Sun Wukung wrote:Like the title asks, what would you do with the existing Star Wars universe to make it more suited to you? Would the Jedi be different and not the benevolent protectors of the Republic? Would the Sith turn out to be the "good guys" and the Jedi be the evil conspiring organization hiding behind conspiracy? The idea is to come up with your changes for Star Wars. It can contradict anything, if you can defend your reasoning. That means the Emperor can be less powerfull or more, the Sith can have a different structure in thier Order. Just do what you want to do with the SW universe. Remember:If the EU authors can do it, why can't you?
Episode III:
I'd have the Jedi wear armor in battle, and some kind of military esque uniforms (or at least some alteration to their traditional outfits that would be more suited to an organized army). One could make a case for them not being "ready yet" in AOTC, but by ROTS, they should have armor, and flight suites when they're piloting their fighters too (they can toss their outer rob on over the top for fun and strip back down to their regular clothes after capture, that's fine).
Make the Jedi deaths during Order 66 a little more convincing. If the Force is supposed to just suddenly turn off, depict that somehow, perhaps with a force rush that suddenly cuts out, I dunno. But something... more overkill would be nice too (as was done in some but not all scenes).
Get rid of Palpatine's "yeah!" during the duel on the Invisible Hand. Tone down his fake whining in Anakin's "conversion scene." Make him more threatening/evil and less just plain goofy in his fight with Mace (the silly faces).
Show more of the battle over Coruscant. Clean up the slapstick in the "buzzdroids" scene or remove it entirely and just put in some dogfighting instead. Show off Anakin's piloting skills more. Don't make Obi-Wan such a puss in the cockpit.
Give the battle droids lower voices like they had in Episode I/II.
Get rid of R2D2's ICQ "uh oh!" squeak (he spoke english there, btw, a first!).
And yes, I know Stormtroopers armor is useless, but it would be cool to have them wear armor, and make more sense than NO protection at all.
I'd make the battle between Sideous and those flunkies that Mace Windu brings along actually cool and plausible, not just them standing there and stupidly getting cut down by McDiarmond's rough blocking.
Get rid of the "NOoooooOOOOooooo!!!" (keep the original version of the film in there with it though for laughs, to go with the below...) He can growl, he can gasp in impotent rage, but please, not this "NOooooo---" business.
Make "Backstroke of the West" subtitle track an option.
Put Dave Prowse into the suit for the "Frankenstein" scenes and the standing watching the Death Star scene (and put hands on belt, not folder across chest).
I'm tempted to say "fix the science gaffes" but that would be impossible...
Episode I:
Make Jar Jar not an annoying kiddie cartoon @$#%. Give the Gungans their own language with subtitles perhaps?
No need to mention midichlorians. Delete it. Now perhaps it would seem ackward to do so in Episode I (but not in Episode III). How else do you indicate Anakin has super high force potential? But in Episode III it's completely unnecessary. Save that speculative stuff for the novel/comics. Harder to fix now...
Make the Neimoidians less cartoonish. Give them an alien language with subtitles, or make their voices less like Mojo Jojo (and make their lips move convincingly (or perhaps use a combination, give them a "universal translator" for talking with the humans over intercom).
Delete the slapstick pit droids.
Make the battle droids actually threatening. Show the suffering of Amidala's people. Show Gungan carnage in the ground battle.
Restore the deleted scene of Obi-Wan fighting Darth Maul in the desert (not inserted into the movie of course)
Keep muppet Yoda. I like him.
Make Jabba more lifelike.
Episode II:
Do something to make the romance less awful. You can keep it ackward, but not so spine-chillingly teeth-on-edge bad. Show dead bodies in the Geonosis arena. Show better Jedi tactics (but overwhelmed by numbers).
Option to view restored duel footage that was never finished, and that scene of the assault on the droid control ship as a deleted scene.
ANH:
I'd keep the Special Edition Death Star battle in the first movie, and all the changes, except make Jabba actually look like he did in ROTJ (and get rid of Fett mugging for the camera) and make the scene skippable on the DVD. Greedo would get blasted under the table as normal and the Imperial officers chests would still erupt in flames when shot. Obi-Wan's saber would be completely colored in properly in all frames (ditto for Vaders in the far shots).
I'd speed up the duel in ANH ever so slightly.
Cut the scenes with Luke's pals on Tatooine and the other deleted scenes back to their original glory and give the option on the DVD to play the movie with or without them.
Give it a selectable crawl ('77 or '81).
Restore the original opening logos and such.
Get rid of the slapstick Jawas and droid punching the sentry in Mos Eisley.
Replace the horribly fake Stormtroopers that ride the Dewbacks with something more convincing. Get rid of the Ronto that walks past the camera while Luke is questioned by the troopers (just keep the guy who walks past, less distracting).
Keep the Biggs in the hangar scene, but let me hear Red Leader talk about Luke's father. A scene depicting a younger version of this pilot dude doesn't have to appear in ROTS or AOTC, but that would be a nice thing too, now that I think of it. A million ways to do it.
Give the option to choose between the Mono track, Dolby 2.0 or 5.1 or commentary track.
Otherwise it'd be just like the 2004 DVD release, sans the color timing errors, whacky tints and sound gaffes (er "deliberate creative decisions" whatever!).
Give Chewie a medal.
Ultimately though I'd want these "dream versions" alongside the original theatrical versions (warts and all), of course. All would be anamorphic widescreen of course, with multiple commentaries (one for George, and force him to explain story points and stuff, one for production people, and one for actors... get people who don't normally get to talk and for the deceased ones get past interviews for sound bytes, and then a seperate commentary track just for Ben Burt... j/k
)
ROTJ:
Show more of the battle over Carkoon (don't give Boba Fett any extra screen time though, except maybe make his jetpack flying a little more "realistic" and not so much like he's on an obvious crane/line). Give the option to view either the original Sarlacc or the Audrey II.
Allow the option to view the 2004 "saga ending" (pipes, planet celebrations, new ewok shots and cuts) or the 1983 theatrical ending (Ewok song 'n' dance) in the movie. No Hayden. No shaven eyebrows on Anakin.
Keep the 2004 restoration minus the color timing/balance gaffes and the lightning glitches. Get rid of the garbage mattes.
Give the option to view Lapti Nek instead of Jedi Rocks (replace CG Snooty with one that doesn't look quite so cutsey and cartoonish, tone the Yazzum guy way the hell down).
Show me more ewok deaths and more intelligent Stormtrooper behavior (overwhelmed by sheer numbers or brilliant tactics). Restore the B-Wing attack on the Star destroyer scene.
Option of 2.0 or 5.1 soundtrack of course.
ESB:
Keep the 2004 Restoration minus color gaffes, restore Boba Fett's old voice.
Restore "bring my shuttle" and replace the recycled shots from ROTJ with new footage that shows what we're supposed to be seeing (the inside of the Executor, not the Death Star II with Moff Jerrerod!).
Show a bit more of the Hoth battle. I don't mean troopers running at each other, I just mean more of the AT-ST's and stuff getting blown up, fly bys, etc.
Restore an optional to view "Royal Guards and Jerrerod being choked" scene in context.
Fix the Emperor's slugs.
Full deleted scenes gallery for all the movies (and all restored and completed with CG where necessary to the same quality as the rest of the stuff) viewable seperately or in the movie (and provide optional intros/commentary from Lucas). I'm thinking here like the alternate cantina take could be restored to full color with the atmospheric sounds and stuff like it would have had, had it been used instead of the one we got.
I gotta admit though, Episode I is problematic. Remaking the movie might be better, but what's done is done, so those would be my changes.
Oh, and these would be shown in the theaters, with with all the inserted scenes in the "dream version" with stadium seating and THX, extra popcorn and all that.
As for the EU:
I would forget the NJO ever existed. Reset the EU, with the "dream films" as their starting point. (you can still sell the old EU stuff, it's just no longer canon... you can fit in some of it, but you have to tailor it to the movies as they now are, not the other way around, and new material is encouraged). Fire Karen Travis and KJA (or, less harshly, give them an ultimatum to shape up both their quality and continuity standards and their dealings of fans).
Get LucasArts to release the source code to the original Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, and Mysteries of the Sith... and the Single Player source for Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. Re-release all of them in a big "Jedi Knight Collection" package with the editors tools and a "best of" for mods on a bonus cd/dvd.
Oh well...
