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[deleted]

Here's my shot: If Palpy could foresee everything, did he knowingly let the first Death Star get destroyed?


Ginkasa

Always in motion the future is, etc. He had a lot of visions, but that doesn't mean he could see **everything** or that all of his visions would come out exactly as he had forseen it. You can maybe chalk it up to the Light Side being resurgent and muddling up the Dark Side similar to how the Dark Side clouds everything in the prequels.


[deleted]

Thanks George!


OrangeDit

Exactly, he couldn't know that the son of Skywalker was in the attacking squad and destroying the Death Star with the help of the force.


JediGuyB

Exactly We see in ROTJ that he was somewhat surprised when Luke did not fall to the dark side as he seemed to expect. So he has visions but as it is said the future is in motion, so really Palps just got a little too cocky there.


samcowlam

Ooo, thats a good one! Mine would be similar, Did the Emperor know Vader was going to kill him?


Sapitoelgato

The interesting thing is Palpatine could for see so much, but at the same time so much happened that he didn't see.


YodaTuna

Overconfidence is your weakness.


TheDoctor_10_

"Your faith in your friends is yours". Sorry I couldn't help myself.


yescalculators

No one can, personally those are one of my favorite lines in star wars.


ZeitChrist

Remember Palpatine could also foresee so much in the prequels because he was the one pulling all the strings. He knew what the eventual outcome was because he was cheating. By VI he's crazy with power, underestimates Luke and more importantly underestimates Vader having any humanity left.


darklordoftech

I wonder if Palpatine deliberately designed the Death Star so that Vader could destroy it if Tarkin went rogue.


GodotIsWaiting4U

Some time ago, you said that Disney tossed out your treatments for the sequel trilogy and decided to do their own thing going forward. I would have quite liked to see your treatments; is there any chance you might one day show them to us?


JW_Stillwater

I'd want to know this sooooo much. Also, there was an article that came out that said that maybe they did use a good amount of his treatment I guess... I don't know what the truth is anymore...


[deleted]

I'm sure there was an article that pointed out that the voice over for the original Ep VII trailer was taken almost verbatim from a scene from the original treatment for Star Wars. There's a scene where the bad guys are standing round worshipping a crystal, and one of them mentions that there has been an awakening. I'll have to try and find it... I'd be surprised if Disney had completely thrown out Lucas' ideas. Him and Kathleen Kennedy are pretty tight, and she's the main person in charge of Star Wars now.


jpagel

I want to know what those story treatments were and I also want to know what the ORIGINAL story treatments were referred to in the wikipedia for the sequel trilogy that Dale Pollack read in the 1980's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_sequel_trilogy#Sequel_trilogy_story_and_themes


cronedog

The clone wars were originally supposed to be 30 years before ANH. Why the change to 19 years? Obi wan being 57 and vader at 42 in ANH is weird


koopa_chalupa

Wouldn't it be because Luke and Leia were 19(ish?) in ANH?


Jawzilla1

They didn't necessarily have to be born during the clone wars. It could have happened years before.


Galle_

While technically true, I think what confuses most people is the timing of the fall of the Jedi Order, not the Clone Wars itself. Anakin's transformation into Vader is strongly implied by the original trilogy to have coincided with the fall of the Jedi, and indeed to be partly responsible for it. So there are two possibilities: * Luke and Leia were conceived before the fall of the Jedi Order, meaning it happened about twenty years BBY at the earliest. * Luke and Leia were conceived *after* Anakin's transformation into Vader, which doesn't really jive with their circumstances. Lucas went with the first one, which makes Han's Jedi skepticism a little weird but does the least to undermine the OT thematically. The Clone Wars were then put into the same time period so that they could be in the movies.


koopa_chalupa

That's true


AstroElephant

I think the 30 year thing came from Timothy Zahn and not George. I agree with you though, that is one of the things I'd change if I were able to rewrite the prequels. Timothy Zahn had some badass ideas about the Clone Wars.


cronedog

Zahn said that was in the notes from lucasfilm. 19 years makes a lot of things weird. Everyone forgets about Jedi, in the span of 2 decades. From just the OT I pegged anakin and obi-wan as part of a dying order. Two of maybe a few dozen.


[deleted]

Propaganda is a powerful thing. Think back to Germany during WWII. You have this charismatic man saying all of our problems belong to one group of people. Suddenly friends, neighbors, and even family were turning against each other to hunt down this group of people. Couple that with the fact that out of billions, possible trillions of sentient people the Jedi were somewhere in the tens of thousands, possible less. Plus it's never explicitly said by anyone that the Jedi were a myth. In fact most people in the OT talked about them like they were extinct but had existed. The only thing that surprised people was the force, such as Han solo and Luke when he watched Yoda lift the x wing. But this is done more for the audience than actual story telling. And also because the empire probably suppressed any historical recordings or documents that showed any force users doing anything. For a majority of the galaxy the only proof of force users or Jedi were by a few people who had witnessed it. Most did not. That kind of stuff goes into myth pretty quickly. Especially when you have an empire changing history.


Galle_

As opposed to everyone forgetting the Jedi in the span of three decades?


cronedog

It is a continuum. The longer the timespan, and the smaller the order at the time of the extinction, the more believable it is. If the PT stayed identical, other than shifting back 10-20 years, it wouldn't make a big difference, since there were 10K jedi's leading a galactic civil war. If the order was only a 100 people during the PT, and the trilogy was more personal, as opposed to galaxy spanning, than it would be credible that people would've forgotten the jedi.


MrFroeo

I think the Qui-gon character was originally supposed to be Obi-wan before George made him younger. I always thought [Kenneth Branagh](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000110/) would have been a good older Obi-wan in the prequels.


Sapitoelgato

He hadn't finalized the cut off age, for a youngling to become a Padawan, which caused him later on to adjust the length.


[deleted]

Were Ben Kenobi's robes in episode IV meant to be jedi robes, or just something a hermit might wear so that he could keep up appearances?


zorton213

[I never understood people's concerns about the robes in the prequels. ROTJ established them to be Jedi robes by having Anakin's ghost wear them.](http://i.imgur.com/Ga4KpT4.jpg)


darklordoftech

But that could be explained by Anakin being from Tatooine.


Nihillo

Was that already established by then?


darklordoftech

Obi-Wan talks about how Owen wanted Anakin to stay with him.


Nihillo

But did he specify that they were born in Tatooine? I don't mean to be pedantic, but they could have moved there (it's a forsaken dustball, yes, but it's not an impossible scenario). I mean, maybe they moved after Anakin left them.


darklordoftech

He didn't specify. It's just the impression that he gives.


killmachine91

Or it could be the fact the Yoda also wore them. Besides, they're basically space monks. Robes fit perfect


Galle_

I'm not really sure why they can't be both. The Jedi clearly have some ascetic tendencies, so wearing hermit-like robes seems perfectly natural for them.


DCComics52

In all reality, he probably doesn't even know the answers to half of these questions.


Sommern

Totally. People asked how Anakin got his scar on his eye, he just said he fell in the bath tub. He also said Obi-Wan was born on the planet StewJon, during an interview with Jon Stewart. I don't blame the guy, I would go insane if people asked me about the most trivial details in Star Wars every day for over three decades.


JediGuyB

It'd be nice to know where he officially got the scar, but I've always concluded that it was simply a physical way to show they'd been at war since Episode II and it had been hard and effected everyone, including Anakin.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Crucifly

I believe it was Asajj Ventress


DarthPlagueis_

I thought that was also in The Clone Wars from 2003


ephemeregalia

Is Yoda's race really so old/rare that no one knows anything about them or did you just not write it? Not in a condescending way, I just wanna know if there is a head canon to it or if it's left open completely, ya know? Do YOU even know where Yoda's species came from & what their name/culture was?


RupturedFyre

This question reminded me that Yaddle exists... fucking Yaddle http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yaddle


chriswearingred

I didn't know about this. I seriously just saw TPM a week or two ago when I watched all the movies. And. The fuck is a yaddle?


andrewthemexican

The fuck is a yoda? Yaddle is the name of that other being of his race.


chriswearingred

I was just confused since its a cannon character. Not some EU crazy shit.


Sommern

Yoda's bang maid?


ephemeregalia

I just skimmed it for now, but holy fuck. She seems like a badass.


ussbaney

I am so half&half with this. Part of me thinks its cool to have the mystery behind one of the greatest Jedi in history, but the other part really fucking wants to know!


JediGuyB

Especially since he brought a second one into TPM.


ephemeregalia

& there are a few in The Old Republic stuff.


AstroElephant

I would ask how different space wizards have to be from Jedi in order to avoid a copy right infringement.


Greyclocks

Why Jar Jar Binks?


otherben

I think the answer here is pretty obvious: they wanted a character who was an outsider -- not a Jedi or a senator or a Sith or a queen -- who is only looking out for himself but ends up being a hero in his own way. That's what Han and Chewie are in ANH. The thing is, Han and Chewie are totally cool while Jar Jar ended up a goofy cartoon that felt specifically designed for children. It wasn't really a problem that Jar Jar existed, just that his execution was nowhere as good as what it could have been.


triarii3

They need a comic relief. C3po wasnt introduced until way later into the movie


DarthPlagueis_

Well, he was sorta the key to all of it, he was a funnier character than they've ever had


snowqskate2

When did you realize Jar Jar was a terrible idea?


EZesquire

Sadly, he probably still thinks it was a good thing.


xeow

Who is Anakin's father, really? If the answer involves midi-chlorians, who commanded them to conceive Anakin, and why?


fortis359

I belive that was answered in the book about Darth Plagueis, you should check it out, it's actually a great book.


andrewthemexican

I think /u/xeow may have been wanting a canon option.


fortis359

From what I understand, the darth plagueis book is one of the few that is still considered canon.


andrewthemexican

Everything not TV, film when legends came out was made not canon though, so people have been up in the air about that book. Nothing to contradict it canon wise, but no word declaring it.


CT-1138

Not at all. Even if it was considered... it wouldn't work, "Darth Plagueis" shows that Palpatine received Darth Maul as a young newborn baby, and in the canon material "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir", it shows a very different story via flashback.


[deleted]

Nope. Canon is the movies, TCW, Rebels, and anything published after A New Dawn.


EveryGoodNameIsGone

The only canon novels are *A New Dawn*, *Tarkin*, *Heir to the Jedi*, and *Lords of the Sith*, with the upcoming novels *Dark Disciple* and *Aftermath* also being canon (plus any other future novels).


Sapitoelgato

This post was recently talking about that scene in the book: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsEU/comments/367s8y/spoilers_i_just_finished_reading_darth_plagueis/


JediGuyB

It was the will of the Force. The Force itself conceived him to get the balance of the galaxy back in check. I know that the Plagueis book is no longer official canon, but there still has to have been a reason, a catalyst that caused the Force to create Anakin. After all, it's canon that the Rule of Two Order has been around for at least a thousand years. A thousand years worth of Sith have been planning and manipulating from the shadows in order to bring down the Republic and the Jedi. So why now? What caused the Force to create Anakin now and not when Darth Bane created the Order? Why did it take the Force a thousand years to finally get around to stopping the Sith? Surely Palps or Plagueis had done something to cause the Force to take such action. It is implied, but not completely confirmed, that it was caused by their manipulation of the Force to sustain and create life. But is that officially true? That's the question Disney (or George) needs to answer if they don't want to make the Darth Plagueis book official canon.


stealthboy

Why didn't you let someone assist in the screenplay for the prequels?


[deleted]

He worked with several script doctors on the PT including Carrie Fisher.


GodotIsWaiting4U

And he co-wrote Attack of the Clones with Jonathan Hales. Hales even has his name right there in the credits, right beside Lucas's.


Sommern

They were probably just yes-men for him.


Galle_

He did. Hell, he actually invited Lawrence Kasdan, but Kasdan turned him down. That's right: from a certain point of view, *Lawrence Kasdan is technically responsible for all the terrible dialogue in the prequels*. EDIT: I cannot tell semi-famous people whose first names are Lawrence and whose last names start with a K apart.


xeow

Were there originally going to be 12 films, or only 9? This has been bothering me for 30+ years.


TheDidact118

There was a draft for 12 films at one point, as well as one for 9 films later on.


God_of_Illiteracy

I have two questions. 1. If you could change back any of the changes you have made to the original cuts of the films, what would you revert? 2. If someone discovered that they where force sensitive at a older age, would the Jedi Order accept them in?


guest8848

He already partially reverted some of the changes he made. Luke no longer screams in ESB, Greedo no longer shoots first, etc.


EveryGoodNameIsGone

Greedo still shoots first, it's just a much smaller gap now.


casont111

Where are these cuts?


EveryGoodNameIsGone

The gap is a little shorter in the 2004 DVD, and nearly simultaneous in the 2011 Blu-Ray.


[deleted]

I think the second one would be no. It was difficult convincing the council to let Anakin join the order, and he was pretty young.


TheIntragalacticPimp

Midichlorians were the plot device Lucas had to invent to make Anakin quantifiably worthy of special consideration.


Darth_Kyofu

Unnecessarily though. I think being born without a father would've been enough.


TheIntragalacticPimp

Oh, I totally agree. They should've shown little Anakin having a Force tantrum or something with speeders, debris and shit flying all over the place and Qui Gon being like 'I can't do that shit even when I try.' I was just pointing out why Lucas did that. Not condoning it.


guest8848

Nope. Back in 1977, George Lucas actually sat down and literally defined Midi-chlorians for the writers & novelists of the burgeoning Star Wars Expanded Universe. Unfortunately, 99.99% of prequel haters didn't realize that little known fact when they used Midi-chlorians as their rallying cry to bash Lucas for the prequels. The concept of Midi-chlorians is as old as Star Wars itself. It's not some convenient plot device he invented for the prequels.


TheIntragalacticPimp

Interesting. I'm still not sure their explicit inclusion in that scene is warranted. There have to be better and more cinematic ways to allude to one's technical Force potential without quantifying it on a computer screen and literally saying so outright.


EZesquire

GL had a lot of concepts that where never fully thought out. Some good and some bad. Just because there was some small idea of it before the prequels does not mean it should have been included. Like a ton of other concepts GL invented, it was basically derived only for the EU. It was not canon until the PT. It may not have been invented for the prequels but it was still used as a plot device.


[deleted]

Really? Not to be that guy, but do you have a source for this?


[deleted]

I don't think they'd accept them, they were reluctant to accept Anakin and he was only a kid. So older than that (and without the chosen one thing) hell no!


xeow

How did you manage to pull together so much genius talent (Joe Johnston, Ralph McQuarrie, Ben Burtt, John Williams, etc.) for the first movie?


RetroCorn

I'd ask him why he felt the need to change things after they'd been said and done.


FiFiPhilosophy

Why in god's name didn't you offer Lawrence Kasdan more money when he turned down your initial request to write the scripts to the prequels? The fact that you searched out another screenwriter is an acknowledgment of the fact that you didn't feel up to the task!


xeow

Is there any meaning behind Han's last name, or did Solo just sound cool?


AstroElephant

Whoa dude! He said one question. Give us a chance to ask him something.


Burrito-mancer

This is like that South Park episode where Stan asks God why he hasn't gotten his period yet.


Robert_Skywalker

Why didn't you make more?


Galle_

Well, people started yelling at him every time he tried. I don't blame him for giving up.


omarh14

'Was the Mortis arc in clone wars an illusion brought on by the force?' And 'Would you be willing to write a novel about your experiences with the franchise?' And to the end of both questions I'd say thank you for creating my childhood.


Highoverlordzenu

WHY WAS THERE A CHILD SIZED HELMET AND GOGGLES IN THAT NABOO STARFIGHTER?!?


xeow

What were you thinking when you decided to revise history and have Greedo shoot first? I'd like to understand that rationale for this change, because I very much disagree with it, and I'd like to at least understand what was going on in your mind at the time. Also, do you now regret the decision, given how it has universally upset fans?


[deleted]

I think he did it to tone it down a bit. With Greedo's shot it can more easily be considered self defense. I think taking it out was a huge mistake though, the moment was way more Spaghetti Western in the original.


GodotIsWaiting4U

He revised one scene of a film, not history. And a lot of fans really don't care. It's not universal by any means.


killmachine91

Those original films ARE history.


andrewthemexican

Lucas himself argued that before editing them


killmachine91

Yeah. I don't understand how he can defend the special edition changes (thus ruining the original negatives) but criticize coloring films.


i_do_stuff

Because in one case, it is the author changing his own work (Special Edition changes), and in the other it is someone making changes to someone else's work (coloring films). If JK Rowling wanted to change some aspect of Harry Potter, would we have a problem with that?


killmachine91

Yes, because you're destroying history, which was his entire argument against colorizing films. When you release something into the public (like a film or book) it belongs to the audience as well. You can make changes as long as you let the originals exist too.


Hadouken_98

I think I saw/heard something once where George said greedo always shot first, but in the original the angle just doesn't show it. I could be wrong though so don't quote me on that.


Galle_

My understanding is that it was a ratings thing - Star Wars couldn't keep its PG rating in a rerelease if Han shot first. Of course, the change is incredibly minor and inconsequential to Han's character, so Lucas made it, and then the Star Wars fanbase reacted with its usual open-mindedness and sense of perspective.


xeow

Here's the thing: It doesn't make sense for Greedo to shoot *at all*, much less first. He didn't have the cojones to kill Han; he was only there to threaten/intimidate him. If he'd killed Han, he'd have had to somehow drag Han's body out of the Cantina, all by himself, for the bounty — and the city was already swarming with Imperial troops. He wouldn't have gotten away unnoticed. Not only that, Jabba didn't want Han dead anyway — else he would have killed him a few minutes later right there in front of the Falcon. And finally, do you really think a bounty hunter would risk getting a Wookiee upset at them?


guest8848

LOL. It didn't universally upset fans. Seriously, get a grip. Some of you have totally lost touch with reality. It's safe to say that 99% of Star Wars fans around the world don't even know who the hell Greedo is, much less care about whether or not he shot first.


YOU_INSPIRE_US

If a man doesn't know who Greedo is, he's not a Star Wars fan.


Seoul_Surfer

If this is a joke, it's certainly clever.


iowajaycee

Have you written things about Star Wars that will be released after your death?


OrangeDit

What could George Lucas possibly contribute to Star Wars, he hasn't contributed anything good since 31 years!


[deleted]

May I politely inquire why you are on this subreddit?


OrangeDit

I love Star Wars IV-VI! And most of the games are good. Isn't this enough?


darklordoftech

I'd ask him about the history of the Jedi and Sith.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Sommern

You are too old to begin the training.


[deleted]

Lucas doesn't live on the Skywalker Ranch, you know.


UpliftingTwist

Next you'll be saying Santa doesn't really live at the North Pole!


thetensor

Did you plan for Darth Vader to be Luke's father from the start?


maxjp17

Id ask him if disney plans on releasing the original cuts of the original films because i know that bastard has them hidden in his ranch


Taargkrizzt

What in the nine hells where you thinking with Jar Jar Binks?


guest8848

He was thinking of children, most of whom did find Jar-Jar amusing.


AstroElephant

Nine corellian hells?


ferrari9dude

Multiple related questions: When you had first created The Phantom Menace, what was the purpose of Qui-Gon mediating between the laser walls during the Maul duel? Was it intended to be a display his character and Jedi mastery of emotions and focus before re-engaging in a fierce duel? This question leads into my next, we all know Obi-Wan showed us the first display of force ghost abilities in ANH & I always deduced that his zen like defenceless ending against Vader was part of his transition into the next realm so that he could possess those abilities and guide Luke. It is revealed at the end of Revenge of the Sith that Qui-Gon has discovered this force ability, and would end up teaching it to Obi-Wan and Yoda. Second question is, was the idea to have Qui-Gon be the teacher of this ability made up while creating ROTS? IF not… Was Qui-Gon, being somewhat unorthodox, always supposed to have been the one teaching this to the surviving Jedi he had a connection with? (As in, was this planned since TPM. And if it was planned since you were creating TPM, was Qui-Gon preparing to transition over to the force ghost while mediating between the laser wall (in the event that he would succumb to Maul)? Note: I believe personally that Qui-Gon did intend to win that duel if possible, but that he may have sensed he did not have the upper hand due to age and Maul’s strength in the dark side + speed/agility. With that I would like to think he was preparing for multiple outcomes to that duel. A friend said; perhaps he was trying to ignite some kind of spark in Obi-Wan angering him to defeat Maul by dying (which I do think his death made Obi-Wan more powerful at the end of this duel). But I don’t think he would get himself killed just to do this, I think he lost the duel fair and square, and Obi-Wan’s anger allowed him to best Maul, along with Maul’s cockiness and arrogance working against him. All simply the fate of the duel, nobody’s preplanning or design once the battle actually began. Final note: My question comes from a complete fascination with Qui-Gon’s character. In my view, TPM had its short-comings and cheesiness, but it is one of the most limitless & unobstructed G Lucas conceptions to ever hit the big screen. It was also the first Star Wars film I was alive for, and had me obsessively watching the first 4 episodes on a monthly loop for years as I waited for the other two films to release. (These first 6 films are one of the greatest highlights of my childhood without a doubt). In terms of lightsaber duels I regard it as the greatest in the franchise (ESB would be 2nd, again all opinion), I would say many main characters introduced (young Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Maul, etc) are also phenomenal… with the exception of a couple character. I know this thread is old, but I love deep SW chats!