Gone The Midichlorians- An alternate Star Wars prequel trilogy

TehIrishSoap

Banned
George Lucas found dead in Malibu home, foul play not suspected more to follow...- CNN April 29th 1996
It was the death that rocked Hollywood. The visionary behind the most successful movie franchise of all time and co-creator of the 2nd biggest, was face down in his bathtub, leaving behind a half finished screenplay for the next Star Wars movie "The Phantom Menace" that was slated for release in 1999.
The film world mourned the loss of one of its brightest talents, his close friends and family left reeling, and the movie going public left devoid of a new Star Wars film.
However, speaking at his funeral on May 8th in Modesto, California, producer Howard Kazanjian announced "while George's untimely passing has shocked us all, he has stated in his will that property of the Star Wars franchise will be passed over to myself and Rick McCallum. We still plan to continue on with the production of The Phantom Menace, in accordance to George's wishes".
The vacant directors seat became the hottest ticket in Hollywood....
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
James Cameron, Paul Verhoeven, Sam Raimi head up LucasArt's wishlist- aintitcoolnews.com June 2nd 1996
In the summer of 1996, the search began for the new director. James Cameron was initially touted as the early favourite by certain parts of the media, due to his experience with special effects, his relationship with Fox, and his familiarity with the sci-fi genre. However, it soon became clear Cameron would not be able to take the gig due to his commitments to Titanic, a project that was weeks away from filming.
Verhoeven publicly expressed his interest in directing, however in a 2008 interview with Empire Magazine following the release of The Day The Earth Stood Still, he admitted that the failure of Showgirls the year prior destroyed all credibility within Hollywood.
"Would I have liked to direct Star Wars? Sure, but the confidence wasn't there, and what sane studio executive was going to give the keys to an iconic franchise to a guy who somehow made a movie about strippers unwatchable?"
Negotiations continued throughout the summer, with John Mctiernan, Ridley Scott, Kevin Costner, Robert Zemeckis and Sam Raimi all being offered the directors chair but all declined the position, all citing the pressure would have been too much or simply had no interest, wishing to pursue other projects or had other projects scheduled.
Then, on July 7th, on the last day of San Diego Comic Con, the announcement was made that New Zealand director Peter Jackson was to direct the first in a new trilogy of Star Wars films. The first film was to be entitled "Star Wars: A New Dawn" and was slated for release on July 23rd 1999.
Initial reaction to the news was generally positive, with the New Zealand prime minister Jim Bolger saying "today is a fantastic day for New Zealand, as its truly wonderful to see one of our own take on the Star Wars franchise, and I wish him the very best of luck." Fan reaction was also positive, with comparisons being drawn between Richard Marquand and Jackson, with both being relatively young directors who had made a few critically acclaimed films. Jackson, coming off his Oscar nomination for Heavenly Creatures for best original screenplay, was ecstatic at the news, saying the first thing he did upon being offered the position was ask his mother in New Zealand for advice.
The script was to be written by Toy Story writer Joss Whedon and by Jackson himself, with Lawrence Kasdan doing script polish later on in production. The script would borrow elements of Lucas' unfinished screenplay, but the majority of the finished product was from the Whedon/Jackson script.
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
Escape Zeppelin said:
Really? I would think Spielberg would be the first one they ask to direct.
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Was thinking about it, but decided to take cue from "A Giant Sucking Sound" where Lucas was so depressed after Spielberg died he didn't direct the prequel trilogy. I reversed the situation, whereupon that Spielberg was so depressed after Lucas dying he went into semi-retirement. Was going to include it in my last update but the bloody thing crashed on me!
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
Casting began in August 1997, with early rumours indicating that Claire Danes was being earmarked for the main female role of Lile Shol, the queen of Johiri who is kidnapped by the Draog's while on the way to sign a peace treaty with The Federation. The main male role was written as "a middle aged ex-jedi by the name of Kiasmos Mako who was left the force after causing the death of Mace Windu" and the secondary male role of Wanyo Aswer was written for a "resourceful, doe eyed and cocky 20 something" who was to team up with Mako to rescue Shol.
The initial script was submitted the following month, but underwent significant changes, as the original script was a lot darker, with one notable subplot being the distribution of a drug called Melazax which allowed users to forget the past for a brief period of time. It was written in the original draft that Mako was addicted to the drug, in order to suppress memories of the death of Windu. This was cut from the script, as the studio felt the screenplay wasn't in line with the Saturday afternoon serial vibe the originals had. Whedon and Jackson were desperate to keep this subplot in as it would make Mako more sympathetic but was ultimately nixed.
The studio were desperate to get Tommy Lee Jones in the role of Mako, but he turned it down because he feared he would be typecast as the "gruff rouge". Michael Madsen was eventually cast on November 12th 1997, with Matt Damon cast in the Wanyo Aswer. Damon was creating Oscar buzz for his role in Good Will Hunting, and the studio were keen to capitalise on his newfound success.
The villain of the piece was Grand Kassnoff, a member of the Jedi Knights and former friend of Mako, who was on a mission with Mako when he was kidnapped by Emperor Palpatine and became his prodigy. Kassnoff trained a Sith in the meantime, by the name of Darth Groad.
Anthony Hopkins was signed up as Kassnoff, with Ralph Fiennes cast as Groad.
With a script complete, a cast rounded out, and a release date looming, offical production of Star Wars: A New Dawn began on December 4th 1997...
 
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CDurham

Escape Zeppelin said:
Really? I would think Spielberg would be the first one they ask to direct.
Click to expand...

I remember reading something to the effect of Lucas saying that if he'd died before the prequels were finished that he'd give it to Spielberg to direct in his will.

... of course I think I read that on either Buzzfeed or TVTropes and its been a few years so...
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
Filming begins on new Star Wars film-- BBC News December 4th 1997
15 years after the cameras stopped rolling on Return Of The Jedi, Star Wars was back. The Lucas screenplay had envisioned heavy use of CGI, however Jackson decided to rely on practical effects similar to the originals, and would use as little CGI as possible, except for exterior shots and some space scenes.
The shoot went by relatively smoothly, owing to Jackson's enthusiasm. His love of multiple takes of each scene was initially much derided on set by the cast and crew, however this paid off as the film took home the Academy Award for Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Visual Effects and a nomination for best director at the 72nd Academy Awards.
The shoot spanned various continents, with Jackson insisting on shooting in New Zealand for the scenes set on Johiri and Mesba as he felt it would give scenes a grander scope. Other shooting locations included Northern Ireland, Iceland, and in Elstree Studios, where most of the original trilogy was shot.
Principal photography was completed on March 16th 1998, a month over schedule, and the race to condense 42 hours worth of footage into a 2 hour blockbuster begun.
 

DocBrown

Is there still a young Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi in the first film, or does he appear in later films? Also, will there still be a LotR trilogy created? If so, will it be as good as Peter Jackson did it IOTL?
 
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Escape Zeppelin

DocBrown said:
Is there still a young Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi in the first film, or does he appear in later films?
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The screenplay for Phantom Menage is only half finished so I would expect that the finished film would be similar to OTL film only in broad plot generalities.

I suspect that the studio would want a young Vader in the film though if for nothing more than ticket sales.
 

Zheng He

Escape Zeppelin said:
The screenplay for Phantom Menage is only half finished so I would expect that the finished film would be similar to OTL film only in broad plot generalities.

I suspect that the studio would want a young Vader in the film though if for nothing more than ticket sales.
Click to expand...

Given that George Lucas' vision of the movies was that broadly speaking the story would be about the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, I would imagine his will would leave instructions in that regard to whoever picked up the baton.
 

TehIrishSoap

Banned
First off, just remembered this timeline I started when I was in the shower and decided I'm going to give it another go. Secondly, if you have any suggestions, feedback or criticism, please don't hesitate to let me know, because pop culture timelines are more favorite timelines on this site and we need more of them!
 

thekingsguard

If I had to make any suggestions, it would be someone other than Peter Jackson directing. He was already in the process or working with New Line Cinemas to make the Lord of the Rings at the time, and part of the reason they went with him was because he was he was cheap and they were a small studio.

20th Century Fox and Star Wars were both well above Jackson's paygrade at the moment. Now, once Lord of the Rings comes out and does gangbusters, offering him the help of Episode III might be possible.

Spielberg might be a good choice, especially as a memoriam to his friend. Hell, ask Lawrence Kasden to direct.
 
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