It would be an understatement to say that the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy was a bit of a letdown. Like most other derided franchises that were dismissed at the time, they’ll eventually find themselves bathed in the warm glow of nostalgia and given a reappraisal by fans somewhere down the line, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Which is pretty telling really, when you consider that it only took the diehards two years to change their minds about The Last Jedi, and even Rian Johnson must have found himself shocked by the widespread thanks he was being given on social media. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith all have their moments, but they painfully highlighted George Lucas’ shortcomings as both a writer and director, while it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the average quality of the performances across the board was mediocre at best.
One thing most people can agree on is that once Ewan McGregor stepped out of Liam Neeson’s shadow and grew his beard, Obi-Wan Kenobi became one of the standouts and was a real highlight of Episodes II and III. Fans have been desperate for him to return to the franchise ever since, and they’ll finally get their wish when the actor headlines his own Disney Plus limited series that’s expected to arrive in 2022.
The 49 year-old has never shied away from the Prequel Trilogy’s reputation, and in a recent interview, he admitted that finding out people actually love the movies has taken him somewhat by surprise.
“You know, our films weren’t much liked when they came out, by my generation who loved the first ones. I think people of our generation wanted to feel the way they’d felt when they saw those first three movies when they were kids, and George wanted to take our ones in a different direction, he had a different idea. It was tricky at the time, I remember. But now, all these years later, I’m really aware of what our films meant to the generation they were made for, the children of that time. They really like them. I’ve met people who, they mean a lot to them, those films, more so than the original three, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding?’.”
The Star Wars prequels work much better experientially if you’re also a fan of The Clone Wars, as the animated series plugs a lot of narrative gaps, but the fact that one of the main stars of the trilogy is shocked that people like it unironically shows how poorly they were thought of initially.
Published: Sep 12, 2020 06:33 pm