The Original Plans for The Force Awakens

[@LetsGoGetThem]

Lucas going "yeah u wanna play an old Luke" to Mark and then going "gonna make it in like 2011" in the 80s is fucking hilarious

[@anthonyyoutubefan7567]

Actually, Lucas asked Mark Hamill that question in 1976. It was a clause in Hamill's contract. He was the only one asked to commit to being the Obi-Wan Kenobi of The ST.

[@elipreme]

Lebron called this

[@atavious2491]

Ultimately, he wasn't wrong. Hamill did end up playing an older Obi-Wan type figure to Rey in the sequels. Whether or not you liked the execution of it is completely up to you. But really, this whole behind the scenes process in making the Force Awakens just screams to me that there was not only no plan from the get go, but overall, no need to make a sequel trilogy in the first place. The first six movies plus the 2008 Clone Wars TV show already felt like a definitive experience of the rise and fall of freedom in the galaxy. ROTJ already felt like a definitive ending with no need to continue on any further. Sure, me being a prequel and clone wars fan, I would've loved to see how Darth Maul could've been redeemed had he been brought back in episode 7, but even that sounded like it wouldn't have made sense. Rather instead, they should've actually have just made new spin-off movies set in that same world but no longer following the original trilogy cast or episode format for that matter. Make an entirely new film series that Introduces a brand new cast set in a time long after ROTJ and have the political state of the galaxy just be background noise or a mystery so that we won't have to think about it when hearing these other stories. Something like that.

[@OctoberOmicron]

@@atavious2491 Originally I would have never wanted a spinoff. Then again, I never ever imagined that they would do what they did, with Star Wars of all things. So yeah, in retrospect, how I wish they had done a spinoff, and just stayed lightyears away from all the characters many of us grew up with.

[@0urmunchk1n]

@@atavious2491 For me, when I heard they were bringing back Luke, Leia, and Han I was immediately disappointed. I felt like that story had been told with incredible skill and there was nothing anyone could do but muff it up. While I'm one of the few that likes what Rian Johnson did with Luke in TLJ I would have rather him be treated as the long dead master that resurrected the Jedi Order. And what value to Leia and Han really add to the story? Let's not forget about poor Chewy... I mean Leia did but... In retrospect it's all too clear that never could have happened since nostalgia is too profitable to not milk it until the cow dies.

[@TheFlixxer]

"let's rush a script to make money for the shareholders as soon as possible" isn't a great way to start a movie.

[@theojenner1902]

This way of thinking is mental, Star Wars is a merch cash cow. You don’t even have to do anything and it will make money. So short sighted, sigh

[@Star_Jewel_Realm]

Money talks.

[@nigelowen4262]

even a basic outline of the trilogy, with a consistent villain and a basic storyline each director needed to stick to would have been much better than what we got Even if the story ideas were bad at least the trilogy would have some coherency instead of three independent movies trying to undo each other.

[@nigelowen4262]

I wish Disney actually would care a little more about shareholders than the politics it is trying to play. In any other company a director who loses money is gone by lunchtime, not allowed to stay indefinitely continuing to lose money...!

[@nathonso_edits]

I mean I do understand the rush somewhat, the original cast weren't getting any younger, but yeah, at least wait until you have a basic outline for the trilogy before making the first one

[@samuelmackenzie5267]

If Poe died in force awakens then we’d never get the gem of a line that is: “somehow Palpatine returned.”

[@GLUBNOIR]

A small price to pay for salvation

[@jmcclain8237]

It was originally written as " dudes back."

[@RobertDowneySenior5647]

They fly now

[@grownmantravels]

he almost rolled his eyes when he said that 😂

[@mansnotbot4160]

Something, something dark side

[@CharlieNorth425]

I really hate this idea of making Han someone who abadoned the cause and was separated from the Alliance/New Republic. It completely undoes his character arc over the original trilogy.

[@josephaseven8461]

They retconned and destroyed Luke and Han for their politics and all the men introduced were weak and stupid. Absolute garbage.

[@samaritan_sys]

In the EU, it took the death of Chewy and one of his sons for him to lose it and run for a while, and even after that he came back to his family because he loved them. None of this 'see, divorce is normal, even Han and Leia split up' modern relationship portrayal.

[@muigokublack6487]

@@samaritan_sys This is why I prefer the EU. It took Chewie dying and the death of Anakin Solo to get him to crack and run back to simpler times but he CAME BACK because he loved his wife and his other two children, Jaina and Jacen. They still remained married and still had alot of adventures. One of the Disney Trilogy's core sins was breaking up one of THE most iconic movie couples and undoes Han's character growth. He starts out as a smuggler but by the end he's a general and a war hero fighting for a cause he believes in.

[@kdusel1991]

​@@muigokublack6487 most of the EU is confusing and stupid though. I will agree that there's some good stuff in it.

[@billybarnett9518]

@@samaritan_sys The "divorce is normal" trope was actually one of the most annoying aspects that predated TFA in Jurassic Park 3, it's like it wiped away the character development from the original.

[@zacharyfelmly1183]

Every time I see a "what the Force Awakens or the sequel trilogy could have been" video, I get kind of angry. Thanks for helping me start my day off right.

[@Bulletsandblockbusters]

Hahaha

[@diegolorente8435]

@@Bulletsandblockbusters can you do the original plan but we could’ve been Power Rangers 2017

[@DontrelleRoosevelt]

Me too, because these KZbinrs are full of shit. They're just trying to incite you. George had SO many versions of the stories that came after Return of the Jedi. This was just one of them.

[@AdamOMcMurphy]

Relax dude, Jesus

[@cable7152]

​@@DontrelleRoosevelttake a pill Dontrelle, everything will be okay. They can't hurt you.

[@SunriseGamer123]

Leia becoming supreme chancellor would’ve been so freaking poetic. It’s like when Padme lost hope “democracy dies quote” but peace would be properly restored through Leia, Padme’s literal daughter.

[@drewdevlin9192]

Leia was Padme’s actual daughter, not literal

[@godofthecripples1237]

​@@drewdevlin9192 That's... what literal means.

[@BuryTheLight-tds]

​@@drewdevlin9192Uh...ever heard of similes?

[@terrylong8894]

And in the Expanded Universe novels, she eventually DOES become Chief of State of the New Republic after Mon Mothma.

[@tanner201x8]

“It’s like poetry, it rhymes”

[@captainweekend5276]

I feel like the sequel trilogy is what exposed the "mystery box" style for what it really was, smoke and mirrors. It's great up until the point you actually have to execute on all the intrigue, only to find the box is empty, or worse someone left a big curling steamer. It works great in a single contained story where the answer doesn't really matter to the overall plot, because all it actually does is give the impression of a deeper story, the moment you actually need to have something of substance there is the moment it all falls apart.

[@JackHammer77]

Well said.

[@leithaziz2716]

I like to call it "a mystery without the worldbuilding to let people build to theoretical answers". Theories in fandoms exist for a reason. Because there's enough material guiding an audience to make their own conclusions in a story. Looking in the gaming medium, Souls games are built on being incredibly vague, but offer enough worldbuilding for people to make headcanons. You can't do that with the "mystery box" setup because you didn't plan for answers.

[@benironside1264]

I think lost already did that.. but youre100% right that the story of the sequels were a victim too

[@Paul-yz4gx]

It was clear from Lost that Abrams likes to create mysteries, but has no idea how he's going to resolve them. Disney set out to create a new trilogy, and didn't have a clue how it would proceed past the first movie. Unbelievable. I think Lucas messed up the prequels but at least he has a plan and a story to tell.

[@PEIAdWords]

Anybody who watch Lost knows the mystery box is BS.

[@EpicBeard815]

I think the biggest failure of the Sequel Trilogy is that it wasn't about anything beyond Star Wars itself. Lucas drew on the Vietnam War, but he was also pulling from Joseph Campbell and Samurai films and theological studies. I didn't need the Disney films to be trying to do all of that, but some degree of awareness in where these stories come from and what they're leaving behind would've, I dunno, left me with some impression. Thankfully, Andor came along.

[@MrM-u3h]

And Mandalorian understood this, too. It was like a spaghetti western.

[@kdusel1991]

​@@MrM-u3h Andor is a masterpiece and Mando's pretty good too

[@MrM-u3h]

@@kdusel1991 So I've heard but I couldn't get into it.i wasn't interested in a prequel to a prequel. Only watched the pilot and wasn't compelled to see more.

[@motherplayer]

@@MrM-u3h First two seasons did. But then Grogu became popular and had to insist on bringing back the mechanic.

[@Dzumeister]

These nostalgia-bait cash grabs need to stop. If it's a story worth telling, by all means, go for it. Unfortunately, this sequel trilogy was a huge waste of potential. Skeptical that Disney actually learned their lesson.

[@micshork]

Lucas should have included “I get to make 7-9 the way I want to.” in the contract.

[@dkarras]

But he didn’t want to. That’s why he sold. He didn’t want to spend another 10yrs of his life at his age focused only on making more SW. If he wanted to make them he just would’ve done it. He didn’t need anybody’s permission.

[@AbstractM0use]

He had a "handshake" agreement when he handed over the outlines for his sequel plans for them to follow, but they decided to trash it and do their own thing.

[@marcinmcula99]

Probably would've been worse

[@BuryTheLight-tds]

​@@marcinmcula99Probably would've been better more like.

[@rooknado]

If I could time travel Id make him do that over dealing w that baby dictator nonsense

[@LeonardoKlotz]

Nostalgia is a strong drug And Disney became the biggest dealer of all

[@4fingaz]

They got addicted to it, too. Never get high on your own supply

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

They gave everyone a bad trip with TLJ.

[@Moefongoh]

Indeed they did, and now they're struggling with selling Star Wars to the general audience because they're running out of nostalgia bait.

[@shadowofthebat6433]

​@@4fingazAnd don't understimate the other one's greed

[@glentor3]

If on,y they were also dealing good writing and plot structure along with it.

[@Harper_1984]

The more we learn about the sequel trilogy, the more we realize Disney REALLY didn’t think it through.

[@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065]

Well, that’s just how every Star Wars has been made For instance, Vader being Luke’s father, Leia being Luke’s sister, Owen being Anakin’s half-brother or Padme dying while giving birth to the twins weren’t plot points planned since the beginning Sadly, that’s how everything within the Star Wars universe works

[@JonathanNobre-cf4jl]

Disney is not in the thinking business. It's in the hurry up & make money business, which as we know is a self defeating business model

[@JS-bu4xt]

it seems they tried to give it plenty or time and care but eventually were up againts a release date they coudlnt put off.

[@Bloodglas]

they were thinking through how much money they could make off the Star Wars name.

[@JohnDman2020]

​@@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065you like these disney wars films dont ya?

[@juanfernandez7409]

0:22 the first 15 seconds sounds better than the whole sequel trilogy

[@Luke-3281]

I hope that Bullets and Blockbusters will do “The Original Plans for SCOOB!” Which is that Scooby-Doo movie came out a few years ago that tried to set up a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe. I actually have a playlist right here kzbin.info/aero/PLdA_IoMsRcFocNKZR2E5DN_xkwsw5i3Uc&si=Q9K9bW9r9Msu8GD2

[@stormhawk31]

Yup

[@STB-jh7od]

Agreed

[@rhey81]

I'm so glad I only saw TFA. Half way through the film, you realize Rey can do no wrong. And then the biggest sin was they defeated the villain in such a way that you lost respect for said villain. It was like, why should I be invested in this trilogy after this? And the results didn't disprove my initial feelings..

[@oppressioneditor9840]

It's such a shame that each of the sequels was rushed out and not given the proper time to plan. They had so many talented people involved but just didn't have the time to work together to make a satisfying narrative

[@jjohnson4013]

They dident care about the story all the care about is there money

[@JonathanNobre-cf4jl]

Gotta love the short sighted we don't see the correlation between taking your time to produce quality & watchable to making the money the we're so greedily craving

[@JS-bu4xt]

@@jjohnson4013 its been recorded, spoken about and even mentioned in this video that Michael Arnt was given almost three years to write one script, and when it was due, he asked for a whole other year and a half. They needed to start rolling, they just gave too much rope one one guy.

[@bennysunday907]

I would think that with a property as notable and revered as Star Wars, they would take their time to try to get things right. Instead Disney said “ who cares what we make? As long as we slap the Star Wars name on this people will watch it”.

[@dbagette]

@@bennysunday907 and then they treated post Endgame MCU the same way

[@matt55800]

Great video! I love that you really did your research on the original George Lucas treatments, even getting Thea and Skylar’s names right, and the basic plot of 7 with Talon corrupting the Solo kid. You summed up the info from Paul Duncan’s interview with Lucas and The Art of Force Awakens book, pretty well. Pablo Hidalgo has also released some additional info on the original plans if anyone’s interested, but they’re scattered across tweets and one of his books.

[@ajvonline]

I agree that EP 7-9 should have continued the Skywalker saga, but I also wish that Finn's character arc had been more central to the story. A lot of great potential was wasted imo.

[@Trey_v3.3]

Yeah! Isn't he really Kyle Katarn in the same way that Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus? He should've been blowing up Imperial Dreadnaughts by pointing his finger like a gun and saying "Pew"

[@Leonardo-oq2qf]

I always felt Finn could’ve been the main character. Having a stormtrooper defect from the Order was a interesting arc and I think they didn’t flesh it out enough

[@ajvonline]

@@Leonardo-oq2qf agree 👍

[@kdusel1991]

​@@ajvonline Finn was wasted

[@purefoldnz3070]

they turned him into moronic comedy relief that was just yelling "Rey!" when he wasnt being a coward

[@Solo13508]

The concept of Leia's true parentage being outed to the galaxy would be used for the Bloodline novel which released as a sort of prequel to The Force Awakens. Absolutely fantastic book. I highly recommend it along with any other Star Wars books written by Claudia Gray.

[@muigokublack6487]

It was handled better in the EU if you ask me where she actually became a Jedi.

[@kerolokerokerolo]

Claudia Gray's star wars books are incredible. Lost stars is one of the best books I've ever read

[@vnep5743]

Obiwan, Episode 4: "trust your feelings, Luke." Mark Hamil, before Episode 7: "I have a bad feeling about this."

[@SenIsTaken]

I've always wondered about how will people react if Lucas continued with his plans. Great vid as always.

[@beagleboi1442]

Tbh I actually think the Sequels would've been polarizing from the start and likely doomed from the beginning

[@ThePrinceofHisOwnKingdom]

People would hate him again.

[@alexdamaceno]

Badly, as they did with the prequels. Cinema history revisionism made him a great filmmaker and also made the prequels better than they are, not actual filmmaking skills

[@sandal_thong]

Yeah, bad as the sequels are to my generation, -the Emperor's- Lucas's ideas aren't much better.

[@jesustovar2549]

​@@alexdamaceno"Not actual filmmaking skills", ever seen his independent shorts, or even THX-1138 or American Graffiti?

[@jeffreyroedel9804]

Luke catching the lightsaber force-pulled from the snow would have been an iconic SW moment! Luke then saves Rey from Kylo, but can't bring himself to kill his former student and nephew, and they escape in the Falcon. At the end of the Force Awakens, Luke sets off with the coordinates to look for the first Jedi Temple, and Rey stays behind to help the resistance and train with Leia.

[@sigma_tron]

Bullets and Blockbusters still carrying

[@eesakhan6164]

Georges Sequel Trilogy was very similar to the Legacy comics, and also breaks the canon of Legacy of the Force/ Hand of the Jedi. It's very safe to say George was definitly planning on decanonising at least a lot of the EU

[@Finfection]

He was already doing that constantly. The prequels did it. The Clone Wars did it. He was always very clear about the EU not being his Star Wars. The EU was it's own tier of canon.

[@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065]

It was quite evident that everything post-ROTJ would be pulled from canon Chewbacca’s death, the existence of the Solo kids and Mara-Jade as Luke’s wife would have been problematic for Lucas’ plans

[@Wimmle]

​@@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065 but dam would of been a better story

[@TheGreatPinkPillow27]

In the thrawn trilogy someone mentioned that "the clone troopers fought against the republic"!?

[@eesakhan6164]

@TheGreatPinkPillow27 I don't remember that, was that in the 3rd book becuase that's the only 1 I haven't read

[@ANMAnation]

I’m so glad they rushed this movie to make those shareholders happy. We all know that being rich can make waiting for more money be such a burden

[@MatiasHamreSveen]

😅 Best comment!

[@Abridgimation]

Maul being a prominent villain in the sequels could've been cool, but Kenobi being the one to slain him on Tattooine was a far better idea. I feel like what they could've done is have an Inquisitor that was groomed to replace Vader once he killed Luke, but since Luke saved Vader and Vader killed Palpatine, that Inquisitor had a burning hatred towards Luke for ruining his destiny, which would lead to him adopting force sensitive orphans into his cult, and eventually manipulate Ben into betraying Luke, burning down the temple and joining his cult. I mean they had the blueprint there with the Knights of Ren, and Snoke.

[@shadowofthebat6433]

I always thought that the flashbacks should've been part of the main story

[@davidw.2791]

@@shadowofthebat6433 Instead it was MYSTERY BOX fodder.

[@dandino8100]

Absolutely not killing off the coolest characters is never a good idea then you're left with nobody's that's arnt as cool

[@sgauden02]

Once again, the original vision sounds so much better than what we actually got!

[@kabeltelevizio]

There aren't really original versions, these are just a bunch of iterations on various concepts and characters and possible storyarc. Any and all of them, could've been done better or worse, depending on the director and the scriptwriters, it's just impossible to tell, considering most of these concepts barely even reached the treatment stage.

[@sgauden02]

@@kabeltelevizio How would you have done the Sequel Trilogy?

[@detroitdiezel7856]

Jeez. Most of these ideas are FAR superior than the crapfest we got. When I originally heard about this film being made, I was really hoping for a "Let's get the band back together" storyline, where the original gang have to find each other to help Han and Leia's kids and their associates defeat the villians. We never even got one scene with Luke, Han and Leia together. .. let alone one including them with Lando, Chewbacca, C3P0 and R2D2. I did like the FIN character. Rey could have been a bit more badass though. And somehow... Palpitine returned!

[@billybarnett9518]

R2-D2 and C-3PO really took a backseat to BB-8, the best thing I can say is that 3PO probably had the best lines in The Rise Of Skywalker, but that probably wasn't intentional.

[@JohnDoe-zb5mt]

@@billybarnett9518 The C3PO thing was a thing that had been requested by the actor since forever but George Lucas always shut him down because he didn't think it fit the character. I felt it was really out of place for him to have a sentimental speech to the people he just met a minute ago

[@jocelynjigsby6969]

How could you like fin? All he did was run and get in trouble. He was a coward and complete utter waste of time

[@jeremyfields9009]

I’m sorry Mark Hamill was right. Star Wars already had a perfect ending. All this stuff sounds like fan fiction and just plan ridiculous. You can tell Lucas and Disney were grasping at straws on how to keep the story going.

[@knightveg]

Original story was great that, Luke realise that he was a Jedi, the resistance decided that they wanted to destroy the two leaders of the empire Prince Leia and Han solo fall in love, Resistance wins the battle against the two leaders and their weapon of mass destruction Story ends perfectly But like original story said galaxy far far away, galactic empire rule the galaxy, So empire wasn't about 2 leaders it wasn't about one mass weapon, As the empire still ruled when the resistance won against Darth Vader and the Sith lord

[@Nightc1tyronin]

Lmfao all they needed to do was give us the Thrawn Trilogy or The Yuuzhan Vong War.

[@jeremyfields9009]

@@Nightc1tyronin both those ideas are terrible. Thrawn trilogy doesn’t work as a sequel because the OGs character arcs were already completed in the OT. also going from fighting The Emperor of the galaxy to fighting an admiral is ridiculous. As for the Vong, nobody wants to see an alien invasion. They’re just another Empire anyway, they even have an evil Emperor.

[@WrightFightConcepts]

It’s amazing. It’s literally just a list of mostly wonderful ideas that were rejected continuously until we got what we got.

[@RayMcElroy50]

"Evil cannot create anything new. It can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made." - JRR Tolkien (I think)

[@Renegade-kf8fp]

Yall are so fucking dramatic with this shit

[@NickPiers]

VERY close to the original quote from the Tolkein's Legendarium. The quote goes, “Evil is not able to create anything new, it can only distort and destroy what has been invented or made by the forces of good.”

[@davidw.2791]

And the forces of good are nothing if not for their god, either.

[@HandofOmega]

Ezra: "You think you can take whatever you want! Things you didn't make, didn't earn; things you don't even understand! You don't deserve to have this art!”

[@davidstinger1134]

@christianauldridge1264 No, GRR Martin is the guy who spent pages describing diarrhea.

[@tomlinson1710]

I wish George never gave Lucasfilm to Disney

[@RudieObias]

George Lucas didn't give Lucasfilm to Disney. He sold it for more than $4 billion 😅

[@tomlinson1710]

@ same difference

George would have bankrupted if he didn't

[@tomlinson1710]

Still think another studio would’ve done better

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

He sold the galaxy far far away because fans hated the prequels

[@dpiddy82]

I still can’t believe Disney handled one of the biggest franchises ever without any sort of overall structure or arc for the 3 new movies.

[@kabeltelevizio]

especially considering they spent all this time with story ideas and prep work. Like why spend years in pre production and just have Ryan Johnson come in and completely reshape the story?

[@dpiddy82]

@@kabeltelevizio Yeah, it's absolutely mad when you think about it. Especially when you consider a lot of these people that worked on the story and script are "professionals" who have had years of training and experience. And to top it off the original George Lucas ideas for 7, 8, 9 actually seem quite decent. To bin them off is criminal.

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

Eh. Lucas approached the original trilogy the exact same way. I mean… Darth Vader wasn’t originally planned to be Anakin Skywalker, and neither were Luke nor Leia planned to be siblings. Those were all made up on the fly as the films were being made.

[@dpiddy82]

@@geoffreyrichards6079 you think that's a good excuse to f-up 3 films when they have a ton of collateral to work with? They screwed up and they screwed up big time. And these are professionals! They trained for this. I've seen better KZbin sequel trilogy ideas...

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

@@dpiddy82 I didn’t say anything of the sort. They definitely screwed things up.

[@GoatMalp]

It's the least trilogiest trilogy that every trilogied. Episode 7 is just a fan tribute film. Episode 8 is the first movie in a new trilogy. Episode 9 is like the Q&A panel at comic con where they just wrap up lose ends to a canceled tv show.

[@patrickbateman312]

Exactly. Completely disjointed, connected by name only.

[@GalenJoyce-ff2cp]

Episode 8 was terrible.

[@freshparkfilms]

12:16 the story for Lucas' Underworld show sounds so awesome someone did a deep dive into it and it sounded so cool would've been amazing I just know it, could've taken the series to a new level! 😊

[@rex-rant4322]

Hmm, I like the way George was going with this. Although I'm not sure Leia being the supreme chancellor AND the chosen one would've been the way to go. I think someone in the future Skywalker lineage would've worked better. Either way, I'd much like this better.

[@derek96720]

Yeah there's still plenty of Kennedy-esque garbage in this storyline, and having Leia be both the chosen one AND the supreme chancellor is pretty ridiculous.

[@rex-rant4322]

@derek96720 it's all about girl power now

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

What has always been great about Star Wars was the multitude of influences, themes, allegories, its open to so many interpretations about what its symbolising, historically or politically. The sequel trilogy had absolutely none of that, it existed only to appeal to the imagery of what came before, to imitate what was profitable and merchandisable. Nothing about the characters, plot-lines, or any of the world-building spoke to some other influence or allegory except the most simplistic retread of fascism bad, rebellion good. I mean all the designs are the exact same, the groups in the film the exact same. You could read so much into the rebellion vs empire, separatists vs republic and all the other interesting ideas thrown around in those films, First Order vs Resistance is just a synonym switch to recreate what was is most familiarly marketable about the franchise.

[@FlashPointStudiosX]

I don’t hate the sequels like most do, but the sequels are a lesson in writing being fundamental. Each movie felt different than the other and I felt like they were juggling ideas which gave us a half inspired trilogy that just feel like 3 years in the greater Star Wars galaxy. However we got some cool characters and moments so I’m not all the way mad like most people. I just hope they have a solid plan before chasing box office & toy sales next time around

[@sabinocanyon4164]

Nah, the movies completely suck and are utter trash. Totally forgettable, no cool moments

[@FlashPointStudiosX]

@ 😭😭

I agree with you @FlashPointStudiosX

[@RedSiegfried]

I hope there is no next time around for Disney and Star Wars. Disney does not deserve another chance considering the opportunity they lazily and greedily wasted.

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

I feel the same. The sequel trilogy clearly had their moments and talents, but the art piece they crafted clearly lacked the strong cohesive glue keeping it all together. I’m more disappointed than I am angry (unlike most other people on the internet). Well, at least their TV series have been doing better.

[@Omar-wq9dz]

The trilogy could have been good if Disney chose to use George Lucas’ story treatments with Lawrence Kasdan writing the scripts for them

[@sandal_thong]

Nah. They're not much better than Disney's versions.

[@jesustovar2549]

THIS, just rewrites here and there, if The Force Awakens ended up being somewhat "decent", I think it's because of Kasdan's writing.

[@cantsayimsurprised]

The Disney Star Wars sequels are films made by committee that had no story direction. It's a testament to the ineptitude of everyone involved that the movies turned out how they did.

[@morsecode980]

In my opinion, the Sequel Trilogy should’ve been about a retconned version of the Yuuzhan Vong War, using some of George’s ideas, in order to keep up with each trilogy and movie being new and different. But it could still have some elements of what we ended up getting to keep it loosely connected to the trilogies prior.

[@alexbrennan6285]

Lucas’s vision for the sequels as presented here is disputed because in James Camerons book Story of Science Fiction released only a couple of years ago George said "The fans would’ve hated it. [The next three Star Wars films] were going to get into a microbiotic world. But there's this world of creatures that operate differently than we do. I call them the Whills. And the Whills are the ones who actually control the universe. They feed off the Force. If I'd held onto the company I could have done it, and then it would have been done”.

[@HyraxusPrimus]

It sounds like the biggest issue was that it needed that extra year in the oven so they could plan filling in those gaps and smoothing out the many wrinkles. Instead, it turned into "Let's make this up as we go along" because someone wanted their paycheck immediately. I understand taking Maul off the table. I think it was a mistake merging Ben Solo/Darth Talon into one character, as even after he killed Snoke, nobody was convinced he could be the main villain after already losing to Rey (and I still can't understand why he turned to the Dark Side in the first place). It would've become a love triangle situation over which woman could literally seduce him more, but that would've worked better than him suddenly turning back because of Leia dying when he clearly doubled down on killing her in the previous movie. The other massive mistake was cutting Luke off from the Force. Him isolating himself to train the Jedi in secret and dying only after his task was done makes a lot more sense and would've been worth not seeing him in the first movie.

[@billybarnett9518]

I honestly don't understand taking Maul off the table, nor his female apprentice, I guess she was too evil for Kennedy.

[@JohnDoe-zb5mt]

@@billybarnett9518 They couldn't have any reference to the prequels whatsoever since the fans hated the prequels. Plus it would be lame, he was just hanging around doing nothing all this time all through episode 2-6? The empire came and went without him doing anything?

[@billybarnett9518]

@@JohnDoe-zb5mt Would be the same questions if Snoke turned out to be Plaugies, but nobody would've cared.

[@rpvisual6192]

2:59 I'VE BEEN YELLING THIS FROM THE ROOFTOP FOR YEARS, finally felt validated lol

[@danielsiljeholm]

The biggest misstake Lucas did was selling he's life work to Disney and having Kathleen Kennedy in charge of it.

[@Fuzhou]

That didn’t happen during Return of the Jedi. That’s the biggest mistake Lucas did.

[@Abridgimation]

@@Fuzhou nah, Return of the Jedi was still a good conclusion. It's a shame we didn't end up getting Wookies instead of Ewoks though, that would've been cool, and made Chewbacca a bit more important to the story.

[@nic2053]

Exactly!!!! That’s what I’m saying!!!

[@streetrat48]

Yes, I weep for the poor man who sold his IP willingly for billions of dollars. You cry babies act like he was held at gun point lol he doesn't give a shit about Star Wars he wanted MONEY

[@jesustovar2549]

​@@AbridgimationI think they didn't end up using wookies it's because they couldn't hire a lot of tall actors at the time.

[@FantasyVisuals]

Best thing Bout the Force Awakens was Harrison Ford ( HanSolo ) laughing as he delivered his linez to Rey ( Daisy Ridley ) , " it's all true " he literally was cracking up as her delivered the lines , mocking the franchise.

[@crazyralph6386]

I knew the franchise was in trouble the moment a Stormtrooper(who apparently suffered PTSD from seeing his buddies getting killed), to jailbreaking the very dude who wasted them, only to join sides and murder dozens more of his colleagues in a Tie Fighter, while high fiving a complete stranger who left him for dead in a barren desert??? Brilliant writing 😂

[@TheFlixxer]

@@crazyralph6386 Wow. When you look at it like that, it is an extra special kind of terrible.

[@evanhayes5891]

Do you have a boyfriend--a hot boyfriend?

[@ShamanMcLamie]

Thought this exact thing when watching the movie for the first time. Knew the movie was going to be derivative going in, but boy was I not expecting it to be as bad as it was.

[@Anderson_101]

No wonder his old buddies called him "traitor"

[@terrygallo8999]

Did anyone also think it was weird to see a stormtrooper wielding a weapon that could stop a light saber during a time that the Jedi were a “myth” from 20 years ago? Lol Disney really knocked it out of the park 😂

[@crispcoffee7958]

The opening with the severed hand holding the lightsaber would’ve made everyone so hyped omg

[@sam9482]

0:42 It’s been downhill since this decision was made

[@MacDarf]

It's been downhill since 1983 but alright man.

[@FRM101]

no matter what the alt version is, it's always going to be better because the version they did do, STUNK

[@avefenixllc]

Love your videos. Please do more of movies from the 90s

[@ahmad55]

When I first saw Finn hold a lightsaber in the trailer I thought that the First Order had made their Stormtroopers from cloning pods like Clone Troopers and that the force awakens in Finn because some Jedi dna was in his body

[@MOOREK031]

I don't know what you're smoking but it's time to stop! 😂

[@GLUBNOIR]

Disney tried to play things safe with the sequels, and it backfired spectacularly. However, judging by recent events, it seems that they still haven't learned anything. Just like the Jedi Order during the prequel era, their arrogance will ultimately be their downfall. Mark my words.

[@piusdoe8984]

Always interesting seeing behind the scenes videos like this. I love the Force Awakens. Everything turned out great there. The sequels not so much. I am confused on the statement that others wrote Han Solo dies because it is known that Harrison himself wanted to be killed off. Its nice to see videos just talking about star wars instead of the usual hate clickbait drivel thats everywhere.

[@dirtydan9457]

How they managed to have all 3 legacy actors all in the same movie but never in the same scene should be studied in film schools

[@fuzonzord9301]

I find it funny is that Captain Phasma is like the least controversial character while also being the DEI hire of the series😂.

[@Bleedblxck]

It's crazy how many cool/good ideas pop up here and there throughout the process and then don't get used or even get watered down

[@classicsonicthewild6051]

Michael Fassbender And Hugo Weaving Were Both Considered For The Role Of Kylo Ren Before Adam Driver Was Cast

[@kdusel1991]

They honestly don't fit! They'd fit better as villains

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

​@@kdusel1991 I think they were considered for Hux. Which physically and voice, I can see that.

[@BorgTube47]

It's amazing how one change can make a movie so much better: setting up Episode 7 with actual consequences of the actions after episode 6 regarding rebuilding after taking down the Empire would have been much richer than what we got. Instead, we get a soft reset and it's Big Empire vs. Small Rebellion again with no explanation as to how we got there.

[@DinoDave150]

The biggest shock from me after watching this video is just how miniscule Finn's role ended up being ever since his conception. I mean, come on! A former Stormtrooper who discovers the Force and becomes a Jedi and starts his own resistance comprised of other former Stormtroopers? There's your new movie, if not Sequel Trilogy, right there! What a waste of a character and especially a waste of John Boyega! Also, why hasn't the Warhammer been a thing yet. The good guys get their own super weapon for once and they never use it? Biggest fumble if you ask me.

[@sandal_thong]

I got the impression that he didn't know his parentage, so that could have been the second movie: both going to look for their parents.

[@HandofOmega]

Yes, George Lucas came up with the idea of Luke going into exile. But, NO, we don't know HOW this was going to be implemented, WHAT it would have looked like, or even if that idea would have persisted past the initial conception phase (look at how much changed in the making of the OT)! The only thing I feel we CAN say is that Lucas would have put a hell of a lot more thought into it then those who took over the project did...

[@leithaziz2716]

I'm not a writer at all, let me be clear from the start, but I don't feel any of these plans for The Force Awakens felt super interesting besides the idea of dealing with the chaos of a lawless, post-empire galaxy. The problem with the sequel trilogy from the start was that there wasn't a clear vision to follow. It didn't feel like there was a need for these stories to exist or add interesting worldbuilding in the first place. Several directors were sought after with the hope they could pitch together something cohesive and salvage the plans. JJ Abrahams just wanted to create a mystery that he was never going to answer (his biggest drawback as a writer is that his worldbuilding is nonexistent and too reliant on the audience), and Ryan Johnson just wanted to do his own thing. I feel like the writing was on the wall regarding how an existent fanbase was going to feel about the whole ordeal. And it's kinda why I stay away from the IP and fanbase in general. They spend most of their time talking about something they hate.

[@motherplayer]

They only got the easy part right in bringing back the warm fuzzies of seeing less complicated black-and-white style conflict along with nostalgic character appearances. The little original material they had was undercooked and clearly angling to be saved down the line, and we saw what ended up happening when nostalgia alone could not longer carry things and they had to try and write new stuff: we ended up finding out there was never a properly formatted plan beyond the nostalgia key-jingle of the first film.

[@Mrpublicimagelimited]

The death of Poe Dameron? Say no more, I'm sold 😂👍

[@ChristianPierce]

have you done a video on episode 4??

[@Bulletsandblockbusters]

Not yet

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

Here's a good idea for a future Bullets & Blockbusters video: *The Original Plans for Don Bluth's "The Land Before Time"* • The film had the early working title of *"The Land Before Time Began".* • Director Don Bluth and Executive producers Steven Spielberg & George Lucas wanted the film to have no dialogue, similar to the "Rite of Spring" segment in Disney's *"Fantasia".* • Littlefoot was originally named "Thunderfoot" but this was changed due to a children's book having the same name for a dinosaur character. • Cera was initially a male Triceratops named "Bambo". It was George Lucas' idea to make Cera female. • The original script did not have the character of Old Rooter who Littlefoot met after his mother's death. • The original cut had a runtime of 80 to 82 minutes and would've gotten a PG-rating (due to scenes with the main characters being in peril or scenes involving the T. rex). • Originally, Littlefoot was to find the Great Valley much earlier after getting separated from Cera, Ducky, Petrie & Spike, and after realizing that they're going the wrong way, he runs off in order to help them. A very noticeable goof in the final edit of the film was that the boulder they used to kill the T. rex was still on top of the cliff.

[@RockSmacker]

after hearing Rey's initial character described as a 'hothead' i feel like Daisy Ridley was the wrong choice for casting that character. i never really saw her as that renegade kind of personality, in fact it seemed they gave that to Poe and to some extent even Finn. i'n sure a lot of it has to do with the writing but Daisy Ridley never seemed to nail down a fleshed out persona for her character. it seemed like the events of the movies were just coming at her rather than her being a meaningfully developed character with her own motivations, hopes and dreams

[@johnbattle7518]

If they were going to cast a Brit, it would have to be someone from Northern England or a Scottish actor. She's too posh sounding for that role

[@willegan3744]

This just makes me sad for what could have been a movie saga of a lifetime

[@escape209]

4:43 wow, how right he was

[@tracark2255]

i dont really agree

[@scottblanco5991]

Man, if only Jon Favreau had done the trilogy from the jump. JJ was a bad choice

[@billybarnett9518]

JJ might've been okay as just the guy shooting things that others wrote, that was his original job.

[@Emerald_Blasphemer]

3:29. Yeah, think about how well that idea would go down with a lot of the Star Wars fanbase nowadays.

[@georgeagathangelou5303]

Brilliant video, thanks. There were some ideas I'd have liked to have seen like the hammer ship!

[@donutfilms360]

Having Maul be the big bad of the sequel trilogy would have been epic!!!

[@sandal_thong]

If he had escaped alive the end of _The Phantom Menace,_ then Obi-Wan would have been obsessed with hunting him down in the next movie, risking the dark side of the Force corrupting him. But bringing him back from the dead because of fans, is stupid.

[@leithaziz2716]

Eh. I think his character arc in The Clone Wars and conclusion in Rebels is one of the more well-received stories of the modern age amongst fans and critics. I think they made the right choice on that front.

[@billybarnett9518]

I don't believe they did make the right choice actually, his arc in the animated shows was only okay at best IMO, him being the big bad of the sequel trilogy would've been a better use for him though. I don't think as many people have seen the cartoons as they have the movies, especially Rebels, that was very apparent when Ashoka came out.

[@JohnDoe-zb5mt]

They didn't want any connections to the prequel trilogy because fans hated them

[@billybarnett9518]

@@JohnDoe-zb5mt Until they did, The Mandalorian season 3 has prequel callbacks.

[@eskanda3434]

You didnt mention anything about midicholrines and how lucas wanted Luke to have a spiritual journey in the films

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

Watching this and the other BTS stuff ive read about the production on TFA and the other two movies, its very obviously that there were too many cooks in the kitchen, no one really being on the same page, and trying to make tight deadlines to meet a 2015 release date.

[@ThisHandleIsTakenTooToo]

I love how for ep VII, with all of that crazy story development and loads of ideas, they've essentially landed on ep IV form wish :D

[@JoeChillton]

I love how the writer had such confidence in Rey that he was terrified to include an older Luke, speaks volumes of how bad Rey was set up to be hollow.

[@sandal_thong]

Originally fans believed almost anyone could open themselves to the Force like Luke. Then it became an inheritance thing. In Harry Potter, there are some witches and wizards who are Muggle-born (have non-magical parents). But apparently J.K.R. said they had a squib in their ancestry that allowed the "magic gene" to be passed down. Personally I think it's more likely that wizards used their powers to "take advantage" of non-magical women, creating these Muggle-borns.

[@leithaziz2716]

It's a shame to an extent, because I love well-done "Pass The Torch" stories, like Bruce to Terry in Batman Beyond, or Peter to Miles in Into The Spider-Verse. Better characterisation could have made Rey a better and likable character.

[@JoeChillton]

@@leithaziz2716 Not setting her up to be a copy of Luke could have done wonders.

[@kdusel1991]

​@@sandal_thong I actually like what they did with Luke! I didn't like that he was a bit of an asshole at first, but his idea of having the Jedi end was fascinating.

[@kdusel1991]

​@@JoeChillton Not setting her up to be Palpatine's granddaughter would be even better.

[@Jason_Waguespack]

Watching the string of events in this video is like watching a slow-motion train wreck. You want to scream "Don't do it! Don't do it!" at the screen, but you know there's no stopping the inevitable result. I also want to add that Lucas's issues with the prequels were primarily with the dialogue and some of his story ideas (I think many people weren't up to meeting Anakin as a child). But the man was a fantastic visualist and a great overall storyteller, and those two qualities would have surely made a far better sequel trilogy than what we got.

[@iconpoet]

In their first battle, Rey CLOSES HER EYES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BATTLE... for MULTIPLE seconds...and this is supposed to be the new Chosen one?

[@Scott__C]

And Kylo just stands there when he could've finished her.

[@Ash-Winchester]

Tbf, there was no new chosen one prophecy introduced in the sequels.

[@yusuf_aleem]

If they had worked in Luke a lot more strategically and not forgotten about Anakin's legacy entirely, it would have been so much better ❤

[@RaulMéndez-s9n]

I kinda feel bad for Hamill. He wanted to give Luke a proper send off, but it seems that everyone else on board wanted to f*** up the character.

[@kaboose111]

You know Hamill liked Luke's treatment in Episode 8, right? I'm sorry you didn't get your cool action figure fights.

[@RaulMéndez-s9n]

@kaboose111 I was under the impression that it was the other way around. There are interviews where he mentioned telling Johnson that he disagreed with his treatment for the character. And it's not about figure fights. The problem is that Johnson tried to deconstruct the character without building up to that state.

[@kaboose111]

@@RaulMéndez-s9n And in those same interviews he goes on to say that he ended up liking those decisions. No buildup? Do you need everything spoonfed to you?

[@ryanmulcahey9810]

@@kaboose111that’s a complete lie

[@ryanmulcahey9810]

@@kaboose111absolutely false

[@thedude4k]

What i still cannot believe is that disney took kylo rens name straight from kybo ren out of the old droids cartoon and changed literally one letter and somehow literally nobody noticed😂

[@dripfreddyfazbear1246]

James McAvoy, Chiwetel Ejiofor And Miles Teller Were All Considered For The Role Of Poe Dameron Before Oscar Issac Was Cast

[@jesustovar2549]

Love all three, definitely would have love to see them in Star Wars.

[@SFisher1993]

I think Christian Slater could’ve played him in the 90’s!

[@EbonKim]

Here's the best idea for what the Episode 7 should have been: Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader didn't just search and kill off Jedi's during their reign, but also other dark Force users who could potentially gain enough power to take them down. With the downfall of Palpatine and Vader, the dark Force users came out of hiding and asserted control of systems once held by the Empire. It starts with Luke, Leia, and Han arguing again like old times. Luke and Leia depart to search for remaining Jedi that survived the Empire's reign, while Han Solo, Chewy, Lando, and Wedge are left in charge of training resistance fighters to take back control of these systems. Luke and Leia rescue two Jedi's and their two apprentices from a powerful dark Force user, and Luke was about to die until one of the Jedi's sacrifices himself to save him. They escape, and the surviving Jedi teaches Luke some things about the Force, and Luke teaches the Jedi as well. Luke takes on the other Jedi's apprentice as his own. We witness Leia using the force in a more non-direct way, influencing alien species to help, much like how the Ewoks helped them on the forest moon of Endor. Leia stays behind with C3PO and R2D2 to finalize a pact with a more technically advanced furry species. When Luke reunites with Han and the rest of the Rebels, the Rebel fleet is on the verge of destruction by an invading force. Luke, the other Jedi, and the two apprentices dock on the mother ship to disable it, while Han and the others protect the trainees until they are able to Lightspeed away to Leia's coordinates. Luke's group confronts the Captain of the ship, another powerful dark Force user, and are almost defeated until Leia returns with a new fleet of furry fighters. Luke and his team work together to momentarily defeat the Captain and escape the mother ship before it explodes, but we see many escape pods launch as well. The old crew meet the new crew, and we see the Captain reporting to his peers. An Order as large as the old Jedi Order, but composed of dark Force users that are slowly taking control of the galaxy.

[@ejdulis]

Reconstruction would've been a much better political setting. Bands of Imperial holdouts attacking anywhere, anytime -- lots of potential for tension. That said... looks like a lot of bad ideas were in the mix long before JJ got involved.

[@carlj12]

Did anyone else hear the rumour that it was Wedge who was meant to come back lead the attack on Star killer base? But when Denis Lawson said 'thanks but no thanks' that was when they expanded the role of Poe

[@retromacman620]

Ick, I really enjoy Force Awakens, but this sounds spectacular. I really wish they would have went with more of Lucas's ideas and let him have more say. Especially having ONE PERSON write the whole trilogy 😂. The biggest issue with the Sequels was that they had no continuous through line.

[@jasonelliott7977]

They didn’t have the story fully fleshed out for the trilogy and that’s why it feels disjointed.

[@sandal_thong]

@@jasonelliott7977 Agree. They went with a repeat nostalgic kick. If they had done something new then it still would have made 2 billion, but if they actually had a plan for three then those might have made 2 billion each and helped pay Disney back for spending too much on Lucasfilm.

[@jesustovar2549]

J. J. Abrahms and Lawrece Kasdan wrote some treatments for Episode 8, they included Luke having a wife in the exile.

[@retromacman620]

@@jasonelliott7977 exactly, they needed a fully cohesive plot that was planned to be intentionally layed out over three films!

[@brushstroke3733]

Good films are made by artists, not film company executives. Too many cooks in the kitchen and they're all trying to create great food in someone else's style. Great job putting together all the pieces of the behind-the-scenes story for us.

[@waxwars9183]

It’s JJ Abrams. It would’ve been bad anyway they made it.

[@billybarnett9518]

Wasn't Mission Impossible 3 well received?

[@kabeltelevizio]

Force Awakens was the only good movie in the sequel trilogy honestly.

[@JamesMalone-x5i]

After watching this, I can hear Palpatine saying “Hood. Let the hate flow through you.”

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

It was Harrison Ford that wanted Han killed off in JEDI not the director *Richard Marquand* because he wanted a permanent out of the series due to fan annoyance. And it was in his agreement that they kill him off in AWAKENS in order to get him to agree to it (no idea about the othre INDY movie < great idea for a plot, terrible execution)

[@cowetascore8476]

Ford wanted Han to die in Empire. The thought would be he dies in the carbonite chamber and it haunts Luke, knowing he's the reason why Han died. It also creates a greater temptation to go to the dark side. But .... toy sales.

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

@cowetascore8476 perfect logic for Luke to turn to the dark side... But... Toy sales. Could've done it with him dying within a day of being released from it in Jedi from the effects....or Jabba just succeeded in killing him.

[@kayiah_the_nerd]

Seems like Disney doesn't recognize good scripts. All these stories about "What it originally could've been" on so many Star Wars projects including the Obi-Wan movie trilogy by Stuart Beattie just break my heart. All these scripts we could've had emphasizing character growth, instead we got unrefined, unplanned mystery box stories with smoke and mirrors at the end.

[@EdwardandJessicaMiller]

We already had a perfect sequel trilogy with “Heir to the Empire”, “Dark Force Rising”, and “The Last Command”.

[@RedSiegfried]

I really think they're overrated books and not perfect by any means, but they are good, I enjoyed them, and they're certainly better than this film trilogy. On the other hand, they didn't really have anything in Star Wars to compete with or be compared to other than the OT.

[@avimo2565]

0:30 no that was for episode 12, then called episode 9

[@Universal-Dork]

Every time Luke appeared the audience didn't care about the new characters...hmmm...that doesn't sound like a bad thing-it sounds like making Luke and Co the main focus of this trilogy would have been an even BIGGER hit. Then at the end of Ep. 9 hand over the Saga to the new cast entirely. not rocket science here!!

[@TheZackshow]

Amazing insight as always, thank you for your work!

[@Aakash_i-s3b]

Imagine being early and not pretending you're in a race "first, second, third"

[@Danzig420]

George’s ideas sound far better than what we got

[@HighFlyingEYE]

Could you do a video on the 24 Die Hard crossover

[@Bulletsandblockbusters]

Great idea

[@ParadeTheGospel]

I’ve never been that big of a Star Wars fan even including the originals but I’m really mad that they didn’t make the sequel trilogy better. I just wish they could redo them. Honestly I would be 100% OK with that even if they have to recast some of the actors. Just say the ones we got was an alternate universe or something.

[@abrasiveangel]

They played my boy Fin. I was done.

[@johnnymizanin4835]

“Mark Hamill would return, despite his better judgement.” Brother, he gave the best performance of his career in 8.

[@stsolomon618]

Disney had opportunity after opportunity to make the sequels right, so much source material and they blew it.

[@maxordman4100]

The Force Awakens is truly my favorite movie out of the Disney trilogy but it’s still heavily flawed. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. This different version does sound like a project that I would better support, especially with more Luke Skywalker. The entire sequel trilogy as a whole is still something I disapprove of. I would’ve liked to see the story with Darth Talon though because she is amazing and gorgeous! Yeah this sounds a lot better than what we got from Disney. Keep up the good reports!