10 Lessons Star Wars Episode 7 Can Learn From The Prequels
2. A Return To A More Familiar Universe
The original Star Wars trilogy created a reality that relied on practical visual effects, visually arresting locations, and imaginative studio sets. The Star Wars universe was grounded in a production design that was both familiar and exotic to audiences. Most of that went out the door with the advent of the Star Wars prequels. When the cast wasnt on Tatooine, the films seemed to take place in another universe. The prequels seemed to exist in a technological world more advanced than those of the originals, creating a tone inconsistent with what Lucas established in episodes IV, V and VI. And the abundance of gratuitous CGI didn't help matters, either. Director J.J. Abrams has suggested that the new Star Wars film will be less reliant on CGI and more focused on traditional filmmaking methods. Let's hope so. Episode VII will certainly take advantage of the digital effects revolution, but it should take its audience back into worlds that are familiar, with production design that is consistent with that which was established in the original trilogy. Going back to Tatooine might be a lot of fun. But other planets, new aliens, and spacecraft should appeal to the audience's sense of the familiar.
