Diehard fans: Franchise’s success hinges on this cohort,
Generation of fans make a case that polarizing movies are actually superior films
The prequels never stood a chance.
Hampered by two decades’ worth of expectations and hype, George Lucas’s deep dive back into the Star Wars universe was destined to disappoint. Star Wars (awkwardly retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when Lucas re-released it in 1997) and its sequels were generation-defining movies. Fans hoped the new trilogy of films, all set before the events depicted in the 1977 original would help them relive that formative cinematic experience.
When Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace arrived in May 1999, fans were met with a film that was visually (computer-generated effects) and tonally (it was aimed at kids) miles away from their beloved originals. Subsequent prequels, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, moved closer to Lucas’s originals, but many fans felt betrayed. This wasn’t their Star Wars.
J.J. Abrams’ upcoming seventh film, Episode VII: the Force Awakens, will reportedly hew closer in style to the original trilogy.
But here’s the rub: A lot of people went to see The Phantom Menace — it made a billion dollars at the box office. Now in their 20s, this generation of Star Wars fan grew up not knowing a world without digital effects or Jar Jar Binks.
The continued success of the franchise depends on the patronage of this cohort. To get a better sense of how they view the Star Wars universe we asked three deeply passionate fans to share their thoughts on the prequels.
Stuart Mitchell Age: 26, which means he was 10 when Phantom Menace was released in 1999. Lives in: Richmond and Jarvis area of Toronto. Occupation: Radio promotions for Virgin Radio, Newstalk1010 and TSN 1050. On Episode I: The Phantom Menace I loved Darth Maul. The final lightsaber battle, that was the best lightsaber fight I’d ever seen. I still think to this day it’s my favourite one. It was also the first time I was introduced to Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson and now I love them. Those guys are Jedis in my mind . . . Star Wars is as much about being a fan of the universe as it is about being a fan of a film, or series of films.
Fans of the old series were looking for that nostalgia that they could relive. When the Phantom Menace came out, that’s when I think I was getting the experience that my dad and his generation had when the originals came out.
Abdul Malik Age: 22, which means he was 6 when Phantom Menace was released. Lives in: Mississauga. Occupation: NDP campaign manager in Mississauga East-Cooksville. On Episode II: Attack of the Clones If you look at Star Wars as an epic Grecian tragedy, (the prequels) contextualize the original trilogy so well. It actually lends the original trilogy a lot more power when you know the history behind it . . . The worlds, the designs and the sci-fi concepts they introduce (in Attack of the Clones) are the best in all of Star Wars. They made the political parts of The Phantom Menace that people hated, the political intrigue, actually interesting.
Star Wars was an adventure story and now they give it scope. It’s more than a ragtag team trying to take on the whole world. It almost becomes a political thriller.
Jibril Yassin Lives in: Edmonton. Age: 23, which means he was 8 years old when Phantom Menace was released. Occupation: Studies journalism at MacEwan University. On Episode III: Revenge of the Sith The story had progressed enough. It was the right moment at the right time.
You could complain about Jar Jar Binks, or the CGI or the crappy love story.
But people were invested, they were waiting to see what happens when Anakin becomes Darth Vader.
It’s the one film that a lot of older people begrudgingly accept. It was really emotional . . . (The filmmakers) knew that they had to have immediate and clear links to A New Hope and it inspired them to step up their game a little.