Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, has defended George Lucas' controversial Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Hamill talked about the films during an interview for J.W. Rinzler's recently-published biography about The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark producer Howard G. Kazanjian. “I was impressed the prequels had their own identity,” said Hamill. “They were criticized because they were exposition-heavy and more cerebral and probably, like he said back in 1976, they weren’t as commercial. It’s a darker story. But in the age of social media, people’s voices are amplified, and I’m shocked at how brutal they can be, not just in the case of Star Wars films, but across the board.”
Released from 1999 to 2005, Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) chronicles Anakin Skywalker's journey to becoming a Jedi Knight and eventual fall to the Dark Side, transforming him into Darth Vader. However, the movies focus as much, if not more, on the corruption within the Old Republic and how it paves the way to the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire as Sheev Palpatine seizes power. And although the films proved successful commercially, their reception was far more mixed, with criticisms taking aim at their excessive usage of computer-generated imagery and clunky storytelling.
Marcia Lucas, the Oscar-winning editor of the original Star Wars trilogy and George Lucas' ex-wife, also shared her reaction to The Phantom Menace for Rinzler's book, admitting she disliked it so much she cried. "There were things I didn’t like about the casting, and things I didn’t like about the story, and things I didn’t like -- it was a lot of eye candy. CG," said Marcia Lucas.
While the prequel trilogy remains divisive within the Star Wars fan community, it has also been defended by a growing number of creatives involved with the franchise over the years, including The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. The release of the critically acclaimed Clone Wars animated series and other projects that flesh out the prequel-era mythology has only further improved the general outlook towards the movies, as well as the appreciation for its actors like Jar Jar Binks performer Ahmed Best.
Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are even reprising their respective roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin/Vader from the Star Wars prequels in the upcoming Obi-Wan live-action series. Set between the events of the prequel and original trilogy, the show arrives on Disney+ in 2022.
Source: Howard Kazanjian: A Producer's Life, via IndieWire