I’m so sorry, George! Star Wars fans have begun waking up to the fact that the franchise might have been better left in the hands of its original, creative visionary, as Disney’s sequel trilogy has done nothing other than damage the brand and its lore. As CNET’s David Priest points out, Lucas’s prequels had some incredibly cringe-worthy acting/dialogue/moments, but fans cannot discount all of the cool world-building and designs they introduced. Hell, even composer John Williams had a tough time finding inspiration for the sequel trilogy.
I find myself genuinely longing for the days of the prequels. What I’m feeling isn’t nostalgia. And it isn’t ironic “love” for schlocky cinema that animates prequel-memeing Redditors either. What I miss is the daring. Nobody can say George didn’t swing for the fences with the prequels. After all, the same experimentalism that gave us Binks and the “sand” dialogue also gave us the iconic Darth Maul duel, the best opening sequence in any Star Wars movie, and so much more.