Current Events > Would The Phantom Menace have been better if Anakin had been older?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like instead of an 8 yr old, he was a like 14? They could've even cast Hayden Christesen in it. This is how he looked in 1997 for reference: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/bf2efe1c.jpg

Thoughts?

it would have gone a long way yes

still woudl probably be my least favorite star wars movie thoe

just it would land in the watchable camp

I always point to Lukes terrible line delivery when people talk about PM. The series has always been plagued with these issues. Its just nostalgia.

They should have started a couple years before Revenge.

HairyQueen posted...

Like instead of an 8 yr old, he was a like 14? They could've even cast Hayden Christesen in it. This is how he looked in 1997 for reference: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/bf2efe1c.jpg

Thoughts?

Whoa I didn't realize he was in that episode of Goosebumps.

Certainly wouldn't hurt, but I don't think that's TPM's biggest issue.

Kradek posted...

Whoa I didn't realize he was in that episode of Goosebumps.

goosebumps and are you afraid of the dark both have ALOT of ppl who went on to be famous in them

Before the prequels came out, I always for some reason had the impression that Anakin was like 30 before he discovered his powers. He never should have been seen as a youth.

Zikten posted...

Before the prequels came out, I always for some reason had the impression that Anakin was like 30 before he discovered his powers. He never should have been seen as a youth.

eh the OT did establish luke was considered to old to learn

so its sadly a well established aspect of the lore

just pre PT we did not know the jedi had actual child soldiers

AceMos posted...

goosebumps and are you afraid of the dark both have ALOT of ppl who went on to be famous in them

That's makes sense.

The prequels depend on Anakin being a hero that falls and I think its the biggest weakness. Having Anakin introduced as an adult who Kenobi notices and trains. Hes preternaturally talented and oversteps being a hero. Movie two clone wars, Anakin is the big damn hero but relationship with padme is found out. He gets booted from the order but still is active in the war. Sith starts with him just a force using military guy, allied with the Jedi but there is some distance there. Still a friend, still a hero, but the rift is started by choices that make sense. This allows a fall that makes sense.

its ok to like the prequels as is but this is roughly what I would change. Shrug.

I think the relationship between him and Padm would have felt a lot less awkward if he had been a similar age to her when they met. Some little kid having a crush and growing up expecting the feeling to be reciprocated was quite wierd. Definitely not how I would have written it.

There's a lot about Anakin's character in general that's just off. I had a hard time buying the angle that his Vader turn was some tragic story because he was always giving off psycho vibes. Didn't really play out like a good man falling to the dark side which supposedly what his story was about.

Are you an angel

Might be alone on this, but no. Him being an innocent and naive child is a great precursor because it makes the audience think, how did this sweet little guy become an evil ruthless destructor?

-Crissaegrim- posted...

I think the relationship between him and Padm would have felt a lot less awkward if he had been a similar age to her when they met. Some little kid having a crush and growing up expecting the feeling to be reciprocated was quite wierd. Definitely not how I would have written it.

There's a lot about Anakin's character in general that's just off. I had a hard time buying the angle that his Vader turn was some tragic story because he was always giving off psycho vibes. Didn't really play out like a good man falling to the dark side which supposedly what his story was about.

It felt that Lucas spent so much time foreshadowing flaws he forgot to establish Anakin as heroic.

ablegator posted...

It felt that Lucas spent so much time foreshadowing flaws he forgot to establish Anakin as heroic.

which is why i LOVE the clone wars cartoon it made anakins fall the tragedy it was suppose to be

oh also it gave us actual romantic moments between anakin and padme

where as the films gave us a disturbing abusive relationship treated as romantic

Well, George Lucas' writing and directing would make anything not good, but an older Anakin would be better. Just have him be a moisture farmer with his mom and older half brother Owen. Circumstances have him meet the Jedi who see his potential. He decides to run off to have adventure and excitement in the Clone Wars to escape the boredom and drudgery of being a moisture farmer on a backwoods planet in the galaxy. Owen wants him to stay and forever holds a grudge against Obi Wan for taking his brother away and leading him to his doom.

Also, the clones should have been the bad guys. The Republic gets desperate and starts a draft leading to a highly militarized culture that's ripe for turning into a fascist dictatorship by Palpatine, who has been scheming the whole time.

"Hey, you know that mysterious, powerful, badass, evil wizard from Star Wars? I'm dying to know what he was like as a bratty kid"

Said no star wars fan ever.

Hell, the clone wars cartoon does more to make sense of how Anakin became Darth Vader than the movies do.

ArchNemo posted...

Hell, the clone wars cartoon does more to make sense of how Anakin became Darth Vader than the movies do.

as i said it made his fallthe tragedy it was ment to be

AceMos posted...

which is why i LOVE the clone wars cartoon it made anakins fall the tragedy it was suppose to be

oh also it gave us actual romantic moments between anakin and padme

where as the films gave us a disturbing abusive relationship treated as romantic

It's a shame that it took the cartoons to flesh out the characters the way they were meant to be envisioned whist the films fumbled their own point. I would have loved to see some of the character traits from the series be present in the film versions but that's not what we got.

the cartoon also gave us ahsoka my fave star wars character and IMO the best developed one

AceMos posted...

the cartoon also gave us ahsoka my fave star wars character and IMO the best developed one

Ahsoka is great. Rex is one of my fav SW characters too

ArchNemo posted...

Ahsoka is great. Rex is one of my fav SW characters too

the clone troopers in general are just so lgood in the cartoon

and thier VA does AMAZING work on making them all sound unique

cast a different actor than jake and hayden
make it a young adult, as old as luke in new hope
padme should also be the same age, cast someone other than natalie

Anakin is about the 13th worst thing about that movie

-Crissaegrim- posted...

It's a shame that it took the cartoons to flesh out the characters the way they were meant to be envisioned whist the films fumbled their own point. I would have loved to see some of the character traits from the series be present in the film versions but that's not what we got.

I feel like we needed one solid, entire movie of Anakin being the badass war general that we saw in Clone Wars.

A lot of the problems with the Prequels boils down to the fact that we only see Anakin in his prime as a Jedi for like half a movie before he turns to the dark side.

Clone Wars does a beautiful job of explaining why he was so jaded with the Jedi and the Republic by the time of ROTS and why he was so desperate to avoid losing Padme after losing his mother, apprentice and his faith in the Jedi. Why devoting your entire life to being a soldier and suppressing your feelings would leave you mentally fucked up. But....we don't really see any of that play out in the movies.

If I'm being honest, you could probably take out TPM, and do a movie in between AOTC and ROTS and the trilogy would be much better.

Just have the author of the RotS novelization write all the scripts. That novel is seriously good and elevates the prequels. It's amazing how simply telling the same events in a different way can make them so much better.

The whole PT would have been better if Anakin was the hyper-orthodox Jedi purist while Obi-Wan was more of the rule-breaking rebel. If Anakin had feelings for Padm (but didn't act on them, because of "the Jedi code") but Obi-Wan was banging her in the bathroom, it would have made both of their paths make more sense

For the story? No, part of the tragedy is that Anakin was at perhaps the worst age to start training to be a Jedi, and that having his mother and Qui-Gonn ripped from him in such a short period was something the Jedi (except the aformentioned Qui-Gonn) were equipped to deal with. Obi-Wan failed to be the guiding figure Anakin needed being so steeped in Jedi tradition, and that wouldnt have come across nearly as good with an older Anakin.

For Jake Lloyd? Hell fucking yes. What the Star Wars fanbase did to him is a tragedy.

Horith posted...

For the story? No, part of the tragedy is that Anakin was at perhaps the worst age to start training to be a Jedi, and that having his mother and Qui-Gonn ripped from him in such a short period was something the Jedi (except the aformentioned Qui-Gonn) were equipped to deal with. Obi-Wan failed to be the guiding figure Anakin needed being so steeped in Jedi tradition, and that wouldnt have come across nearly as good with an older Anakin.

Arbitrary nonsense lol. You don't have to be a kid to fuck up as a Jedi. Write a different story, no one cares about Kid Vader

Qui Gin was unnecessary too