Long maligned by fan and casual viewer alike, the Star Wars prequels have experienced a recent critical reevaluation as a result of shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ten years ago, great jubilation arose among the Star Wars faithful when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and subsequently announced Star Wars sequels featuring the original trilogy characters. Finally, we could move past the sins of the prequel trilogy — Episodes I, II, and III, all written and directed by George Lucas — with “real” Star Wars movies that would eclipse our blighted memories of Lucas’ miscalculations. Sure enough, when The Force Awakens debuted in 2015, fans and casual viewers alike proclaimed its fidelity to the holy trinity of original Star Wars movies. It might be a little derivative, but doggone it, it looked like original Star Wars. More importantly, it felt like original Star Wars. It didn’t take long for folks to change their tune. Now the sequels — The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker — are much maligned for their lack of cohesive vision and their reliance on tired material. Meanwhile, the prequels have undergone fresh appraisal, and the excitement among fans is off the charts for prequel-related shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi. After suffering two decades of derision, are the prequels suddenly considered good now? How did that happen? I mean, come on, have you seen these things? I won’t relitigate all the carping from the last 23 years, but let’s review some key complaints. None of this has aged well, let alone improved, especially in The Phantom Menace. But fans still extol the great parts: Darth Maul (Ray Park) and his double bladed lightsaber; the thrilling duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Maul, still among the best; John Williams’ terrific score, especially the classic “Duel of the Fates” theme. It’s human nature to want to remember the good stuff and so we do. It’s why people say nice things about jerks at their funerals. As I wrote in another article, Generation X has become very proprietary over Star Wars – claiming to understand its true nature and what future installments should contain. These fans who grew up on the original trilogy took issue – loudly – with the prequels, for the issues described above, but also simply because they weren’t the originals. In doing so, they often neglected to consider what Lucas has said publicly and often: Star Wars is for kids. Ten-year-olds in 1983 weren’t rolling their eyes at the goofy content in Return of the Jedi – the Ewoks, the mélange of rubber puppets in Jabba’s Palace, which somehow became even stupider in the late-’90s Special Editions. We know it’s all cringe-inducing now. And yet, despite that, Xers still defend the original trilogy in all its flaws. Millennials and even some Gen Zers have always felt the same defensive love for the prequels. It’s just that now they are old enough and organized enough in fan communities to articulate their appreciation. Obi-Wan Kenobi never would have been made — or become the biggest premiere yet on Disney+ — without that dedicated fan love, something Ewan McGregor gratefully acknowledged. Nine combined seasons and counting of the critically acclaimed The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch would never have been made either. Speaking of which, The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Visions, Rebels, The Mandalorian, and a plethora of video games, comic books, and novels have all fleshed out and expanded the prequel narratives. Darth Maul is an example of a prequel character who went on to, ahem, menace good guys in everything from the animated shows to Ron Howard’s Solo, which set up Maul to be a major character in a sequel that never came.
