Whether they are an improvement or not will ultimately be up to the reader, but either way I hope you guys enjoy them. It was fun to do.

7 comments:

Ryan said...

I agree with this 100%, I thought I was the only one out there who thought about a remake for those movies. Keep up the good work guys!

Totmacher said...

MILLIONS OF TIMES BETTER!!!

Then again a paper plate with a tightly coiled piece of dog shit on it being flung back and forth between the main stars of the three movies would be a thousand times better.

Srsly though it should have Jar Jar in it, being brutally murdered.... lol

Now actually being serious, your version would be superior in so many ways STORY being the main reason its FOLLOWABLE and entertaining.

Now pitch us part 7 that I wld like to read!

Anonymous said...

AWE SOME!

Totally brilliant prequel trilogy - now we just need someone to beat George over the head with it.

And re-listening to the Reloaded Rewritten reminds me how fantastic that alternate movie was too.

Is there an alternate Revolutions yet? Can't wait to hear/read the resolution of that cliffhanger!

--Ben

Filipe Monteiro said...

Some great changes I'm seeing there. Although the Mandalorians involvement seems odd, seeing the attention they get on The Clone Wars show. I could definitely like it, if I saw it on an actual Star Wars Movie, though.

I really like how the plot develops and how Anakin comes to be related to Obi-Wan.

Reading into the second Episode, I was kind of **spoiler alert** shocked that you killed Maul off but, after reconsidering, I thought it was a good choice to kill him at that particular time and like that. **

Episode III makes it seem that the movie starts off full of action and kind of calms down near the end, when Anakin is, ultimately, Vader. I really like this action fade-out, which I really didn't feel on the "actual" prequels.


I really enjoyed reading this and I would love to see this made, even as fanfilm. It would still be better than the prequel trilogy made by George.


If this were to become a real movie, what actors would you like to keep from the prequels, or what actors would you like to get?

Ben Y. said...

Overall it's nice to see this here, and I enjoyed reading it, but I have some critiques. If it's not mentioned here then I liked it:

Change the name of the Phantom Menace.

Maul should either be a Jedi turned bad or have no lightsaber (or just be a different character all together). As the Emperor says in Episode 6 "take your Jedi weapon" to Luke, and it is somewhat suggestive that only Jedi use lightsabers and Sith use their hatred to maximise their manipulative and destructive powers. In fact, the idea of 'sith' is somewhat unnecessary. So long as there is the power of the force, people can use it for good and evil, and people will manipulate it without needing some sort of extinct or 'hidden order' - that's just illogical. Instead of wanting to suddenly get revenge against the Jedi for destroying some ancient order which doesn't matter any more, there needs to be apparent MOTIVATION for turning to the dark side as a Jedi. Siths are not mentioned in the OT anyway, aren't they some alien race in a comic book or something?

As for Palpatine being able to use the force, perhaps he is strong with the force, perhaps he either refused to become a Jedi and studied it alone for his own benefit, or a dark Jedi (perhaps Maul) who turned from the Jedi order for power with the Mandalorians who would worship him for his power, trains Palpatine in the dark ways of the force. But Palpatine doesn't need a lightsaber, they're way over used in the prequels.

Why doesn't the Senator want to protect Alderaan by not calling in the GAR? Doesn't he want to use their amazing weaponry in the future?

Why does the Senate allow Palpatine to keep the GAR away from Alderaan?

Why does defeating the clones on Alderaan cause them to stop being produced on Utapau?

The Jedi sense darkness in Anikan, why? Just because of his guilt? The motivation on both sides needs to be clearer.

The Mustafar scene where Anikan is turned to the Dark Side just because of his memory of what happened on Alderaan is a little bit weak, as is the idea that he is being told what to do and think, considering he isn't even part of the Jedi order and only studies with his friend Obi-Wan.

The "I am Darth Vader" part doesn't make an inkling of sense. It makes the following quote seem a little bit TOO misleading, remember Obiwan tells the whole truth with it:
"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

Ben said...

Overall it's nice to see this here, and I enjoyed reading it, but I have some critiques. If it's not mentioned here then I liked it:

Change the name of the Phantom Menace.

Maul should either be a Jedi turned bad or have no lightsaber (or just be a different character all together). As the Emperor says in Episode 6 "take your Jedi weapon" to Luke, and it is somewhat suggestive that only Jedi use lightsabers and Sith use their hatred to maximise their manipulative and destructive powers. In fact, the idea of 'sith' is somewhat unnecessary. So long as there is the power of the force, people can use it for good and evil, and people will manipulate it without needing some sort of extinct or 'hidden order' - that's just illogical. Instead of wanting to suddenly get revenge against the Jedi for destroying some ancient order which doesn't matter any more, there needs to be apparent MOTIVATION for turning to the dark side as a Jedi. Siths are not mentioned in the OT anyway, aren't they some alien race in a comic book or something?

As for Palpatine being able to use the force, perhaps he is strong with the force, perhaps he either refused to become a Jedi and studied it alone for his own benefit, or a dark Jedi (perhaps Maul) who turned from the Jedi order for power with the Mandalorians who would worship him for his power, trains Palpatine in the dark ways of the force. But Palpatine doesn't need a lightsaber, they're way over used in the prequels.

Why doesn't the Senator want to protect Alderaan by not calling in the GAR? Doesn't he want to use their amazing weaponry in the future?

Ben (continued) said...

Why does the Senate allow Palpatine to keep the GAR away from Alderaan?

Why does defeating the clones on Alderaan cause them to stop being produced on Utapau?

The Jedi sense darkness in Anikan, why? Just because of his guilt? The motivation on both sides needs to be clearer.

The Mustafar scene where Anikan is turned to the Dark Side just because of his memory of what happened on Alderaan is a little bit weak, as is the idea that he is being told what to do and think, considering he isn't even part of the Jedi order and only studies with his friend Obi-Wan.

The "I am Darth Vader" part doesn't make an inkling of sense. It makes the following quote seem a little bit TOO misleading, remember Obiwan tells the whole truth with it: "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

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