When George Lucas finally returned to make three prequel movies to his original three "Star Wars" films, they became if anything more beloved by fans than the original three movies that came out in the late 1970s and 1980s. There was some disappointment about with the first movie, probably because expectations were so high, but people soon warmed to Lucas' vision about the fall of the Republic, and the movies were well received critically too, with the third winning several awards.
Just for fun, what would be the minimal changes needed to have the movies seen instead as kind of crappy? And would this have an impact on early twentieth century popular culture?