Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is 25 years outdated and again in theaters for Star Wars Day (“Could the 4th be with you”), inevitably setting off a brand new spherical of debate in regards to the film, the prequel trilogy as a complete, and the present, typically irritating, state of Star Wars media. Although The Phantom Menace has been closely criticized, it’s additionally been re-examined and even embraced over the previous few many years. There are memes that remember the extremely dramatic dialogue and direct references in tentpoles like Solo. The children who grew up with the prequels as their principal Star Wars motion pictures have spoken as much as defend them.
However arguably, what actually vindicated the prequel trilogy was the spin-off tradition. The animated sequence, books, comics, and the whole lot else tying into the expanded canon made good on the guarantees delivered within the prequels’ seven hours of CG-filled journey. The Phantom Menace, and later Assault of the Clones, launched a political conspiracy that spanned each nook of the Star Wars universe, a corrupt authorities meshing with a considerably clueless Jedi Order. In an try at cheap runtimes, the films don’t go that deep with the Jedi’s request for a clone military, or attention-grabbing characters like Darth Maul, Mace Windu, and Depend Dooku, who all meet early demises. However the genius of Lucas’ plans — anticipated or unintended — is that the films sparked creativity in different creators.
Del Rey
In 2014, shortly after the acquisition of Lucasfilm, Disney rebranded most “Expanded Universe” media as “Legends” content material, with solely a handful of tales and lore from outdoors of the films surviving the purge. Nonetheless, each departed and surviving EU improve the prequels.
One notable ebook that didn’t survive the brand new post-Disney canon is James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, which took one of the vital essential but unknown figures of the prequels and gave us a whole story that fills loads of the blanks. The novel handled the Sith lord Darth Plagueis, hinted in Revenge of the Sith to be Darth Sidious’ grasp, and a being who may manipulate midichlorians to create life. The novel tells the story of Plagueis’ coaching of a teenage Palpatine, his arc to change into a politician, and the way the duo deliberate the creation of a clone military, and with that the Clone Wars itself.
Although the novel is now not canon, the concept that Palpatine and his grasp deliberate the whole lot in regards to the Clone Wars with the intention to achieve energy has been explored in different comics and novels, like Luceno’s personal Tarkin from 2014. Palpatine within the motion pictures was meant to be this mastermind who was ten steps forward of everybody, however we didn’t actually see him try this a lot till Revenge of the Sith. Likewise, we’re informed imprecise statements about corruption and the “bureaucrats” in command of the Senate, however in books we lastly began to see how a lot the senator from Naboo modified the course of historical past within the galaxy. Tarkin illustrated the broken political system, and the way straightforward it was for Palpatine to govern it to his favor, one thing that fleshed out the hooded determine previously identified simply as “The Emperor” right into a crafty man everybody underestimated till it was too late.
The expanded canon additionally shines a brand new gentle on the Jedi Order higher than the films ever may. We knew from the unique trilogy that the Jedi had all however disappeared; the prequels confirmed them to be a naïve, strict group that was unable to forestall its downfall.
The novels Grasp & Apprentice by Claudia Grey and the audiobook Dooku: Jedi Misplaced by Cavan Scott give attention to why some Jedi within the galaxy turned disillusioned by the Order, and its shut ties to the Republic. Grasp & Apprentice follows Qui-Gon Jinn as he welcomes Obi-Wan Kenobi as his apprentice, fleshing out some themes from the films, like slavery within the galaxy and the Jedi Order’s function in galactic politics. The novel reveals that Qui-Gon was consistently questioning whether or not the Jedi have been greater than the chancellor’s police drive, and the character of “steadiness” within the Power.
The Phantom Menace launched the thought of Jedi as one thing akin to the United Nations’ Peacekeeping Forces, unable to intervene with out full authority from the Republic, and anticipated to all the time be impartial. However how are they supposed to guard the sunshine facet of the Power, which lives inside all residing creatures, if they will’t intervene in wars or finish slavery? The present EU books confront the contradictions that pushed away members like Depend Dooku and, finally, Anakin.
Marvel Comics
In terms of the comedian books, the anthology run Age of Republic shines new gentle on the characters we all know from the prequels. The Qui-Gon challenge expands on the story from Grasp & Apprentice the place the Jedi grasp was turning into obsessive about prophecies and discovering true steadiness within the drive, which he thinks the Jedi Order can’t obtain in the event that they keep so inflexible.
There’s additionally Obi-Wan and Anakin, written by Charles Soule, which explores the connection between Obi-Wan and Anakin and the ten years between Episodes I and II, carving out the brotherly bond that fashioned between the 2 Jedi. The Darth Maul miniseries focuses on Maul’s insatiable starvation to kill of Jedi, and his frustration over being forbidden to interact in fight earlier than the occasions of The Phantom Menace, one thing that additional sends him to the darkish facet of the Power, even when he wonders what the sunshine has to supply.
Then there’s The Clone Wars, one of many few bits of media that wasn’t de-canonized earlier than The Power Awakens was launched. What made the animated sequence particular from the get-go is that it appeared like everybody concerned knew that viewers have been fairly damaging about many of the characters within the prequels, in order that they took it to coronary heart to flesh them out and provides them sufficient depth to make us love them simply as a lot as Luke, Leia, and Han.
From the primary season, The Clone Wars confirmed us the impression the battle had on your entire Star Wars universe. We meet children who have been orphaned by the battle, see how the prison underworld thrived in a battle setting, and observe why most planetary populations hesitated to affix the battle effort — which kicked off rebellions in some areas. Whereas the sequence was primarily aimed toward children, there was some darkish and mature materials at show that confirmed the horrors of battle and the human price of it.
Cartoon Community
Top-of-the-line elements of the sequence was attending to know the faceless clone military that was launched within the motion pictures. We first meet Domino Squad in coaching, then observe them by means of their trials and tribulations within the subject of battle. The Umbara arc finest exemplifies what made The Clone Wars so good. The four-episode story follows the Domino Squad and the bigger 501st Legion as they embark on a lethal mission to take the capital of Umbara, and watches as rigidity rises between the clones and their new and reckless commander, Jedi Pong Krell. Gritty and frank in regards to the casualties of battle, the sequence nonetheless discovered room to provide the clones personalities, regardless of all trying the identical.
The animated sequence additionally did a greater job of tying up free ends. Do not forget that deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith the place Padmé principally founds the Insurgent Alliance? The Clone Wars reveals there was resistance in a number of worlds that opposed the battle, and what the Republic was doing. This included the introduction of Noticed Gerrera, who performed a key half within the live-action Rogue One. There was additionally the re-introduction of Darth Maul, who got here again to life within the sequence, with way more than three strains of dialogue.
When it got here to filling within the gaps from the prequels, The Clone Wars additionally gave followers their first canonical have a look at the notorious Sifo-Dyas within the episode “The Misplaced One,” which handled the conspiracy surrounding the creation of the clone military. In that very same final season, the sequence confirmed how the Emperor was capable of management the clones with Order 66, giving us a backstory for the devastating order.
Ultimately, for a lot of followers, The Clone Wars succeeded the place the prequels didn’t by making the viewers care about Anakin Skywalker’s journey. The smug, bratty Jedi was given extra dimension, and his story turned that of a person caught between the sunshine and darkish sides of the Power. We witnessed his fixed struggles with the darkish facet, his concern of loss, his anger and resentment towards the world, the pressures of being a Jedi, and the way it all made him the proper goal for Palpatine’s manipulation. The sequence supplied a deeper, extra complicated have a look at the character and made his shift into Darth Vader logical, with way more impression.
The Phantom Menace is 25 years outdated, however the prequel period feels more energizing than ever. The gripes mounted over 20 years have been challenged, inverted, and matured by the ever-expanding EU. Worry over the prequels results in anger, anger results in hate, and hate results in struggling — however most of that could possibly be alleviated by selecting up the proper ebook.
