One of the most talked about films in recent memory is George Lucas' first production as a film director after a 22-year hiatus following Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Set for release next year, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the continuation of the epic space opera saga and has excitedly been written and directed by George Lucas. This long awaited first part of the Star Wars saga will be the start of a three-film prequel series, set to give the backstory to the original trilogy. The Phantom Menace will also be the first in the saga in terms of the story's chronology, and the furthest that we will be allowed to go back in the SWU. Up until this point, story arcs have been based after, slightly before, or during the original trilogy's narrative. This is something that will be away from the norm. One can only wonder about what we will be given in this new piece of film canon. The first of the films is set for release next year, and while in the middle of filming at present, we but speculate on what we will see in 1999. Episode I is the first full live action Star Wars film since Return of the Jedi. We have of course read countless books and games regarding the expansion of the film universe. These have built a vast lore around the world of the Jedi and the Sith. There is still a void. This is based on what came before Luke and how did that world look? Most of us can only guess until we see the final product. However Lucas can benefit from the work done by Rebel Assault 2 and the Jedi Knight series for their interaction with the original material to retain the "Star Wars" live action feel. http://youtu.be/I6hOlI9cg4o These new films will be guided by Lucas, who will be unrestricted by money or by studio overhead pressure. He will have complete control over the project. This is a source of the considerable hype around the first film's impending release, even at this early stage. While the last trilogy was plagued by financial woes, editing trouble and other production issues, these films will be able to be born naturally. And out of the many years that Lucas has had to contemplate the story, it's visuals and his characters needed to fill out his mythos. One of the major factors that has gone into the production of these films is Lucas' belief in the current computer-generated imagery (CGI). He has stated that the decision was taken after he had concluded that the science of film special effects had advanced to the level of what he wanted to allow him to complete the saga. This is because past limitations in film science forced him to created ILM, Lucas Arts and cut ideas from the story all together, like the Jabba scene in A New Hope. http://youtu.be/N-ufJAp6meU There are already reports that the first movie contains extensive use of computer-generated imagery paired with the familiar model work of the last trilogy. One major advancement in this realm is that some of its characters and its settings are completely computerized i.e. they do not exist at all in the real world. Technology like this can make anything that Lucas needs to exist, exist. Imagine what we will be presented with in these new films. How will he tie all of this into the narrative of the films? Well, it appears that the story will focus on a young Anakin Skywalker and his unlimited fall to the Dark Side. This story is something that fans have wanted for years at this point. The lost history of Anakin was a great lost fable in the SWEU: What was his origins before he became a Jedi? How was he discovered? Was he like Luke? And of course what caused a great hero to fall so far? These were all hinted in A New Hope:
"Luke : How did my father die? Obi-Wan : A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father."
This questions have me already hooked, the emotional investment and payoff is enough to have any Star Wars fan salivating at the thought.
This piece of dialogue may hint at a few upcoming action sequences to be shown later in the series revolving around these Clone Wars. Imagine a young Obi-Wan leading an army, and the epic battles that can now be achieved through CGI. They will be a breathtaking piece of cinema. While they could also give us an answer as to how the Empire was created and why the Jedi were hunted down and killed. The is so much scope of what can be done here that I will only mender into fan fiction if I continue, so I must move on.
No matter what direction he takes, Lucas will finally give us a more complete saga. Something that will open up his world for us just a little bit more. And that will allows us recapture the excitement of our youth. Although this time it will be in the glorious and beautiful world of the Republic, instead of the dim and grungy world under the Empire's boot. I look forward to the new planets, characters and the back-stories of Anakin and Obi-Wan. I am sure that Yoda and others will also appears in this universe too, as we will be shown a world full of Jedi. All in a time when they were "the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire." These film are something that we all must now anxiously await. Our waiting should be rewarded in the end. After all, how can you possibly mess up Star Wars.