The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and in 2021, the prequel trilogy is held in higher regard than it ever was in the days of its release. Castigated for not being the original trilogy, George Lucas discussed the PT in Paul Duncan’s book The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III 1999-2005, and made it clear that retelling the same story ad nauseum held no interest for him, but getting this particular story out of his head and onto the screen was what drove him forward.
“I know everybody wants to see Darth Vader in his black suit with his lightsaber, but the whole point of it is: How does this nice little kind kid, who has good intentions, is just like us, go wrong and become Darth Vader?”
“The second part of the story is: How does a democracy become a dictatorship?”
“I told people at Lucasfilm that they’re going to have to face the reality that I’m making a movie that nobody wants to see, but I want to tell that story. I’m more interested in telling the story than I am in just doing a franchise where you tell the same story over and over again.”
The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983: 40th Anniversary Edition @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
