In hindsight, given the somewhat lackluster success of the recent Star Wars prequels, I think George Lucas would have been wiser to devote these movies to exploring the backstories of the more obscure and enigmatic minor characters. For example, the Phantom Menace could be all about Greedo and the ever-encroaching threat he poses as he inexorably tracks down Han Solo. You might not think that Greedo would be a very engaging protagonist, but I assure you that there are several questions surrounding him that need to be resolved. Such as how he can be a bounty-hunter while still being such an incredibly horrible shot? Han's sitting right across the table from him, and yet Greedo still somehow misses. Has he ever fired a gun before in his life? Or even seen one fired? These questions and more could be answered in a Greedo prequel. Another character that deserves his own prequel is Darth Maul. It could be argued that he already got his time in the spotlight, but only as a mime (he even had the funny face paint thing going!). This is only scratching the surface of the pool of potential protagonists. To name just a few others, there's that eye-patch guy at the beginning of Epsiode II, and even Panaka himself. (You don't remember Panaka? He's the one who...well...ah, he didn't really get a chance to do anything worth describing. Which is kind of my point.)
As this quote suggests, once the whole Star Wars franchise is finished, there will be over twelve hours of film. You would think this would leave plenty of time to develop even some of the more minor characters. But you'd be wrong. Probably because Lucas seems to focus a bit too much attention on deep conversations about sand. He also exhibits an unhealthy fascination for showing young Anakin and Amidala dashing about in fields and attempting to act. Frankly, George, if I want to see quality acting, I'll go to a movie about the Masons. When I go to a Star Wars movie, I'm not exactly expecting a tour-de-Force performance. Replace this fluff with some ridiculously cool action scenes, lightsaber battles, fortune-cookie advice and a character with an eyepatch that initially appears to be important but in fact won't return after the first scene of the movie, and I'll probably be happy. With the imminent release of the Revenge of the Sith, I think that this advice is only too timely.
Return to Jaridis Blade's Gallery of Quotes