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Time to remake the OT?


Filthy Jawa
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Sacrilege!

 

I'm about to banned for this, but I'll post it anyway because nobody is talking. I rewatched ANH last night for the fifty-eighth time. I know, I'm rookie compared to many of you. Also that's probably not even true - I have no idea how many times I've watched it.

It's not the first time it occurred to me, but I really couldn't help thinking it this time. Now, don't get me wrong, I love this movie. I grew up with this movie. It's so wonderful in so many ways. But it's not perfect.

LFL may never think of remaking these movies. Fans will go beserk. But I feel like it could be done. A remake doesn't erase the original. Often they are done poorly and try to add so much extra modern pop that the result is a mess. But in the right hands (a huge but, I know), it could be wonderful.

 

It's not really a knock on the movie, but it is slow. By today's standards it's slow. It doesn't have the benefit of engineered action beats and blah blah blah that today's movies have (something the OT helped create). GL recognized this and try to pep up some of the transitional scenes with cartoonish cgi. It could be nice to have this story told in a way that aligns with the current (Disney-LFL) feel. Even as flawed as you could argue some of the contemporary films are, it's hard to watch ANH after them and not feel a little bored at times.

 

Some things would be hard to lose. I mean, you can't improve on Alex Guinness or Peter Cushing. I would almost say the same for Harrison Ford (and many did with Solo), but he really only got it exactly right in ESB - in ANH, he had that Harrison thing, but his acting still left a little something to be desired. And in ROTJ he hardly seemed there (partly the script's fault, but partly the cocaine) so you get the right casting and I think it could be done.

I've never been a Hamill fan or Carrie Fisher. I know I'll get shit for this, but I'd lose zero sleep over recasting those roles. I know they'd be better in the new version.

 

The one thing that really struck me watching last night was how NOT scary Darth Vader is in the first movie. They fixed that a bit in the sequels. But think about the Vader everyone went bananas for in Rogue One and now imagine that Vader in the remade OT.

 

You could also fix the little story inconsistencies (like Obi Wan saying Uncle Owen didn't want Luke following Obi Wan on some idealistic crusade like his father did -- of course you could also fix that by rebooting the PT, but it's a given that you do that)

 

There is a lot more and the more I think about this, the more I want it. But only if I have final say on everything.

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Yeah, if fandom can't handle the way Luke is in TLJ, they'd lose their minds over a total remake. Plus, Disney is too invested in brand and the legacy of the OT to call a do over.

 

Maybe in another 20 years, but by then we'll be able to do Special Editions that remake 90% of the movies anyway. We'll be able to have fully realized realistic CG versions of the young OT cast young and the ability to make them do whatever.

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I think that's what planted the seed in my head originally. We're getting to a place where it's pretty much possible as we saw in Rogue One.

 

But then realized I'm not so purely wedded to the likenesses of the original cast. I would want the basic look of the characters to be consistent, but I don't need CGI Hamill/Fisher/Ford. It could really tighten up the overall story - the originals would still be there and could exist (rightly) up on their pedestals, but we could have better, more-modern versions that have a consistent look with the quality of the rest of the films. And take care of all those annoying little things - like where the actors didn't really hit their lines quite right, or the script needed that one little tweak, or the pacing was off, or make the Ewoks better.

 

The more I think about it, the more I'm for it.

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This is the final, logical and horrific progression of fans who obsess over details and want everything to line up perfectly. Anyone who has ever complained about stupid, minor continuity this is the logical conclusion of that. And silliness like this is all of yours fault.

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How many remakes have been good?

Ocean's 11

The Ring (American vs Japanese)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (78)

Little Shop of Horrors

The Fly

The Thing

Fistful of Dollars is equally awesome to Yojimbo

As is The Departed to Internal Affairs

The Blob (88)

Scarface

True Grit

 

Granted while the list seems long, it is but a fraction of remakes made, and in the process of being made. It's rare for them to be good, but not unheard of.

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I wouldn't put it past them if they did that. They did reboot 97% of the franchise, after all, so what's another 3%? I'm already predicting that they'll reboot their new EU in another ten or so years given how rapidly they are saturating it. The films may be a bit more of a stretch, but like I said, I wouldn't put it past them.

I would not be interested in it, though, and would not follow it.

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I don't think they'll ever do it, they could just retell the same story in a another period or setting of the SW Universe with different characters. Force Awakens could essentially be seen as a "soft" remake of the ANH in some ways.

I'm guessing Rian Johnson's trilogy is prob exactly that.

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I don't think they'll ever do it, they could just retell the same story in a another period or setting of the SW Universe with different characters.

 

32764-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-repub

I don't think they'll ever do it, they could just retell the same story in a another period or setting of the SW Universe with different characters. Force Awakens could essentially be seen as a "soft" remake of the ANH in some ways.

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But there was 2 Sith Lords in that. No father issues or family drama, there were many many force users, and you don't play as a naive youth longing for adventure. The only similarity is the existence of a super weapon...the Star Forge (which is actually more of a factory than a weapon). And the main quest is more about uncovering your own past rather than the past of a familial figure.

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There were thousands of Sith Lords, actually.

It was the same basic structure: it starts out on a small ship that gets attacked and boarded by the enemy. The heroes escape to a nearby unfamiliar planet, even using escape pods. We meet a mentor Jedi figure (Bastila) who introduces us to the ways of the Force, which we begin to explore. A significant planet is destroyed. And yes, there was the Star Forge. Some of the events may have occurred in a different order, but they were all there. Some roles were even reverse, with the mentor becoming the naive, imperfect youth rather than the protagonist, but they were all there as well. Really, it was kind of the entire original Trilogy wrapped into one, with a major plot twist, but mostly A New Hope. The number of Force users and other things of that nature are trivial, really.

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You don't say.

 

Yeah, no. Not the same or even particularly similar.

I bet I could show you all the similarities between Clark Kent and Superman, and you'd be like, "Yeah, no. Not the same person or even particularly similar."

In any case, KOTOR retold A New Hope in a way that was original enough that it was a new story and not a blow-by-blow knockoff, while still paying tribute to the structure that made both stories great. The same cannot be said of that Disney movie with NotJacen.

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Yeah, no. Not the same or even particularly similar.

I bet I could show you all the similarities between Clark Kent and Superman, and you'd be like, "Yeah, no. Not the same person or even particularly similar."

Not being particularly similar to Superman is pretty much the basis of Clark Kent's whole bloody persona.

 

Either way, you didn't make a compelling case. Just pointed out a few surface similarities and ignored the vast differences in structure.

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