Thoughtnami Classics | What About Before The Empire Struck Back?

Originally Posted 05/08/08 by Jeff Harris

George Lucas is a hack who ripped off a lot of stories to make him a multibillionaire and has done a lot to piss off the fans he created over the last decade. You know, the folks that made him a multibillionaire?

I'm a fan, yes, but I'm not one of those fans that get orgasmic about everything Star Wars, including the upcoming animated retelling of the Clone Wars.

Yes, it's a retelling of the Clone Wars. The Clone Wars was already told in a microseries that aired on Cartoon Network a few years ago that chronicled the closing moments of Episode II and the opening moments of Episode III. The movie and upcoming series is going to delve into some of the story that the microseries couldn't get into.

Still, The Clone Wars should make for interesting television, but there's a sense of "been there, done that," and after three "prequel" films, the fans have grown weary of the characters.

We know what happened to Anakin Skywalker. We know the Clone Troopers turned on the Jedi Knights and nearly wiped them out. We know Senator Palpatine was Darth Sidious, who became Emperor of the Empire. We know what happened to Padme and who took in her "younglings" afterwards.

But the story is incomplete.

"I get asked all the time, 'What happens after "Return of the Jedi"?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends." - George Lucas, LA Times, May 7, 2008

That's fine and all, and I'm okay with that. Unlike a lot of people, I can get that Lucas wouldn't want to do another three movies nor any non-published versions of the stories beyond the Ewok Onslaught. The books exist and have the characters moving on facing inner conflict and creating a future generation of heroes.

However, there are a pair of plotholes that need to be filled.

I don't think the story of how the Empire grew to become so oppressive and how Darth Vader grew to power has been told. I know there's a live-action Star Wars series in the works, but the main characters who survived Revenge of the Sith aren't going to be in it, nor will the upbringing of the Skywalker twins be discussed or shown. They're largely going to be populated mostly by characters you never heard of. The prelude to A New Hope will probably never be told.

Nobody cares about the new characters. They want Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, R2D2, C-3PO, and, of course, Darth Vader. There's hardly any stories about what happened after the award ceremony and before the Battle of Hoth. Did Luke ever understand what happened and occurred in the Death Star battle? When did Han and Leia find themselves drawn to each other? How did the enigmic Boba Fett, son of Jango, find notoriety in the Empire? How did Darth Vader rise to power to command a new generation of soldiers after the destruction of the Death Star (remember, he was second-in-command and largely a glorified soldier prior to the beginning of Empire)? These are questions that could have easily been answered by a new animated series.

But like Joe Quesada, George Lucas's ego makes him believe that he knows what the audience wants. And apparently, he feels that we want more Clone Wars, despite already seeing it animated prior to Episode III's release and in most of Episode III, and none of what happened between Episode IV and V nor what happens beyond Return of the Jedi.