Both the sequel and prequel trilogies in Star Wars' so-called "Skywalker Saga" have been at the center of a hotly divisive debate. But the prequel trilogy, specifically the first film, The Phantom Menance, is almost entirely disliked. However, that's not to say that there weren't powerful details in the prequel series that fans adore. After all, the prequel series, which followed the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, is beautifully structured. It's just the execution of this structure that's usually subjected to scrutiny. The fact that these prequels were smartly structured is one of the reasons why some fans call the prequel trilogy 'brilliant' while slamming the sequels.
But, hey, that's not to say that a lot of the dialogue was terrible and that there were things in the prequel trilogy that made absolutely no sense.
If you're one of those Star Wars fans who believe that there should never have been -requel trilogy, then you should blame technology. After all, series creator George Lucas claims that it was advancements in technology that inspired him to make the prequels in the first place. Here's why...
'Jurassic Park' Opened The Door To The Prequel Series
1999's The Phantom Menance saw George Lucas come back to directing a Star Wars movie for the first time since 1977's original Star Wars film. In an eye-opening interview with StarWars.com, George Lucas claimed that all of the Star Wars movies reflected his view of the world. But after Return of The Jedi came out in the early 80s, he wanted to take a break from the series. During that period, he raised a family and produced a ton of films. But when Jurassic Park came out, George knew there was a possibility to tell a Star Wars story in a way that he could never have done prior. After all, the technological achievements of Jurassic Park changed Hollywood and what filmmakers thought was possible.
In fact, right after Jurassic Park came out in 1994, George sat down to start planning 'Episode 1' in a prequel Star Wars series that went back and described the period before 'The Dark Times" and the start of The Clone Wars.
"My decision to make Episode I was more or less driven by technology," George Lucas admitted to StarWars.com. "The first three Star Wars films were designed very, very carefully to be done cheaply. We didn’t go to any big cities, we didn’t have a lot of costumes, we didn’t have a lot of extras. We didn’t have a lot of the things that cost money on a movie like that. So it was really driven by what I could afford. You have to remember, the first film was made for 13 million dollars. Today, that same film costs 300 million dollars. Even in those days, 2001 cost like 25 million dollars. And I think we had more special effects than that did."
Because of technological advancements and access to a bigger budget, George didn't want to be limited in his ability to tell his story.
"With Episode I, I didn’t want to tell a limited story. I had to go into the politics and the bigger issues of the Republic and that sort of thing. I had to go into bigger issues. And in order to do that, I had to come up with a way of doing it, and that’s what digital technology brought me. I had Yoda but he couldn’t fight. I had cities, but I couldn’t build models that big. I had lots and lots of costumes, but I couldn’t afford to make them. So there were a lot of issues that were just practical — Episode I wasn’t doable for a long time, so I waited until we had the technology to do it."
There Was Something Personal In George Lucas' Prequels
While George was focused on how the advancements in technology could alter the way he told his Star Wars stories, be it the visual effects, practical effects, and overall use of green screens, it was still the story that drove him.
"One of the main driving aspects of the film was the backstory," George told StarWars.com "In doing the first three Star Wars, I had to create a backstory about where everybody came from, what they did, and everything that had happened. When I finished Return of the Jedi, there were a lot of stories that weren’t used. I was basically trying to fill in the gaps with pieces that I had to make a full story."
George continued by saying, "The original idea for Star Wars was one movie about the tragedy of Darth Vader. But as the story grew, it ended up being three movies and the backstory was never explained. I decided that it would be important to finish it off and do the backstory because things that I thought would be self-evident about the story, the audience didn’t get. Over the 10 years after Return of the Jedi, I realized people misunderstood a lot — such as where Anakin came from. So it was a way of finishing the whole thing off."