I was in my early 20's when the Prequels came out, and people at my college or at my job would physically confront me if they caught wind that I actually liked them. I am not exaggerating, openly liking the Prequels was not tolerated in my age group. It would be comparable to expressing a less-popular political opinion around the wrong crowd today.
Just like people are afraid to say they like the sequels today. People were afraid to openly like the prequels. I even denied being a fan after getting wrapped up in the hate after episode 2. No more. I'm mature enough now not to allow hate to dictate.
@@kaygee2121 The difference is the prequels didn’t undo the entire OTs character arcs or story. The prequels didn’t attack men like the sequels. The prequels were creative and not just straight rip offs from the OT.
Just over 25 years ago I watched a preview of Phantom at the cinema I worked at. I will always remember with a smile at a girl saying confused that she thought Luke was very young.
Being an old fart, perhaps I can help with perspective. I, and many others, were kids when episodes IV, V and VI came out. All those movies were rated PG and meant for kids as well as adults. (With regards to the Ewoks, even Lucas admitted he wanted Wookies, but didn't have the budget. Ewoks were a compromise.) My dad admitted how hokey the original movies were to him: mildly entertaining, but certainly not worth a rewatch. I, however, couldn't watch them enough. When episodes I, II, and III came out, the 'kids' from the previous trilogy were now adults with kids. We wanted a Star Wars movie that appealed to US... our mistake. What we got were movies that appealed to OUR kids. The first two movies were also rated PG. Revenge of the Sith was the first Star Wars movie to get a PG-13 rating, but by then, the kids who had seen the first two were old enough to watch the third and deal with its darker tone. Parents weren't thrilled with the movies. Kids couldn't get enough of them. Eventually, as we parents came to understand what Lucas was doing, most of us came around, even if they weren't at the top of our watch list. Here's where things changed. Episodes VII, VIII and IX were all rated PG-13. This trilogy wasn't meant to attract a new audience of kids. These movies were 'supposed' to appeal to the adult version of the fans of I, II, and III. Unfortunately, they didn't go over well with the previous two generations of fans, either. Without the previous fanbase and not much of a 'new generation' of fanbase, well... there you go.
Bingo. What sets the sequels apart (Particularly episodes 7 and 9) is that they are built on nostalgia, and appealing to old viewers. Even adults now like the PT on first watch, so it’s not just a kid thing, though kids are the target audience. The sequels are trying to capitalize on nostalgia and public opinion of the time, (literally changing plot points and undoing things because of fan backlash) which doesn’t lend them well at all for the test of time
I'm glad you brought up the fan backlash goes all the way back to 1983. When he released the original trilogy, as the "Special Edition," that received massive backlash. Then Phantom came out and the backlash was even worse. Other than maybe Star Wars in 1977 and Empire, every project since has received significant backlash. George is on the record saying that he didn't want to lose 10 years of his life and raising his daughter by making the sequel trilogy, so he sold it off. I suspect, he also knew that in exchange for putting in 10 years, away from his daughter, he'd have received backlash and hate for all his effort. So it has never surprised me that he sold it off and left it for other people to receive hate instead of him.
Curiously, in my country and in many neighbouring countries prequels were never hated. You would be surprised how much more well received these movies were in that time by people of post USSR countries. And I see a couple reasons for that. It would be a good reminder that the reaction in the US is not equivalent to every and each country, especially in Europe
This is the first time in a while I haven’t felt crazy. The prequels started coming out when I was 9. I REMEMBER THE BACKLASH OF THE PREQUELS! I know why Mr Lucas stopped making movies. I remember the absolute hatred for the last Jedi. But let fans tell you today, it was all always beloved. I remember some small things confusing me in prequels because things in the OT was retconned. THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! The gaslighting in this fandom is crazy. I love that the prequels get so much love now, but that definitely was not the case back then
I mean honestly, I never understood the Prequel hate back in the day? Fans back then didn’t know the good that we had with it. Disney has done worst then what Lucas did. In fact that’s partly why, the Prequels weren’t even mentioned in the Sequels. And JJ Abrams who was one of those OG Star Wars fans who hated the Prequels back when they came out, said he would love to destroy them if he ever got the chance. And in many ways he tragically did.
He did It’s so ridiculous: he thought he knew the franchise better than its creator and in doing so made something way worse than the prequels could ever be
Thank you for being honest. A lot of fans today have become revisionist when it comes to the prequels because they hate the current state of Star Wars.
Or they were children when the prequels came out and lacked the ability to adequately review the content. As they matured, their ability to digest story and think critically about the subject at hand matured as well. Basically the kids that loved the prequels (cause it was mostly kids who accepted the prequels) would have loved the sequel trilogy too, had they not matured almost 15 years between the trilogies.
@@BEETTHESE No because the prequels was revolved around interesting characters. We loved it because we saw cool stuff like Plo Koon or General Grievous. The sequels has a bunch of cringe identity politics obsessed lamo characters who aren’t cool. Also with episode 8s literal hate of men, no I don’t think that would go well with gen z men… who massively have pushed the Prequels to its true celebration (which it deserves). No one wants to watch some garbage rip of “resistance”. What made the prequels so cool is that it’s different. The ST is just a terrible corporate rewrite of OT.
What a confusion! The wide spectrum of fans ! The younger audience wanted more of the same as in 123. But us older fans , myself included, I was 22 when it came out. We fans waited in long long line. It was astonishing!!! We love 123 but when 456 it boosted us to a new appreciation level! We loved them all 123456! Yes love 7 but disappointed with lack of Anakins force Ghost in 9!
Yeah backlash and online complaining about the prequels and the 4th Indiana Jones movie are literally why George Lucas retired. Those people have themselves to thank for Disney owning Star Wars now.
This makes this Star Wars fans, who grew up with the prequel’s more responsible for all the backlash, and hate for the acolyte, all the other shows, and even the sequel trilogy
Oh my gosh, I feel so seen. I think George Lucas wasn't so much waiting for the technology to catch up to his vision as he saw an opportunity to make money and took it. In the years before Episode I came out, they released lots of EU books and comics, a multi-media project called Shadows of the Empire, and even re-released the Star Wars Trilogy on VHS "one last time." This culminated in releasing the Special Editions in theaters. All of this was to test the waters to see if people were still interested in Star Wars, and the answer was YES! But let's not forget that The Phantom Menace was marketed towards adults. Lucasfilm's marketing team removed all silly or goofy things from the trailers and commercials so that adults would come and see the movie (and bring their kids). They actually came out and said as much in the last year or so, it was a huge bait-and-switch for people who were already fans of the franchise. Fan backlash was huge when TPM came out--fans couldn't believe that after watching the Original Trilogy their whole lives that the original creator of Star Wars could make a bad movie. (No offense to Prequel fans.) Then a few years after Revenge of the Sith came out, RedLetterMedia released a series of scathing reviews of each Prequel movie that were frankly hilarious and on point, and they set the stage for dozens of UA-cam copycats and internet nerds to complain about Star Wars for decades. As someone who was in High School at the time, I still don't like the Prequel Trilogy. They're not as well-written or acted as the OT (I still can't sit through TPM), and instead of treating the backstory that the OT hinted at he changed the OT to make it fit the Prequels instead! BUT, they built a wonderful universe that was explored in the awesome Clone Wars cartoons and Prequel-era books, comics, and video games, and in a time when we didn't think we'd ever get any more Star Wars movies... they got MADE. As for the Sequels, we were all just glad they weren't goofy like the Prequel Trilogy when Episode VII came out, but when Episode IX released we realized we were kind of cheated. Lots of plot threads were left unresolved, lots of character arcs from earlier films were undermined, and they even killed off Han, Luke, and Leia. Like, at the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke is now a Jedi and will form a Jedi Academy, Leia is going to build a New Republic, Han is going to marry Leia and they're going to have kids, Vader is redeemed, the Emperor is defeated, and the Empire is destroyed. In the Sequel Trilogy, Luke gave up being a Jedi, his Academy failed, Leia's New Republic failed, Han and Leia broke up, Han & Leia's kid is evil, the Emperor is no longer dead, meaning Vader's sacrifice meant nothing, and the Empire is back, stronger and stupider than ever--and all of this happened off screen. So basically the Sequels are a middle finger to people who are invested in the franchise, but they are flashy spectacles, so people who aren't really fans of the franchise will still like them.
I love how the sequels have convinced everyone that the prequel hate wasn't real. Just because the newer films disappointed you doesn't mean the older ones suddenly were always beloved.
Just because the Sequels are hated by some doesn't mean they will be hated as much in the future. There were TONS of kids who saw them, loved them, and the nostalgia will be there in the future, especially after the Rey movie comes out. TFA came out 9 years ago. We're getting there.
Until you realize that people even hated on George and Dave Filoni for that when they made all the lore and Canon changes and adding in a Padawan for Anakin
That’s not really true. The prequels have a lot of meaning, and they function perfectly fine on their own. I like TCW, but people don’t give enough credit to the prequels for building the settings and characters of the show
I am a casual star wars fan, especially the old Legends stuff. Just like scfy in general and enjoyed the prequels for what they were. I think people are missing out in not watching the cartoons; I used to watch manga/anime. Meg, great content as always😊
That statement is complete bullshit though As if to say that Star Wars have no real standards and/or they only think as one giant hive mind and not factioned
I am an OG SW fan, I was 10 in 1977. I was not a big fan of the prequels, to begin with. It was only when I viewed them through my kids eyes did I learn to appreciate them. It was then that I remembered how my parents weren't big fans of the OG SW. Now I did enjoy all the story history that the prequels gave us, it was just the production and delivery that I didn't care for. But now I love the prequels, mainly because the amount of times I watched them with my children and how the prequels turned them into huge loyal fans. Me and my semi grown kids went to see the sequels in theaters, Oh my. We left kind of bewildered as to what we'd seen on screen. But it wasn't just us, all the people leaving the theater had that same look of "Huh?" on their faces. Not to be deterred, we also went to the theaters for both subsequent movies, though we discussed skipping "The Last Jedi". The theater was not full on this opening weekend. we left very disheartened with the outcome of this trilogy and remain so today.
I think the prequels have aged well in the eyes of those who were disappointed when they first came out because of how widely CGI has been adopted and because of how repetitive and contrived modern movies are. The imagination, sincerity and fun in the prequels has allowed them redemption, despite them being called 'soulless' or 'a cash grab' at the time. I think time has allowed the prequels to become familiar, when on first released they were seen as "different" to the OT. Of course they were intentionally "different" in aesthetics and design. It's strange though how disappointment and some critical reviews and criticism on forums was revised to "everyone hated them" by RedLetterMedia and became the dominant narrative to this day.
People have such short memories. I enjoyed Episodes 2 and 3. But I didn't enjoy episode 1 much. However, I remember at the time many fans criticising the entire trilogy. People have short memories.
Prequel hate WAS bad, but the hate is not as bad as modern day disney star wars. largely because all the haters didn't clique out like they have here on YT. And they weren't as organized.
I saw Star Wars on the first date with my future wife. We saw Darth Vader say "I am your father" and gasped along as the audience fell silent in shock. We cheered as Luke defeated the Emperor's plans and brought his father back to the light. Then the prequels were announced, and we said "why?". We wanted sequels because we already knew what was going to happen. We wanted something new. We saw the sequels as just unnecessary. Had the sequels been produced shortly after Return of the Jedi, the stories would have been more consistent with the original trilogy, and not a conglomeration of mixed up thoughts, like we got.
Hi Meg, awesome news update, I do not know why people did not like the movies I thought they were great all of them, I feel sorry for Lucas being hated and because he changed Star Wars from being a children's movie to making it a little adult movie but most children still watched all the movies and it is not them complaining it is the adults, but why if they did not want their kids to watch it they should have stopped them, I would not let my kids watch anything I do not think is appropriate for them, the adults should be adults not idiots, thank you SWM
Ummm what? You have it backwards. The prequels were weird with all the computer graphics the super kiddie nature of it. It was supposed to be the story of how the films' greatest villain came to be. And it all just felt so blah ...
Yeah this has confused me. The prequels weren’t made as adult films. Star Wars was always something aimed at children but could also be enjoyed by adults.
@@TheRealTruthMovementActually according to Sam Witwer it actually was divisive and took several years before it was declared the fan favorite. And when Return of the Jedi came a lot of people, fans and critics, just straight up didn't like it, it was seen like how we think of movies like Spiderman 3 or X-Men 3. The thing that made people turn around on it was the prequels, feeling like it was way better than those.
Meg, one hell of a video. Keep that soapbox because you deserve it. Even though I don't match your ratings for what is the best "order" we do agree on ESB. LOL. Well done and very well said, thank you from this old OG boot. If you get a long weekend across the pond, enjoy.
@AnakinSkywalker-qe2rk how it was expanded in the Clone Wars series fixes a lot of my qualms about it, but just based on what we had when AotC came out it was really far fetched for me.
It’s fine. People just cringed a bit when they saw it. Cringe does not equal bad. If you think that it was up there with the worst romances you haven’t seen enough movies
I remember the fans being split down the middle about the prequels. I’ve also watched the generation that were children at the time grow up and show their love of the prequels. What I’ve also seen is a larger percentage of fans show disdain for the Disney content and my own kids who love Star Wars ages 7-13 would rather watch the prequels and aside from the mandalorian don’t bother with any of disneys content
This was a very good video. You brought up many good points. There will always be those who take a negative view of things just as there will always be those who focus on the positives.
May the Force be with you Meg. Thanks so much for all that you do for the Star Wars community. Have an ace and epic day. Peace, cheers and plenty of Star Wars adventures and journeys
This subject has layers. In interviews all the way back in '83, Mark Hamill knew what the plan was for the next movie's timeline. George's excuse of technology not being up to his expectations for why it took so long to give us another movie, is acceptable. He is a genius. That being said, 15+ year intervals is not healthy for business UNLESS you go to different time periods...and Star Wars did it twice. The difference between prequel hate and sequel hate is the amount of media outlets and the exponential number of keyboard warriors increasing with those media outlets. I wasn't disappointed in the prequels at all. Didn't care for Jar Jar, but I also didn't care for the Ewoks. But they, by no means, detracted me from my enjoyment of the moment. The prequel backlash made George quit, so thank you for not letting anyone dismiss the prequel hate as "not so bad".
Thank you. The amount that online culture and social media factors into people forming their opinions is, in my opinion, astronomically underappreciated. I even see younger UA-cam reactors decide not to watch certain things solely because they've been told not to buy their comment section or they've heard it's not good instead of forming their own opinion. The ones that do decide to watch those things (i.e., the sequels), usually really enjoy them. These are people who don't have a lifetime of investment in the franchise, which goes to show there is an audience for them apart from people like me who just enjoy any Star Wars they can get.
@@davidp3837 I saw it , it was brutal not counting the hate Ahmad Best got to the point he almost committed suicide and Jake Lloyd ended up being mentally broken from it I think that's what upset me the most , the dismissal of what fans did to them , Hayden and Lucas It was sick and disturbing Oh and the OT got hate as well especially after ESB , this has been a common thing with fans , to downplay or dismiss the hate and claim "Its taken out of context"
@@CharlesH-t9rBTW: not invalidating your comment but Lloyd’s mental health struggles actually had VERY LITTLE to do with the fan backlash. His mother made sure he never got on the internet
It is crazy how people forget. I remember the hate. I didn't care much for episode 2, and totally got so wrapped up in the hate myself, that I refused to see episode 3 for several years. The sequels actually brought me back in. Everything going on today sounds just the same. Nostalgia is an extremely powerful lens.
I think the main point of that tweet is that many of the fans that are praising the prequels now would hate on them if they were released today. Not simply that fans loved them then, but would now
I think it is important to note that there has always been a large contingent of fans (even if it was a minority of fans) who have always loved or appreciated the prequels even when the hatred towards them was the highest. While it isn’t true to state that everyone always loved them (even to this day that isn’t true), it is also just as inaccurate to state that people universally hated them as well.
You're 100% correct. I was 28 when Phantom Menace came out, and had been a fan since I'd seen the original film in 1977. I enjoyed the prequels, though I found them somewhat lacking, but the vitriol that was spewed by many fans baffled me. I've definitely noticed that many of the people who grew up with these films, the same way my generation did with the OT, absolutely adore them. That's why I don't want to see the sequel trilogy retconned or any such nonsense, because I know there are kids who discovered SW through those films. We all have "our" Star Wars, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I was there in 1999 when the Dark Time came to the end. I was 30. I Remember. Glad that the PT gen, who Didn't have a Voice Heard then (Meg among 'em) Have been heard Very Clearly now,
And yet Pegg complained about "toxic fans" in 2022 and tried to claim it was about "diversity" and that Trek fans are more tolerant; what a hypocrite! Imagine if someone back in 1999 told Pegg, 'you don't hate Jar Jar, you just hate the movie because there's black people in it'.
The people who have so much hate for Star Wars have it for their own reasons. There's a reason why people are constantly lumping those who hate the Sequels and The Acolyte in with incels. It's the same thing. Incels look at women and say, "These pre-established norms (traditional gender roles, The Bible/religion) says you shouldn't be doing X and you are wrong if you do." Those who are hating the current Star Wars say, "These pre-established norms (EU, canon) says you shouldn't be doing X and you are wrong if you do." They use pre-existing dogma to try to twist other people to do what they want. Except no one is required to care what they want. Someone who is a yellow vest at the Amazon fulfillment center, who has no real world experience or even degrees in media production, is all of a sudden experts in writing, editing or production, for no other reason than his white, cishet Christian fantasy world is being blown up. I hate to break it to you but LGBTQ POC who don't identify with any religion are the future. I've read writers like Bruce Timm from the DCAU talk about how some "fans" get so nitpicky about canon to the point that even he, as a canon writer, got tired of being bombarded by people over this stuff and it seems George Lucas got tired of similar and we lost him for it. I do have a degree in media production and I do know the difference between a review where someone has a legitimate complaint and can articulate their reasons thoughtfully, and someone who is just mad because they are not getting their way and are bloviating into the void. An overwhelming majority are the latter and there is just no reason for anyone else to care. With the focus of Lucasfilm's future being Filoni's movie and how shows like Mando, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew will play into it, it's unlikely The Acolyte will get renewed. At least not right now while resources are clearly needed in other areas. But it will not be because of any of these people. I guarantee it.
So is it morally acceptable to kill them? Is this why you support Bezos' warehouses having downright abusive conditions? You seem to be mythologizing LGBTQ POCs, othering them by painting them with the broad stroke of unearned virtue. They are oppressed. That's not the same as being good.
I’m one of those that loved the prequels because I wanted to see the politics of how the the Republic became the Empire but when people say how much they hate Rey & all the new characters & storyline’s I just remind them this has happened before. I worked in a bookstore in my teens in the early 90’s & had customers complaining how the Thrawn Trilogy didn’t follow the Marvel comics, then they complained when Dark Horse put out comics, then the sheer hate for Asokah in the cartoon Clone Wars movie. Since 1991 I’ve noticed Star Wars fans have to hate Star Wars for around a decade before they’ll accept it as good.
The haters usually never accept the thing they don't like. It's the kids who grow up and have nostalgia that keep it going. And since SW is multi-generational, it will keep going. Right now, there are tons of reaction videos to all of the movies, including the Sequels, and they are all equally loved by brand spanking new fans who don't have 20, or 40 plus years of baggage keeping them from liking something. It's not the product that's the problem. It's the fans who bring their lightsabers with them into the cave.
To me it's pretty much the same situation repeating itself. Now, the sequels and shows are flawed in many ways but with time (especially in terms of narrative consistency), in my opinion, people will realize it's not all "trash" and the different ideas, themes and characters are interesting and needs the same treatment the clone wars and the prequel characters got.
I was one of the few who loved 'The Phantom Menace' it seemed so real and quite amusing, I was less keen on 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' due to the Anakin/Padme romance. I am a lot better with them now. I liked 'The Force Awakens' but really, really hated 'The Last Jedi' and it made me ignore 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Eventually I got it on DVD and regretted it. It seemed confusing and contrived. PS: I was a teen when the original Star Wars came out - and it was great! - as was 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi!'
While I’m sure there were other message boards back then, the main one where 99% of us fans engaged in, was the official Star Wars message board. And yes there were plenty of critical threads on there. I’m glad I never came across the ones being downright toxic to Jake, Ahmed and Hayden. That would’ve upset me big time.
I was 2 years old when the first Star Wars came out, imagine your entire childhood and into adulthood revolving around those three movies and never have seen the prequels but it had a general idea of what was going to happen in what year imagination had created for the backstory and then you get Jar Jar Binks, it was pretty disorienting when they first came out but now I have accepted them and I love them even though they do have serious problems
I was properly introduced to SW through the prequels. Since 2012, I haven't stopped loving them, and I am glad more people are on board in appreciating them. I feel those who hated them prior simply didn't see the perspective we had till sequels came out because sequels lack consistency and aren't GL's vision. The closest to it in ST is TLJ, in my opinion. PT had much of the consistency of the story because it was still all part of GL's vision from Menace to Jedi (1-6).
There have always been skits and comedians mocking Star Wars. What's ironic is that people like JJ and Pegg can mock it, but can't make anything as meaningful. We shouldn't suggest JJ speaks for the whole fandom or general audience. He was a greasy prequel hater - and ewok hater - that only liked 2 Star Wars movies and didn't know how handle the brand.
Indeed. I heard some recent comments that Lesleye Headland should have been barred from making Star Wars for using GL as an example of why she doesn’t believe in the auteur theory. Whether you think that or not, (not my place to say) why is nobody talking about Simon Pegg and what he said? He said that prequel fans are idiots who he doesn’t respect and compared George Lucas making the films to infanticide while PROMOTING EPISODE VII which he was CAST in. (Because he’s Abrams’s friend) That’s just so sick on so many levels
@@davidguthrie6316 Pegg is the gold standard of hypocrite for his whining about the reception to the sequels by "toxic fans". But this is the whole thing with JJ and Pegg's facade; make a big deal about "practical effects" and yet have boring creatures that do nothing of interest. Then TFA's dollar store Yoda and dollar store MIB creatures are CGI...
@@Ruylopez778 Lol, Simon Pegg is one of the top 20 most toxic fans I've ever seen. He's in the People Vs. George Lucas too, the irony... "pRaCtIcAl EfEcTs" AKA: Giant X-Wings and a couple puppets that don't do anything. Meanwhile, Phantom Menace has 2 cities, countless miniatures, battle droids, (Aside from the Gungan battle) And a giant palace that feels larger than life, and REALLY is. I'll take the Phantom Menace thanks... Also, they try to make puppet Yoda again in TLJ and he looks like he's developed anorexia
There was a backlash. It's true the media went after Lucas and the prequels, partly because of what an outspoken critic he was of Hollywood and studio system. But we shouldn't confuse fans whining on forums with the opinion of all fans or the general audience. You only have to look at the VHS and DVD sales and the massive box office numbers and opening weekends. The SW sequels and Fantastic Beasts are examples of trilogies that trailed off in popularity, and the prequels have completely different box office trends.
@@kaygee2121 ESB made about ~60% of ANH. ROTJ made around 80% of ANH. AOTC made ~60% of TPM. ROTS made over 80% of TPM. I forget the exact numbers but the trend is pretty similar. All the prequel movies opened bigger than the previous movie, just like the OT. It's true that ESB and ROTJ smashed the box office in a way the prequels did not, aalthough the prequels were up against massive franchises like Spider-Man, HP and LOTR. AOTC was released 2 weeks after Spider-Man. And ROTS was a very close second worldwide and a clear no.1 domestic. The domestic wasn't surpassed until TDK in 2008. By comparison Fantastic Beast had smaller and smaller openings (just like the SW sequels) and totals. TROS made around 50% of TFA, and was only the 7th biggest movie, and barely 10th. It was crushed by the Avengers movies totals (and so was TLJ even though there wasn't a bigger movie that year). TLJ was also lagging behind Black Panther on home sales. When people claim "everyone hated the prequels", they don't seem to understand how well these movies performed. Yeah, they claim it was just down to kids and no adults liked it. 40% of TPM reviews were positive, 40% of AOTC reviews were positive, and 70% of ROTS reviews were positive. So the idea that no adults liked the prequels seems highly unlikely, not to mention anecdotal TV news coverage of the time with mostly positive responses from the audience. ESB even had 24% mixed reviews when it came out. So fairly comparable with ROTS. And in terms of critics' responses as a percentage of positive/mixed/negative, the prequels are pretty comparative or better than RO, Solo, TROS.
This is why I will say it every single time, but if George saw the way the phantom was now he’d be saying the same thing and it would not be in favor of the people that think that he would be on their side. The way, so many people act towards Star Wars projects now is just ridiculous.
Objectively false and this has been debunked by Lloyd's mother recently. 1. It was his classmates that bullied Lloyd, not Star Wars fans. 2. His mother said he had a great time making the movie and watching the prequels. 3. She protected him from what online/critic backlash there was at the time. Best's complaints were mostly about being accused of being a racist stereotype by critics.
It really only took a second movie for the, 'adult,' fans to start complaining about how it's being dumbed down by silly muppets. It almost seems like hating-the-new is a SW fan rite of passage.
I'll never forget how Red Letter Media and many fans actually said Disney should redo the Prequels And when you bring it up they pretend that didn't happen or "That's taken out of context" I never in my life seen mental gymnastics on any level as I have when it comes to Star Wars fans
So glad you got the JJ quote in there because clearly the biggest prequel haters are Disney. I’ve not missed the irony that they started by trashing it and went on to rely on it for good material: Clone Wars 7, Bad Batch, Ahsoka, Kenobi (in descending order of good).
The same people who say shit like, “George Lucas ruined our childhoods,” are the same people who say the sequels sucked and that George Lucas should have never sold Star Wars and that the prequels were so much better. Which one is it? You can’t have it both ways.
I salute Meg for trying her darnedest to remember the prequel trilogy in the same light as the sequel trilogy. She has a bad memory. I remember the excitement people had for The Phantom Menace and then the backlash afterward. The backlash for the following 2 movies. I also remember how a lot of people at the same time loved each of the movies, especially Revenge of the Sith. A lot of people loved Darth Maul, and there was a lot of positive talk about the fight scenes. People had a lot of respect and love for Count Dooku. Amd I very distinctly remember the applause EACH of the times I saw Revenge of the Sith, when Darth Vader took his first breath in that helmet. And toy sales during all of the prequel trilogy were great, despite backlash. The only toys the sequel trilogy was selling was that little Droid, and even ot wasn't good. Nobody bought Kylo Ren's helmet, the thing they thought they would sell. The best lightsaber fight in all Star Wars is in the sequel trilogy, THE BEST, but you don't hear much talk about it even now. In fact, some of the best scenes in all Star Wars are in the sequel trilogy, amd I hear no one debate this, seeing that we all seem to be in agreement about them, but sequel trilogy will never get the fanfare or the love that the prequel trilogy was given DURING its backlash. If it couldn't sell toys, it won't be remembered. Solo was a good movie! People didn't go see it BECAUSE OF backlash over the sequel trilogy. But people went to the sequel trilogy hoping to find George Lucas' vision extended. Meg has a bad memory of things. She keeps looking for a wag to justify the backlash of the sequel trilogy and make it the same, but that's a total lie. As long as bad Star Wars exist, people will always associate its beginning with the sequel trilogy, not the prequel. I give this video a big fat thumbs down.
I grew up on the prequels and never ever once got the notion or the memo that it was hated lol only now did I find out they were hated... how did everyone else knowvthis and I didn't lol
"It's like poetry they rhyme." I don't care to look it up, but that song "George Lucas R*ped Our Childhood." All this Post-Disney Purchase fever reeks of that over-reaction with extra right-wing politics culture war sauce.
These are one group of super complainers today. Even some old school heads that say everything George says and does is beloved. Wrong. This is why people complaining about everything today are right on brand but don't realize this complaining helped George decide to sell. Remember when people disliked Anakin? The whole "Clone Wars Anakin is the definitive Anakin" conversation? Jar Jar, bullying the child actor into quitting acting? I HATE SAND? People don't remember these things? Or they weren't fans then and are making guesses when they're speaking.
"bullying the child actor into quitting acting?" This has been debunked by his mother recently. We also know why Lucas sold Lucasfilm. He's explained it. Your comments and strawman don't have any nuance, which ironically is exactly the thing you are complaining about.
@@Ruylopez778 thanks for your input but it changes nothing. I'm sure he was a resilient kid and felt nothing as he got ripped apart for doing his job. Same with Ahmad Best. Happy? Still doesn't change what I'm saying about the super complainers who George himself couldn't stand. Doesn't change the fact that people revise history to fit the narrative that everything was sunny before Disney bought Star Wars. Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints... Lol you're kind of still doing it lol
@@taylormadealpha You're exhibiting a lot of trust me bro energy. Very few people claim there was no backlash to the prequels at all. That is a claim made up by people like you to whine about the fandom. I'm paraphrasing what Best and Lloyd's mother said. It's also revisionism that fans *could* harass a child actor on the internet back then. The problem for the people pushing these lazy narratives like you, is that social media simply didn't exist back then. And the notion that fans waited 10 years to then harass Lloyd on social media would be equally dumb. It's a determination to label it a "toxic fandom" with a weight of "evidence" that has no credibility. I called out your strawmanning and you're still doing it now in response. It's a pity you can't admit you're parroting BS you heard elsewhere and presumed made sense. "Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints..." Again, hardly anyone thinks this and pretending a lot of people do is pointless. It's more common to find haters insisting everyone hated the prequels and still do. Lucas didn't like whiny fans. Lucas didn't like critics much, either. Pretending that he sold Lucasfilm because of criticism is simply disingenuous when he's already on record explaining the **reasons** he sold and none of them were backlash. As I said, you haven't used any nuance, which is why it's so easy to debunk all you say.
@@Ruylopez778 exhibiting alot, trust you. Right, whatever that means. Don't trust me, trust the video you just watched. Then, you can use the google machine to look up anything from that era. I know there are dedicated complainers out there and always have been. There are people out here making big money to do it which at least, they've decided to monetize rage bait.I can't even believe you're trying to run cover for it. Also, you're not using the term "strawman". That's not what this is, If anything, you're removing the point of what I'm saying and turning the conversation into something different that has nothing to do with what I was talking about in the first place. What would you call that? Let's say it was, which it's not, didn't I say you were right? You one of those people who can't take a "you're right" and move on. Probably because that talking point alone doesn't change a thing. Dedicated complainers and history revisionists are a problem, and have been for a while now. Why spend so much energy trying to prove it's not ..if that's what you're doing here, unless as I've said you've moved the goalposts (see, I can do that too). If it was "hardly anyone" doing this, why does this video exist? You think revisionist history surrounding the prequels is rare? I tend to hear people say stuff like this alot, expecting us to not believe our lying eyes and ears and ignore our life experiences. That's quite funny. Everything I've said has happened. It doesn't matter if you like it or not.
@@taylormadealpha Your whole narrative is "trust me bro". No evidence to back it up, just accusations. I'm calling out that behaviour, but you can't seem to get it. You brought unnecessary antagonism in your own post. It's got no nuance. It's all about trying to shame others. "Monetize rage bait" No, this is the narrative of MSM that youtubers create "toxicity" by convincing fans to hate things unnecessarily, rather than the actual situation of fans being fed up watching crap and being dismissed or shamed for criticising it. "If anything, you're removing the point of what I'm saying" *"bullying the child actor into quitting acting?"* This is BS. It never happened. "this complaining helped George decide to sell" Inaccurate. "Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints..." strawman nonsense. "Let's say it was, which it's not, didn't I say you were right?" You said, "thanks for your input but it changes nothing." Which is not true. Actually using the facts entirely invalidates your claims. You're entitled to claim whatever narratives you want. And I corrected you on how inaccurate and misleading they are. Which makes your wider narrative weaker. "Why spend so much energy trying to prove it's not" You're misrepresenting events to whine about the fandom. It's dumb and it's either coming from a place of ignorance or dishonesty and exaggeration. "If it was "hardly anyone" doing this, why does this video exist?" Meg found one quote and made a video out it when there's no new news. "You think revisionist history surrounding the prequels is rare?" Never claimed that. "That's quite funny. Everything I've said has happened. It doesn't matter if you like it or not." I've explained how you're misrepresenting Lloyd, Best and Lucas' experiences, as part of your narrative. Take it or leave it. But don't act like you're being honest or nuanced. You aren't. I guess you write bait like this in order to argue with someone to whine about the fandom. A waste of your time, to be honest.
Also Meg backlash started before the prequels when George Lucas released the special educations. Fans were not happy then. I waited for hours in line to get tickets for episode 1 opening night for friends & myself. There was no love for Jar Jar then. The films were always for kids we wanted the films to grow with us. With episode 1 back in theaters earlier this year I took my daughter who loved Jar Jar. Those films are great for kids. I do appreciate the prequels more myself thanks to TCW series.
Yeah with some caveat. I was on the forums back then and for sure there was a lot of back and forth and also a lot of separation because the format divided the topics between OT topics and Prequel topics so fans of the OT weren't always on the same threads as the Prequel topics. So what you ended up with was the fan boy trolls and critics filling up the prequel forums with argument. The rest of us who didn't feel it was terrible or didn't dislike everything didn't bother getting involved so what you end up with is a skewed impression of the full fan base. We kept our discussions to the more civil threads. Not saying people didn't have issues with some things but it's usually the noisy people that get the press, that attack the actors. Most normal people don't do that. What you hear now might be those people saying how it was for them. Of course then you'd have the angry prequel fans who felt attacked respond by going into the ot forums and trashing Luke, Han and Leia. Which of course people then started to resent.
well I mean, the sequels are better made movies, more entertaining for more people. Of course as hardcore Star Wars fans the prequels are loved more because it is FULL of lore.
@@johnb2422 I'm 50 and started watching Star Wars at the 1979 "re-release"' of A New Hope and I love it all. (My Dad says I was at the drive-in in 1977 watching it, but I was 3 and don't remember LOL) Anyway, Star Wars always got shit. But it's still here, and I have never been pissed off. So much anger.
@@DaerianAntilles I don't even 'rank' Star Wars best/worst since I love them all. I have 3 ranks... the ones I re-watch the most, the ones I re-watch the least and the ones in the middle which I re-watch randomly. But by pure chance, the 3 I enjoy and re-watch the most are from 3 different trilogies- Revenge of the Sith, Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi.
I was born around the OT era. And since then Star wars fans have been very critical of all the shows and movies. I remember in ESB, people complained how is it possible that Vader was Luke's father. I was surprised just as much as any fan or not. But i thought that was amazing. It was new and unexpected. All i have to say is i enjoy more SW content still despite its defects. I still continue to enjoy the stories. Fans want SW to be at its best because we love it. Whats wrong with that but dont make it personal. Not every person is all perfect. Enough said.
People pointing out that the prequels had backlash is kind of a dumb point to me. Most of the people complaining about the sequel’s or TV shows didn’t complain about the prequels because they were kids or young adults when those came out. They weren’t old enough to have the attachment to the originals and ended up loving the prequels as their originals. Those kids grew up and widely do not like the sequel stuff. The same way their parents didn’t enjoy the prequels. People refusing to acknowledge that this is a thing is kinda crazy.
George Lucas is right and there are still a bunch of dumb people that want to ruin the franchise by complaining about everything including the people here that keep talking crap about the acolyte
I remember the I hate sand memes. Before that, there wad the Jar Jar loathing. I loved that time period as a fan but there was a lot of backlash against the films.
I honestly think Star Wars fans should've been careful what they wish for. They didn't want and disrespected George Lucas for years. Then Star Wars was sold to Disney, and look where we are now.
Ah yes, I remember the hate the prequels got for a long time. The hate didn't really started dying out until around late 2016, early 2017 when the Prequels movies started to become a meme, in which played a part for the fans to start viewing it more positively. But I remember the hate it got, even content related to the prequels, whether it'd be comics, games, or shows also face the same kind of backlash, notably from OT purists solely because they were connected to the prequels. Quite pathetic that we reached this part to pretend that the Prequel Trilogy was always universally loved. Are they going to pretend how the backlash greatly affected and ruins the lives of Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd? I will never forget.
Meg you hit the nail right on the head! Bravo! Over 90% of the fans who ripped on the prequels and were a part of the crying, complaining and nitpicking NOW LOVE the prequels. All of the division in the fan base started with this and in my opinion is the very reason George Lucas gave up and sold the franchise. Closed minds and fan critics are the blame for the current state of the fan base. I am in no way saying or defending any of the new content since Disney took over as there has been some good and plenty of bad. I realize Disney now owns the franchise and they can do what ever they wish. I also realize there were many books written by other authors other than George Lucas that were fantastic stories but George Lucas allowed other authors to tell “THEIR” stories with “HIS” characters not tell “HIS” story with “HIS” characters. The fans think that anything written by other authors is the gospel truth when it comes to Star Wars and it’s not.
I actually don't remember that much backlash about the prequels, from the fans. Most critic was from critics. Then it was critic on Jar-Jar (I also thought he was too goofy) and some thought it was too political, which it kind of needed to be to describe why the Republic did fail. I also know some criticism about that Anakin didn't like sand. But overall it felt like the prequels was liked and even loved by most. People went to see it several times I don't think the sequels will age well, I still get a real bad feeling every time TLJ is even mentioned
Honestly wondering what alternate reality the person who tweeted that was living in from 1999-2005? Or if this person was even alive at the time? I was 16 when TPM came out and was more of a Star Trek fan (upto that point there was more live action Trek than there was Wars). I won tickets to go see an advanced screening which was my first glimpse into the fandom and I'll always remember walking into the cinema and seeing people dressed up like Princess Leia, Darth Vader and stormtroopers. I'll always have a soft spot for TPM. But this revisionist BS that the Prequels were well received? 😆😆😆 Sure, Jan. To quote Aslan, do not cite the deep magic to me [random twitter person] I was there when it was written! I remember the time where the most controversial thing about Star Wars was Darth Maul's double ended lightsaber. The amount of people who complained about that thing, arguing that it wasn't a true lightsaber was unreal! I didn't have internet back then so most of the hate I saw came from the critics who absolutely shredded TPM, AOTC and ROTS a new one, but there were other fans I knew in person who didn't like the Prequels (even though they went to see all 3 of them at the cinema) and were extremely vocal about how much they disliked the Prequel Trilogy. The sheer vitriol that Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen received was horrific and undeserved (honestly, we as a fandom are incredibly lucky that both Hayden and Ahmed came back to Star Wars at all, I don't know about Hayden but Ahmed has spoken about his mental health suffering from the backlash against Jar Jar Binks). I even remember one time fans trolled Natalie Portman for wearing a Star Wars t-shirt in a photoshoot (because girls, women, afab people all *had* to be lying about being SW fans and *how dare she*😑). Thinking about it now the amount of vitriol the Prequels got reminds me of the online hate for The Acolyte before anyone had even seen the show.
I am 50 saw ROTJ in theaters prequels, and sequels aside of jar jar i was estatic with the prequels in the theaters i also was nit a book reader so i didn't know all the EU byt i remember the hate for SW Great video
As some who grew up with the original trilogy and remembers the severe backlash against the prequels, I felt like the odd person out since I liked Episode 3 more than Episode 6. They are close in my book, but i give 3 the slight edge.
Most people have goldfish brain and forget things after a few months. Jake Lloyd was bullied relentlessly by adults and children, poor kid couldn't even go to school, the fandom ruined his life. Ahmed Best was also bullied and blacklisted, got to such a low point due to the fandom he nearly (thankfully didn't) killed himself. The fandom drove the creator of the franchise to sell it and walk away and got it to the state it is in now. The Star Wars fandom is mostly terrible and shameless.
As someone in my 20s during the prequels, there was a crazy amount of hate. Hell, the special editions got crazy hatred. The only thing ok about it was Ewan McGregor and the light saber battles. The acting, effects, dialog was crapped on for sure.
People have forgotten. These movies were brutalized by both the fans and critics. People declared Star Wars ruined forever. It almost destroyed Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best. Fans said, and I quote, "George Lucas raped our childhood." No wonder he sold the company.
I turned 18 the year the original movie came out. Thought it was kid stuff, but loved it anyway. When Phantom Menace came out, I had two sons aged 8 and 4. They loved the prequels and still do. I liked them too, though again considering them to be made for pre-teens. Any adult who spends time hating on SW is wasting their life. They need to grow up (emotionally) and move on.
That’s a terrific video Meg. Your observations are spot on. People often have very short memories. I grew up with the original trilogy and absolutely love them, especially what is now known as episodes 4 and 5. I remember being bitterly disappointed by the prequels, especially episodes 1 and 2. I still don’t care for them much, despite their originality and cohesive story. The script is largely deplorable and the CGI is awful. I have been surprised to learn that the sequels have so many fans. No doubt many of them (like you) grew up watching and loving the prequels in much the same way I did the original trilogy. I have little doubt that the sequels will be beloved by many fans in years to come. Personally I enjoyed the sequels more than the prequels in some respects - especially episode 7, even though it is of course largely derivative of episode 4. To this day I have only watched episode 1 twice, forcing myself to watch it a second time, whereas I have watched the original trilogy countless times .
So I can explain this very easily. The difference between the OT and the PT vs the ST is there is NOTHING to identify with from a story perspective for the ST. What was the story. What was the point of the ST? Anyone that has watched all nine can tell you what the story of the OT vs the PT was. Now, the reason the PT got the backlash it did was for a few reasons. The biggest thing for me was that it just wasn’t shot in the same way. As ridiculous as this is to say, the ST was shot WAY closer to the reality and grit of the OT. I am NOT talking about CGI. I just mean that the theme and the mood were just very different, and not what Star Wars fans expected. Jar jar didn’t help, but OT fans expected that same grit and real feeling, but with the Jedi in abundance. That’s not really what we got. Years later, it’s fine because it’s Star Wars and it did tell the story of Anakin’s fall (even though I’d say most agree they either don’t understand it or at least it was very rushed) and if you just take it as something separate from the OT, it’s still pretty good.
I did enjoy each of the prequel movies when they each were released to the public. Yes, I had my issues with each film. But watching them in today's time and place I enjoy watching them.
Toxicity is everywhere. I ignore the online fandom and still enjoy Star Wars, like I have for 40 years.
Nobody remembers. _If we don't meditate on the past, we're doomed to repeat it._ ~Sol 😉
... Or, we may suffer from the ramifications.
I was in my early 20's when the Prequels came out, and people at my college or at my job would physically confront me if they caught wind that I actually liked them. I am not exaggerating, openly liking the Prequels was not tolerated in my age group. It would be comparable to expressing a less-popular political opinion around the wrong crowd today.
Just like people are afraid to say they like the sequels today. People were afraid to openly like the prequels. I even denied being a fan after getting wrapped up in the hate after episode 2. No more. I'm mature enough now not to allow hate to dictate.
@@kaygee2121 The difference is the prequels didn’t undo the entire OTs character arcs or story. The prequels didn’t attack men like the sequels. The prequels were creative and not just straight rip offs from the OT.
Just over 25 years ago I watched a preview of Phantom at the cinema I worked at. I will always remember with a smile at a girl saying confused that she thought Luke was very young.
Being an old fart, perhaps I can help with perspective.
I, and many others, were kids when episodes IV, V and VI came out. All those movies were rated PG and meant for kids as well as adults. (With regards to the Ewoks, even Lucas admitted he wanted Wookies, but didn't have the budget. Ewoks were a compromise.) My dad admitted how hokey the original movies were to him: mildly entertaining, but certainly not worth a rewatch. I, however, couldn't watch them enough.
When episodes I, II, and III came out, the 'kids' from the previous trilogy were now adults with kids. We wanted a Star Wars movie that appealed to US... our mistake. What we got were movies that appealed to OUR kids. The first two movies were also rated PG. Revenge of the Sith was the first Star Wars movie to get a PG-13 rating, but by then, the kids who had seen the first two were old enough to watch the third and deal with its darker tone. Parents weren't thrilled with the movies. Kids couldn't get enough of them. Eventually, as we parents came to understand what Lucas was doing, most of us came around, even if they weren't at the top of our watch list.
Here's where things changed. Episodes VII, VIII and IX were all rated PG-13. This trilogy wasn't meant to attract a new audience of kids. These movies were 'supposed' to appeal to the adult version of the fans of I, II, and III. Unfortunately, they didn't go over well with the previous two generations of fans, either. Without the previous fanbase and not much of a 'new generation' of fanbase, well... there you go.
Interesting
You have the same flaw all farts have: an inability to seek death with grace.
And Vii, Viii, and Ix weren't faithful to the story overall, re-did ANH (which was lazy), forgot that Anakin is the core character, etc.
Bingo. What sets the sequels apart (Particularly episodes 7 and 9) is that they are built on nostalgia, and appealing to old viewers. Even adults now like the PT on first watch, so it’s not just a kid thing, though kids are the target audience.
The sequels are trying to capitalize on nostalgia and public opinion of the time, (literally changing plot points and undoing things because of fan backlash) which doesn’t lend them well at all for the test of time
@@Plexippuspetersi92triggered much?
I'm glad you brought up the fan backlash goes all the way back to 1983. When he released the original trilogy, as the "Special Edition," that received massive backlash. Then Phantom came out and the backlash was even worse. Other than maybe Star Wars in 1977 and Empire, every project since has received significant backlash.
George is on the record saying that he didn't want to lose 10 years of his life and raising his daughter by making the sequel trilogy, so he sold it off. I suspect, he also knew that in exchange for putting in 10 years, away from his daughter, he'd have received backlash and hate for all his effort.
So it has never surprised me that he sold it off and left it for other people to receive hate instead of him.
Curiously, in my country and in many neighbouring countries prequels were never hated. You would be surprised how much more well received these movies were in that time by people of post USSR countries. And I see a couple reasons for that.
It would be a good reminder that the reaction in the US is not equivalent to every and each country, especially in Europe
I find many similarities between George Lucas' and early Soviet filmmaking so what you say makes complete sense.
This is the first time in a while I haven’t felt crazy. The prequels started coming out when I was 9. I REMEMBER THE BACKLASH OF THE PREQUELS! I know why Mr Lucas stopped making movies. I remember the absolute hatred for the last Jedi. But let fans tell you today, it was all always beloved. I remember some small things confusing me in prequels because things in the OT was retconned. THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!! The gaslighting in this fandom is crazy. I love that the prequels get so much love now, but that definitely was not the case back then
Meg, you are just the best channel!!! ❤
Watching you since 2020 by the way! Haven't missed a one video!
I mean honestly, I never understood the Prequel hate back in the day? Fans back then didn’t know the good that we had with it. Disney has done worst then what Lucas did. In fact that’s partly why, the Prequels weren’t even mentioned in the Sequels. And JJ Abrams who was one of those OG Star Wars fans who hated the Prequels back when they came out, said he would love to destroy them if he ever got the chance. And in many ways he tragically did.
You don't see the irony in your statements?
He did
It’s so ridiculous: he thought he knew the franchise better than its creator and in doing so made something way worse than the prequels could ever be
Thank you for being honest. A lot of fans today have become revisionist when it comes to the prequels because they hate the current state of Star Wars.
Or they were children when the prequels came out and lacked the ability to adequately review the content. As they matured, their ability to digest story and think critically about the subject at hand matured as well. Basically the kids that loved the prequels (cause it was mostly kids who accepted the prequels) would have loved the sequel trilogy too, had they not matured almost 15 years between the trilogies.
@@BEETTHESE No because the prequels was revolved around interesting characters. We loved it because we saw cool stuff like Plo Koon or General Grievous. The sequels has a bunch of cringe identity politics obsessed lamo characters who aren’t cool. Also with episode 8s literal hate of men, no I don’t think that would go well with gen z men… who massively have pushed the Prequels to its true celebration (which it deserves).
No one wants to watch some garbage rip of “resistance”. What made the prequels so cool is that it’s different. The ST is just a terrible corporate rewrite of OT.
@bruh949 sure
What a confusion! The wide spectrum of fans ! The younger audience wanted more of the same as in 123. But us older fans , myself included, I was 22 when it came out. We fans waited in long long line. It was astonishing!!! We love 123 but when 456 it boosted us to a new appreciation level! We loved them all 123456! Yes love 7 but disappointed with lack of Anakins force Ghost in 9!
Yeah backlash and online complaining about the prequels and the 4th Indiana Jones movie are literally why George Lucas retired. Those people have themselves to thank for Disney owning Star Wars now.
The problem came from Goerge Lucas not doing it as a group of fans wanted, but doing what he wanted.
I'm so glad he did his thing [ftmp]. Jar Jar Binks could've been so much more without the fan input though.
So the problem came from George Lucas' creativity?
They weren’t happy back then and they aren’t now.
It's almost like they never will be
We’d be happy if they didn’t trash George’s draft and made a trilogy that was literally a game of screenwriter’s exquisite corpse
This makes this Star Wars fans, who grew up with the prequel’s more responsible for all the backlash, and hate for the acolyte, all the other shows, and even the sequel trilogy
No those aforementioned projects are themselves responsible
Oh my gosh, I feel so seen.
I think George Lucas wasn't so much waiting for the technology to catch up to his vision as he saw an opportunity to make money and took it. In the years before Episode I came out, they released lots of EU books and comics, a multi-media project called Shadows of the Empire, and even re-released the Star Wars Trilogy on VHS "one last time." This culminated in releasing the Special Editions in theaters. All of this was to test the waters to see if people were still interested in Star Wars, and the answer was YES!
But let's not forget that The Phantom Menace was marketed towards adults. Lucasfilm's marketing team removed all silly or goofy things from the trailers and commercials so that adults would come and see the movie (and bring their kids). They actually came out and said as much in the last year or so, it was a huge bait-and-switch for people who were already fans of the franchise.
Fan backlash was huge when TPM came out--fans couldn't believe that after watching the Original Trilogy their whole lives that the original creator of Star Wars could make a bad movie. (No offense to Prequel fans.) Then a few years after Revenge of the Sith came out, RedLetterMedia released a series of scathing reviews of each Prequel movie that were frankly hilarious and on point, and they set the stage for dozens of UA-cam copycats and internet nerds to complain about Star Wars for decades.
As someone who was in High School at the time, I still don't like the Prequel Trilogy. They're not as well-written or acted as the OT (I still can't sit through TPM), and instead of treating the backstory that the OT hinted at he changed the OT to make it fit the Prequels instead! BUT, they built a wonderful universe that was explored in the awesome Clone Wars cartoons and Prequel-era books, comics, and video games, and in a time when we didn't think we'd ever get any more Star Wars movies... they got MADE.
As for the Sequels, we were all just glad they weren't goofy like the Prequel Trilogy when Episode VII came out, but when Episode IX released we realized we were kind of cheated. Lots of plot threads were left unresolved, lots of character arcs from earlier films were undermined, and they even killed off Han, Luke, and Leia.
Like, at the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke is now a Jedi and will form a Jedi Academy, Leia is going to build a New Republic, Han is going to marry Leia and they're going to have kids, Vader is redeemed, the Emperor is defeated, and the Empire is destroyed.
In the Sequel Trilogy, Luke gave up being a Jedi, his Academy failed, Leia's New Republic failed, Han and Leia broke up, Han & Leia's kid is evil, the Emperor is no longer dead, meaning Vader's sacrifice meant nothing, and the Empire is back, stronger and stupider than ever--and all of this happened off screen.
So basically the Sequels are a middle finger to people who are invested in the franchise, but they are flashy spectacles, so people who aren't really fans of the franchise will still like them.
I love how the sequels have convinced everyone that the prequel hate wasn't real.
Just because the newer films disappointed you doesn't mean the older ones suddenly were always beloved.
Just because the Sequels are hated by some doesn't mean they will be hated as much in the future. There were TONS of kids who saw them, loved them, and the nostalgia will be there in the future, especially after the Rey movie comes out. TFA came out 9 years ago. We're getting there.
@@MeanMrMustard1 exactly.
The clone wars show is what made the prequels have meaning... and allowed a lot of people to forgive the prequels.
This
But even the series took a few years to pick up traction. It wasn't really until it was put up on Netflix that more fans came back to it.
exactly. Lots of people hated the prequels back then. I wasn't too pleased myself.
Until you realize that people even hated on George and Dave Filoni for that when they made all the lore and Canon changes and adding in a Padawan for Anakin
That’s not really true. The prequels have a lot of meaning, and they function perfectly fine on their own. I like TCW, but people don’t give enough credit to the prequels for building the settings and characters of the show
I am a casual star wars fan, especially the old Legends stuff. Just like scfy in general and enjoyed the prequels for what they were. I think people are missing out in not watching the cartoons; I used to watch manga/anime. Meg, great content as always😊
As the saying goes, "Nobody hates Star Wars like Star Wars fans."
That statement is complete bullshit though
As if to say that Star Wars have no real standards and/or they only think as one giant hive mind and not factioned
I am an OG SW fan, I was 10 in 1977. I was not a big fan of the prequels, to begin with. It was only when I viewed them through my kids eyes did I learn to appreciate them. It was then that I remembered how my parents weren't big fans of the OG SW. Now I did enjoy all the story history that the prequels gave us, it was just the production and delivery that I didn't care for. But now I love the prequels, mainly because the amount of times I watched them with my children and how the prequels turned them into huge loyal fans.
Me and my semi grown kids went to see the sequels in theaters, Oh my. We left kind of bewildered as to what we'd seen on screen. But it wasn't just us, all the people leaving the theater had that same look of "Huh?" on their faces. Not to be deterred, we also went to the theaters for both subsequent movies, though we discussed skipping "The Last Jedi". The theater was not full on this opening weekend. we left very disheartened with the outcome of this trilogy and remain so today.
I was literally the target age for TROS and even I walked out shaking my head and saying “What were they thinking”
@@davidguthrie6316 it was a trainwreck of one bad decision after another.
I think the prequels have aged well in the eyes of those who were disappointed when they first came out because of how widely CGI has been adopted and because of how repetitive and contrived modern movies are. The imagination, sincerity and fun in the prequels has allowed them redemption, despite them being called 'soulless' or 'a cash grab' at the time. I think time has allowed the prequels to become familiar, when on first released they were seen as "different" to the OT. Of course they were intentionally "different" in aesthetics and design. It's strange though how disappointment and some critical reviews and criticism on forums was revised to "everyone hated them" by RedLetterMedia and became the dominant narrative to this day.
People have such short memories. I enjoyed Episodes 2 and 3. But I didn't enjoy episode 1 much. However, I remember at the time many fans criticising the entire trilogy. People have short memories.
Prequel hate WAS bad, but the hate is not as bad as modern day disney star wars. largely because all the haters didn't clique out like they have here on YT. And they weren't as organized.
Thanks Meg! Do or Do not, There is No Try. Seen Every Film At The Pictures, Including The Special Editions
yeeeep, it's always been this bad, the internet just made it more visible. sad really.
I saw Star Wars on the first date with my future wife. We saw Darth Vader say "I am your father" and gasped along as the audience fell silent in shock. We cheered as Luke defeated the Emperor's plans and brought his father back to the light. Then the prequels were announced, and we said "why?". We wanted sequels because we already knew what was going to happen. We wanted something new. We saw the sequels as just unnecessary. Had the sequels been produced shortly after Return of the Jedi, the stories would have been more consistent with the original trilogy, and not a conglomeration of mixed up thoughts, like we got.
Hi Meg, awesome news update, I do not know why people did not like the movies I thought they were great all of them, I feel sorry for Lucas being hated and because he changed Star Wars from being a children's movie to making it a little adult movie but most children still watched all the movies and it is not them complaining it is the adults, but why if they did not want their kids to watch it they should have stopped them, I would not let my kids watch anything I do not think is appropriate for them, the adults should be adults not idiots, thank you SWM
Ummm what? You have it backwards. The prequels were weird with all the computer graphics the super kiddie nature of it. It was supposed to be the story of how the films' greatest villain came to be. And it all just felt so blah ...
Yeah this has confused me. The prequels weren’t made as adult films. Star Wars was always something aimed at children but could also be enjoyed by adults.
Even The Empire Strikes Back was a bit of a divisive movie when it came out
It really wasnt with fans. Only the critics in media. They always had something against George.
@@TheRealTruthMovement the couple the ahead of the biggest organised fandom quit upon release of that movie and wrote an open letter about it
@@TheRealTruthMovement keep moving the goal post "fan"
@@TheRealTruthMovementActually according to Sam Witwer it actually was divisive and took several years before it was declared the fan favorite. And when Return of the Jedi came a lot of people, fans and critics, just straight up didn't like it, it was seen like how we think of movies like Spiderman 3 or X-Men 3. The thing that made people turn around on it was the prequels, feeling like it was way better than those.
Wasn’t it voted as the best movie of the year?
Meg, one hell of a video. Keep that soapbox because you deserve it. Even though I don't match your ratings for what is the best "order" we do agree on ESB. LOL. Well done and very well said, thank you from this old OG boot. If you get a long weekend across the pond, enjoy.
Phantom. Attack. Revenge. That's the shorthand I use. XD
AotC had the worst "love" story in cinematic history at that time
Hayden was awarded “worst actor” for that role
@@Messi1dagoat I never saw Titanic so I can't speak to that
@AnakinSkywalker-qe2rk how it was expanded in the Clone Wars series fixes a lot of my qualms about it, but just based on what we had when AotC came out it was really far fetched for me.
It’s fine. People just cringed a bit when they saw it. Cringe does not equal bad. If you think that it was up there with the worst romances you haven’t seen enough movies
@@davidguthrie6316 My lack of seeing movies with bad romances is intentional. When bad romance seeps into Star Wars, I call it out.
I remember the fans being split down the middle about the prequels. I’ve also watched the generation that were children at the time grow up and show their love of the prequels. What I’ve also seen is a larger percentage of fans show disdain for the Disney content and my own kids who love Star Wars ages 7-13 would rather watch the prequels and aside from the mandalorian don’t bother with any of disneys content
I’ve been defending the prequels since I was a small boy in 1999 and I will continue to do so until the day I die and that’s final.
Good movies widely embraced by the audience usually don't have to be defended.
This was a very good video. You brought up many good points. There will always be those who take a negative view of things just as there will always be those who focus on the positives.
May the Force be with you Meg. Thanks so much for all that you do for the Star Wars community. Have an ace and epic day. Peace, cheers and plenty of Star Wars adventures and journeys
I’m my adult head cannon the Ewoks were Wookiees. But as a child I loved the Ewoks. 😂
This subject has layers. In interviews all the way back in '83, Mark Hamill knew what the plan was for the next movie's timeline. George's excuse of technology not being up to his expectations for why it took so long to give us another movie, is acceptable. He is a genius. That being said, 15+ year intervals is not healthy for business UNLESS you go to different time periods...and Star Wars did it twice. The difference between prequel hate and sequel hate is the amount of media outlets and the exponential number of keyboard warriors increasing with those media outlets. I wasn't disappointed in the prequels at all. Didn't care for Jar Jar, but I also didn't care for the Ewoks. But they, by no means, detracted me from my enjoyment of the moment. The prequel backlash made George quit, so thank you for not letting anyone dismiss the prequel hate as "not so bad".
Thank you. The amount that online culture and social media factors into people forming their opinions is, in my opinion, astronomically underappreciated. I even see younger UA-cam reactors decide not to watch certain things solely because they've been told not to buy their comment section or they've heard it's not good instead of forming their own opinion. The ones that do decide to watch those things (i.e., the sequels), usually really enjoy them. These are people who don't have a lifetime of investment in the franchise, which goes to show there is an audience for them apart from people like me who just enjoy any Star Wars they can get.
@@davidp3837
I saw it , it was brutal not counting the hate Ahmad Best got to the point he almost committed suicide and Jake Lloyd ended up being mentally broken from it
I think that's what upset me the most , the dismissal of what fans did to them , Hayden and Lucas
It was sick and disturbing
Oh and the OT got hate as well especially after ESB , this has been a common thing with fans , to downplay or dismiss the hate and claim "Its taken out of context"
Yeah, no. Lucas was no genius. He simply had an ill-read audience.
@@CharlesH-t9rBTW: not invalidating your comment but Lloyd’s mental health struggles actually had VERY LITTLE to do with the fan backlash. His mother made sure he never got on the internet
It is crazy how people forget. I remember the hate. I didn't care much for episode 2, and totally got so wrapped up in the hate myself, that I refused to see episode 3 for several years. The sequels actually brought me back in. Everything going on today sounds just the same. Nostalgia is an extremely powerful lens.
I think the main point of that tweet is that many of the fans that are praising the prequels now would hate on them if they were released today. Not simply that fans loved them then, but would now
I think it is important to note that there has always been a large contingent of fans (even if it was a minority of fans) who have always loved or appreciated the prequels even when the hatred towards them was the highest.
While it isn’t true to state that everyone always loved them (even to this day that isn’t true), it is also just as inaccurate to state that people universally hated them as well.
You're 100% correct. I was 28 when Phantom Menace came out, and had been a fan since I'd seen the original film in 1977. I enjoyed the prequels, though I found them somewhat lacking, but the vitriol that was spewed by many fans baffled me. I've definitely noticed that many of the people who grew up with these films, the same way my generation did with the OT, absolutely adore them. That's why I don't want to see the sequel trilogy retconned or any such nonsense, because I know there are kids who discovered SW through those films. We all have "our" Star Wars, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Everyone is blinded by nostalgia. Prequel fans don’t understand good filmmaking while ot fans don’t understand other good Star Wars stories
I was there in 1999 when the Dark Time came to the end.
I was 30.
I Remember.
Glad that the PT gen, who Didn't have a Voice Heard then (Meg among 'em) Have been heard Very Clearly now,
That episode of Spaced that uses TPM backlash as a premise was fantastic.
And yet Pegg complained about "toxic fans" in 2022 and tried to claim it was about "diversity" and that Trek fans are more tolerant; what a hypocrite! Imagine if someone back in 1999 told Pegg, 'you don't hate Jar Jar, you just hate the movie because there's black people in it'.
The people who have so much hate for Star Wars have it for their own reasons. There's a reason why people are constantly lumping those who hate the Sequels and The Acolyte in with incels. It's the same thing.
Incels look at women and say, "These pre-established norms (traditional gender roles, The Bible/religion) says you shouldn't be doing X and you are wrong if you do."
Those who are hating the current Star Wars say, "These pre-established norms (EU, canon) says you shouldn't be doing X and you are wrong if you do."
They use pre-existing dogma to try to twist other people to do what they want. Except no one is required to care what they want. Someone who is a yellow vest at the Amazon fulfillment center, who has no real world experience or even degrees in media production, is all of a sudden experts in writing, editing or production, for no other reason than his white, cishet Christian fantasy world is being blown up. I hate to break it to you but LGBTQ POC who don't identify with any religion are the future. I've read writers like Bruce Timm from the DCAU talk about how some "fans" get so nitpicky about canon to the point that even he, as a canon writer, got tired of being bombarded by people over this stuff and it seems George Lucas got tired of similar and we lost him for it. I do have a degree in media production and I do know the difference between a review where someone has a legitimate complaint and can articulate their reasons thoughtfully, and someone who is just mad because they are not getting their way and are bloviating into the void. An overwhelming majority are the latter and there is just no reason for anyone else to care.
With the focus of Lucasfilm's future being Filoni's movie and how shows like Mando, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew will play into it, it's unlikely The Acolyte will get renewed. At least not right now while resources are clearly needed in other areas. But it will not be because of any of these people. I guarantee it.
So is it morally acceptable to kill them? Is this why you support Bezos' warehouses having downright abusive conditions?
You seem to be mythologizing LGBTQ POCs, othering them by painting them with the broad stroke of unearned virtue. They are oppressed. That's not the same as being good.
I’m one of those that loved the prequels because I wanted to see the politics of how the the Republic became the Empire but when people say how much they hate Rey & all the new characters & storyline’s I just remind them this has happened before. I worked in a bookstore in my teens in the early 90’s & had customers complaining how the Thrawn Trilogy didn’t follow the Marvel comics, then they complained when Dark Horse put out comics, then the sheer hate for Asokah in the cartoon Clone Wars movie. Since 1991 I’ve noticed Star Wars fans have to hate Star Wars for around a decade before they’ll accept it as good.
The haters usually never accept the thing they don't like. It's the kids who grow up and have nostalgia that keep it going. And since SW is multi-generational, it will keep going. Right now, there are tons of reaction videos to all of the movies, including the Sequels, and they are all equally loved by brand spanking new fans who don't have 20, or 40 plus years of baggage keeping them from liking something. It's not the product that's the problem. It's the fans who bring their lightsabers with them into the cave.
To me it's pretty much the same situation repeating itself. Now, the sequels and shows are flawed in many ways but with time (especially in terms of narrative consistency), in my opinion, people will realize it's not all "trash" and the different ideas, themes and characters are interesting and needs the same treatment the clone wars and the prequel characters got.
Ok I just was looking forward to Anakins force Ghost!! To aide!
I was one of the few who loved 'The Phantom Menace' it seemed so real and quite amusing, I was less keen on 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' due to the Anakin/Padme romance. I am a lot better with them now.
I liked 'The Force Awakens' but really, really hated 'The Last Jedi' and it made me ignore 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Eventually I got it on DVD and regretted it. It seemed confusing and contrived.
PS: I was a teen when the original Star Wars came out - and it was great! - as was 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi!'
While I’m sure there were other message boards back then, the main one where 99% of us fans engaged in, was the official Star Wars message board. And yes there were plenty of critical threads on there. I’m glad I never came across the ones being downright toxic to Jake, Ahmed and Hayden. That would’ve upset me big time.
I was 2 years old when the first Star Wars came out, imagine your entire childhood and into adulthood revolving around those three movies and never have seen the prequels but it had a general idea of what was going to happen in what year imagination had created for the backstory and then you get Jar Jar Binks, it was pretty disorienting when they first came out but now I have accepted them and I love them even though they do have serious problems
I was properly introduced to SW through the prequels. Since 2012, I haven't stopped loving them, and I am glad more people are on board in appreciating them. I feel those who hated them prior simply didn't see the perspective we had till sequels came out because sequels lack consistency and aren't GL's vision. The closest to it in ST is TLJ, in my opinion. PT had much of the consistency of the story because it was still all part of GL's vision from Menace to Jedi (1-6).
It’s true. All of it. Thank you, Meg, for your thoughtful videos.
There have always been skits and comedians mocking Star Wars. What's ironic is that people like JJ and Pegg can mock it, but can't make anything as meaningful. We shouldn't suggest JJ speaks for the whole fandom or general audience. He was a greasy prequel hater - and ewok hater - that only liked 2 Star Wars movies and didn't know how handle the brand.
Indeed. I heard some recent comments that Lesleye Headland should have been barred from making Star Wars for using GL as an example of why she doesn’t believe in the auteur theory. Whether you think that or not, (not my place to say) why is nobody talking about Simon Pegg and what he said? He said that prequel fans are idiots who he doesn’t respect and compared George Lucas making the films to infanticide while PROMOTING EPISODE VII which he was CAST in. (Because he’s Abrams’s friend) That’s just so sick on so many levels
@@davidguthrie6316 Pegg is the gold standard of hypocrite for his whining about the reception to the sequels by "toxic fans". But this is the whole thing with JJ and Pegg's facade; make a big deal about "practical effects" and yet have boring creatures that do nothing of interest. Then TFA's dollar store Yoda and dollar store MIB creatures are CGI...
@@Ruylopez778 Lol, Simon Pegg is one of the top 20 most toxic fans I've ever seen. He's in the People Vs. George Lucas too, the irony...
"pRaCtIcAl EfEcTs" AKA: Giant X-Wings and a couple puppets that don't do anything. Meanwhile, Phantom Menace has 2 cities, countless miniatures, battle droids, (Aside from the Gungan battle) And a giant palace that feels larger than life, and REALLY is. I'll take the Phantom Menace thanks...
Also, they try to make puppet Yoda again in TLJ and he looks like he's developed anorexia
There was a backlash. It's true the media went after Lucas and the prequels, partly because of what an outspoken critic he was of Hollywood and studio system. But we shouldn't confuse fans whining on forums with the opinion of all fans or the general audience. You only have to look at the VHS and DVD sales and the massive box office numbers and opening weekends. The SW sequels and Fantastic Beasts are examples of trilogies that trailed off in popularity, and the prequels have completely different box office trends.
Revenge of the Sith made less money in box office than episode 1. I refused to see it for years and years because I got caught up in the hate.
@@kaygee2121 ESB made about ~60% of ANH. ROTJ made around 80% of ANH. AOTC made ~60% of TPM. ROTS made over 80% of TPM.
I forget the exact numbers but the trend is pretty similar. All the prequel movies opened bigger than the previous movie, just like the OT. It's true that ESB and ROTJ smashed the box office in a way the prequels did not, aalthough the prequels were up against massive franchises like Spider-Man, HP and LOTR. AOTC was released 2 weeks after Spider-Man. And ROTS was a very close second worldwide and a clear no.1 domestic. The domestic wasn't surpassed until TDK in 2008.
By comparison Fantastic Beast had smaller and smaller openings (just like the SW sequels) and totals. TROS made around 50% of TFA, and was only the 7th biggest movie, and barely 10th. It was crushed by the Avengers movies totals (and so was TLJ even though there wasn't a bigger movie that year). TLJ was also lagging behind Black Panther on home sales.
When people claim "everyone hated the prequels", they don't seem to understand how well these movies performed. Yeah, they claim it was just down to kids and no adults liked it.
40% of TPM reviews were positive, 40% of AOTC reviews were positive, and 70% of ROTS reviews were positive. So the idea that no adults liked the prequels seems highly unlikely, not to mention anecdotal TV news coverage of the time with mostly positive responses from the audience.
ESB even had 24% mixed reviews when it came out. So fairly comparable with ROTS. And in terms of critics' responses as a percentage of positive/mixed/negative, the prequels are pretty comparative or better than RO, Solo, TROS.
This is why I will say it every single time, but if George saw the way the phantom was now he’d be saying the same thing and it would not be in favor of the people that think that he would be on their side. The way, so many people act towards Star Wars projects now is just ridiculous.
I remember how bad it got, they bullied Jake Lloyd out of acting. I also remember the Ewoks and JarJar being hated because they were for the kids.
Objectively false and this has been debunked by Lloyd's mother recently. 1. It was his classmates that bullied Lloyd, not Star Wars fans. 2. His mother said he had a great time making the movie and watching the prequels. 3. She protected him from what online/critic backlash there was at the time.
Best's complaints were mostly about being accused of being a racist stereotype by critics.
This is a lie the media has made up to try and prove Star Wars fans toxic for not liking Disney's shit.
It really only took a second movie for the, 'adult,' fans to start complaining about how it's being dumbed down by silly muppets. It almost seems like hating-the-new is a SW fan rite of passage.
I'll never forget how Red Letter Media and many fans actually said Disney should redo the Prequels
And when you bring it up they pretend that didn't happen or "That's taken out of context"
I never in my life seen mental gymnastics on any level as I have when it comes to Star Wars fans
Thanks Meg 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Great Video Meg. George deserved better.
So glad you got the JJ quote in there because clearly the biggest prequel haters are Disney. I’ve not missed the irony that they started by trashing it and went on to rely on it for good material: Clone Wars 7, Bad Batch, Ahsoka, Kenobi (in descending order of good).
I absolutely agree that the lurch between 8 & 9 is really disruptive.
The same people who say shit like, “George Lucas ruined our childhoods,” are the same people who say the sequels sucked and that George Lucas should have never sold Star Wars and that the prequels were so much better. Which one is it? You can’t have it both ways.
I salute Meg for trying her darnedest to remember the prequel trilogy in the same light as the sequel trilogy. She has a bad memory. I remember the excitement people had for The Phantom Menace and then the backlash afterward. The backlash for the following 2 movies. I also remember how a lot of people at the same time loved each of the movies, especially Revenge of the Sith. A lot of people loved Darth Maul, and there was a lot of positive talk about the fight scenes. People had a lot of respect and love for Count Dooku. Amd I very distinctly remember the applause EACH of the times I saw Revenge of the Sith, when Darth Vader took his first breath in that helmet. And toy sales during all of the prequel trilogy were great, despite backlash. The only toys the sequel trilogy was selling was that little Droid, and even ot wasn't good. Nobody bought Kylo Ren's helmet, the thing they thought they would sell. The best lightsaber fight in all Star Wars is in the sequel trilogy, THE BEST, but you don't hear much talk about it even now. In fact, some of the best scenes in all Star Wars are in the sequel trilogy, amd I hear no one debate this, seeing that we all seem to be in agreement about them, but sequel trilogy will never get the fanfare or the love that the prequel trilogy was given DURING its backlash. If it couldn't sell toys, it won't be remembered. Solo was a good movie! People didn't go see it BECAUSE OF backlash over the sequel trilogy. But people went to the sequel trilogy hoping to find George Lucas' vision extended. Meg has a bad memory of things. She keeps looking for a wag to justify the backlash of the sequel trilogy and make it the same, but that's a total lie. As long as bad Star Wars exist, people will always associate its beginning with the sequel trilogy, not the prequel. I give this video a big fat thumbs down.
Someone has to say it!
As an old guy who loved the Prequels, I was ridiculed to no end.
I still prefer them to even the originals!
I grew up on the prequels and never ever once got the notion or the memo that it was hated lol only now did I find out they were hated... how did everyone else knowvthis and I didn't lol
"It's like poetry they rhyme." I don't care to look it up, but that song "George Lucas R*ped Our Childhood." All this Post-Disney Purchase fever reeks of that over-reaction with extra right-wing politics culture war sauce.
This!
I have to admit, after attack of the clones, i was so dejected, it took me almost 10 years to watch revenge of the Sith.
The actors can finally say, "Thank God, they hate the sequels more..."
These are one group of super complainers today. Even some old school heads that say everything George says and does is beloved. Wrong. This is why people complaining about everything today are right on brand but don't realize this complaining helped George decide to sell. Remember when people disliked Anakin? The whole "Clone Wars Anakin is the definitive Anakin" conversation? Jar Jar, bullying the child actor into quitting acting? I HATE SAND? People don't remember these things? Or they weren't fans then and are making guesses when they're speaking.
"bullying the child actor into quitting acting?"
This has been debunked by his mother recently. We also know why Lucas sold Lucasfilm. He's explained it. Your comments and strawman don't have any nuance, which ironically is exactly the thing you are complaining about.
@@Ruylopez778 thanks for your input but it changes nothing. I'm sure he was a resilient kid and felt nothing as he got ripped apart for doing his job. Same with Ahmad Best. Happy? Still doesn't change what I'm saying about the super complainers who George himself couldn't stand. Doesn't change the fact that people revise history to fit the narrative that everything was sunny before Disney bought Star Wars. Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints... Lol you're kind of still doing it lol
@@taylormadealpha You're exhibiting a lot of trust me bro energy. Very few people claim there was no backlash to the prequels at all. That is a claim made up by people like you to whine about the fandom.
I'm paraphrasing what Best and Lloyd's mother said. It's also revisionism that fans *could* harass a child actor on the internet back then. The problem for the people pushing these lazy narratives like you, is that social media simply didn't exist back then. And the notion that fans waited 10 years to then harass Lloyd on social media would be equally dumb. It's a determination to label it a "toxic fandom" with a weight of "evidence" that has no credibility.
I called out your strawmanning and you're still doing it now in response. It's a pity you can't admit you're parroting BS you heard elsewhere and presumed made sense.
"Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints..."
Again, hardly anyone thinks this and pretending a lot of people do is pointless. It's more common to find haters insisting everyone hated the prequels and still do.
Lucas didn't like whiny fans. Lucas didn't like critics much, either. Pretending that he sold Lucasfilm because of criticism is simply disingenuous when he's already on record explaining the **reasons** he sold and none of them were backlash. As I said, you haven't used any nuance, which is why it's so easy to debunk all you say.
@@Ruylopez778 exhibiting alot, trust you. Right, whatever that means. Don't trust me, trust the video you just watched. Then, you can use the google machine to look up anything from that era. I know there are dedicated complainers out there and always have been. There are people out here making big money to do it which at least, they've decided to monetize rage bait.I can't even believe you're trying to run cover for it.
Also, you're not using the term "strawman". That's not what this is, If anything, you're removing the point of what I'm saying and turning the conversation into something different that has nothing to do with what I was talking about in the first place. What would you call that? Let's say it was, which it's not, didn't I say you were right? You one of those people who can't take a "you're right" and move on. Probably because that talking point alone doesn't change a thing.
Dedicated complainers and history revisionists are a problem, and have been for a while now. Why spend so much energy trying to prove it's not ..if that's what you're doing here, unless as I've said you've moved the goalposts (see, I can do that too).
If it was "hardly anyone" doing this, why does this video exist? You think revisionist history surrounding the prequels is rare? I tend to hear people say stuff like this alot, expecting us to not believe our lying eyes and ears and ignore our life experiences. That's quite funny. Everything I've said has happened. It doesn't matter if you like it or not.
@@taylormadealpha Your whole narrative is "trust me bro". No evidence to back it up, just accusations. I'm calling out that behaviour, but you can't seem to get it. You brought unnecessary antagonism in your own post. It's got no nuance. It's all about trying to shame others.
"Monetize rage bait"
No, this is the narrative of MSM that youtubers create "toxicity" by convincing fans to hate things unnecessarily, rather than the actual situation of fans being fed up watching crap and being dismissed or shamed for criticising it.
"If anything, you're removing the point of what I'm saying"
*"bullying the child actor into quitting acting?"*
This is BS. It never happened.
"this complaining helped George decide to sell"
Inaccurate.
"Everyone loved everything, noone got harassed, there were no complaints..."
strawman nonsense.
"Let's say it was, which it's not, didn't I say you were right?"
You said, "thanks for your input but it changes nothing."
Which is not true. Actually using the facts entirely invalidates your claims.
You're entitled to claim whatever narratives you want. And I corrected you on how inaccurate and misleading they are. Which makes your wider narrative weaker.
"Why spend so much energy trying to prove it's not"
You're misrepresenting events to whine about the fandom. It's dumb and it's either coming from a place of ignorance or dishonesty and exaggeration.
"If it was "hardly anyone" doing this, why does this video exist?"
Meg found one quote and made a video out it when there's no new news.
"You think revisionist history surrounding the prequels is rare?"
Never claimed that.
"That's quite funny. Everything I've said has happened. It doesn't matter if you like it or not."
I've explained how you're misrepresenting Lloyd, Best and Lucas' experiences, as part of your narrative. Take it or leave it. But don't act like you're being honest or nuanced. You aren't. I guess you write bait like this in order to argue with someone to whine about the fandom. A waste of your time, to be honest.
Also Meg backlash started before the prequels when George Lucas released the special educations. Fans were not happy then.
I waited for hours in line to get tickets for episode 1 opening night for friends & myself. There was no love for Jar Jar then. The films were always for kids we wanted the films to grow with us. With episode 1 back in theaters earlier this year I took my daughter who loved Jar Jar. Those films are great for kids. I do appreciate the prequels more myself thanks to TCW series.
Only 2 things I did not care for was the han/greedo thing in ANH, and Vader's "nooooooo!" in RotJ.
Yeah with some caveat. I was on the forums back then and for sure there was a lot of back and forth and also a lot of separation because the format divided the topics between OT topics and Prequel topics so fans of the OT weren't always on the same threads as the Prequel topics. So what you ended up with was the fan boy trolls and critics filling up the prequel forums with argument. The rest of us who didn't feel it was terrible or didn't dislike everything didn't bother getting involved so what you end up with is a skewed impression of the full fan base. We kept our discussions to the more civil threads. Not saying people didn't have issues with some things but it's usually the noisy people that get the press, that attack the actors. Most normal people don't do that. What you hear now might be those people saying how it was for them. Of course then you'd have the angry prequel fans who felt attacked respond by going into the ot forums and trashing Luke, Han and Leia. Which of course people then started to resent.
I remember the backlash.... SO much hate. Even today some of the scores/ranks of Ep 1 and 2 are LOWER then the sequels trilogy - its crazy.
well I mean, the sequels are better made movies, more entertaining for more people. Of course as hardcore Star Wars fans the prequels are loved more because it is FULL of lore.
@@johnb2422 I'm 50 and started watching Star Wars at the 1979 "re-release"' of A New Hope and I love it all. (My Dad says I was at the drive-in in 1977 watching it, but I was 3 and don't remember LOL) Anyway, Star Wars always got shit. But it's still here, and I have never been pissed off. So much anger.
I’ve got I and II as the worst Star Wars movies/shows. I’d take all three sequels over either (though IX is close).
@@johnb2422 more entertaining for who? This generation completely ignores them and is more invested in the Mandalorian
@@DaerianAntilles I don't even 'rank' Star Wars best/worst since I love them all. I have 3 ranks... the ones I re-watch the most, the ones I re-watch the least and the ones in the middle which I re-watch randomly. But by pure chance, the 3 I enjoy and re-watch the most are from 3 different trilogies- Revenge of the Sith, Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi.
I was born around the OT era. And since then Star wars fans have been very critical of all the shows and movies. I remember in ESB, people complained how is it possible that Vader was Luke's father. I was surprised just as much as any fan or not. But i thought that was amazing. It was new and unexpected. All i have to say is i enjoy more SW content still despite its defects. I still continue to enjoy the stories. Fans want SW to be at its best because we love it. Whats wrong with that but dont make it personal. Not every person is all perfect. Enough said.
People pointing out that the prequels had backlash is kind of a dumb point to me. Most of the people complaining about the sequel’s or TV shows didn’t complain about the prequels because they were kids or young adults when those came out. They weren’t old enough to have the attachment to the originals and ended up loving the prequels as their originals. Those kids grew up and widely do not like the sequel stuff. The same way their parents didn’t enjoy the prequels. People refusing to acknowledge that this is a thing is kinda crazy.
And in comes John Favreau and Dave Feloni to give us hope in Star Wars future. I’m totally invested in the story of Grogu, the Ghost crew, and Ahsoka.
George Lucas is right and there are still a bunch of dumb people that want to ruin the franchise by complaining about everything including the people here that keep talking crap about the acolyte
This! It’s funny because Lucas hates the people that keep saying “it’s not George’s vision!” He laughs at them as we all do lol.
I remember the I hate sand memes. Before that, there wad the Jar Jar loathing. I loved that time period as a fan but there was a lot of backlash against the films.
I had no idea about the backlash because there was no UA-cam 😂
I honestly think Star Wars fans should've been careful what they wish for. They didn't want and disrespected George Lucas for years. Then Star Wars was sold to Disney, and look where we are now.
Going back even further, fans also hated Empire and ROTJ
Ah yes, I remember the hate the prequels got for a long time. The hate didn't really started dying out until around late 2016, early 2017 when the Prequels movies started to become a meme, in which played a part for the fans to start viewing it more positively. But I remember the hate it got, even content related to the prequels, whether it'd be comics, games, or shows also face the same kind of backlash, notably from OT purists solely because they were connected to the prequels.
Quite pathetic that we reached this part to pretend that the Prequel Trilogy was always universally loved. Are they going to pretend how the backlash greatly affected and ruins the lives of Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd? I will never forget.
Meg you hit the nail right on the head! Bravo! Over 90% of the fans who ripped on the prequels and were a part of the crying, complaining and nitpicking NOW LOVE the prequels. All of the division in the fan base started with this and in my opinion is the very reason George Lucas gave up and sold the franchise. Closed minds and fan critics are the blame for the current state of the fan base. I am in no way saying or defending any of the new content since Disney took over as there has been some good and plenty of bad. I realize Disney now owns the franchise and they can do what ever they wish. I also realize there were many books written by other authors other than George Lucas that were fantastic stories but George Lucas allowed other authors to tell “THEIR” stories with “HIS” characters not tell “HIS” story with “HIS” characters. The fans think that anything written by other authors is the gospel truth when it comes to Star Wars and it’s not.
I was there in the Shire 5,000 years ago and The Phantom Menace was backlash was bad. People liked the Maul/Obi fight and that was about it.
I actually don't remember that much backlash about the prequels, from the fans. Most critic was from critics. Then it was critic on Jar-Jar (I also thought he was too goofy) and some thought it was too political, which it kind of needed to be to describe why the Republic did fail. I also know some criticism about that Anakin didn't like sand.
But overall it felt like the prequels was liked and even loved by most.
People went to see it several times
I don't think the sequels will age well, I still get a real bad feeling every time TLJ is even mentioned
Honestly wondering what alternate reality the person who tweeted that was living in from 1999-2005? Or if this person was even alive at the time? I was 16 when TPM came out and was more of a Star Trek fan (upto that point there was more live action Trek than there was Wars). I won tickets to go see an advanced screening which was my first glimpse into the fandom and I'll always remember walking into the cinema and seeing people dressed up like Princess Leia, Darth Vader and stormtroopers. I'll always have a soft spot for TPM. But this revisionist BS that the Prequels were well received? 😆😆😆 Sure, Jan. To quote Aslan, do not cite the deep magic to me [random twitter person] I was there when it was written! I remember the time where the most controversial thing about Star Wars was Darth Maul's double ended lightsaber. The amount of people who complained about that thing, arguing that it wasn't a true lightsaber was unreal!
I didn't have internet back then so most of the hate I saw came from the critics who absolutely shredded TPM, AOTC and ROTS a new one, but there were other fans I knew in person who didn't like the Prequels (even though they went to see all 3 of them at the cinema) and were extremely vocal about how much they disliked the Prequel Trilogy. The sheer vitriol that Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen received was horrific and undeserved (honestly, we as a fandom are incredibly lucky that both Hayden and Ahmed came back to Star Wars at all, I don't know about Hayden but Ahmed has spoken about his mental health suffering from the backlash against Jar Jar Binks). I even remember one time fans trolled Natalie Portman for wearing a Star Wars t-shirt in a photoshoot (because girls, women, afab people all *had* to be lying about being SW fans and *how dare she*😑).
Thinking about it now the amount of vitriol the Prequels got reminds me of the online hate for The Acolyte before anyone had even seen the show.
I am 50 saw ROTJ in theaters prequels, and sequels aside of jar jar i was estatic with the prequels in the theaters i also was nit a book reader so i didn't know all the EU byt i remember the hate for SW
Great video
I remember the hate
As some who grew up with the original trilogy and remembers the severe backlash against the prequels, I felt like the odd person out since I liked Episode 3 more than Episode 6. They are close in my book, but i give 3 the slight edge.
Most people have goldfish brain and forget things after a few months. Jake Lloyd was bullied relentlessly by adults and children, poor kid couldn't even go to school, the fandom ruined his life. Ahmed Best was also bullied and blacklisted, got to such a low point due to the fandom he nearly (thankfully didn't) killed himself. The fandom drove the creator of the franchise to sell it and walk away and got it to the state it is in now. The Star Wars fandom is mostly terrible and shameless.
Thanks for saying this.
As someone in my 20s during the prequels, there was a crazy amount of hate. Hell, the special editions got crazy hatred. The only thing ok about it was Ewan McGregor and the light saber battles. The acting, effects, dialog was crapped on for sure.
Sounds familiar 🤔
People have forgotten. These movies were brutalized by both the fans and critics. People declared Star Wars ruined forever. It almost destroyed Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best. Fans said, and I quote, "George Lucas raped our childhood."
No wonder he sold the company.
I turned 18 the year the original movie came out. Thought it was kid stuff, but loved it anyway. When Phantom Menace came out, I had two sons aged 8 and 4. They loved the prequels and still do. I liked them too, though again considering them to be made for pre-teens. Any adult who spends time hating on SW is wasting their life. They need to grow up (emotionally) and move on.
That’s a terrific video Meg. Your observations are spot on. People often have very short memories. I grew up with the original trilogy and absolutely love them, especially what is now known as episodes 4 and 5. I remember being bitterly disappointed by the prequels, especially episodes 1 and 2. I still don’t care for them much, despite their originality and cohesive story. The script is largely deplorable and the CGI is awful. I have been surprised to learn that the sequels have so many fans. No doubt many of them (like you) grew up watching and loving the prequels in much the same way I did the original trilogy. I have little doubt that the sequels will be beloved by many fans in years to come. Personally I enjoyed the sequels more than the prequels in some respects - especially episode 7, even though it is of course largely derivative of episode 4. To this day I have only watched episode 1 twice, forcing myself to watch it a second time, whereas I have watched the original trilogy countless times .
So I can explain this very easily.
The difference between the OT and the PT vs the ST is there is NOTHING to identify with from a story perspective for the ST. What was the story. What was the point of the ST?
Anyone that has watched all nine can tell you what the story of the OT vs the PT was.
Now, the reason the PT got the backlash it did was for a few reasons. The biggest thing for me was that it just wasn’t shot in the same way. As ridiculous as this is to say, the ST was shot WAY closer to the reality and grit of the OT.
I am NOT talking about CGI. I just mean that the theme and the mood were just very different, and not what Star Wars fans expected. Jar jar didn’t help, but OT fans expected that same grit and real feeling, but with the Jedi in abundance. That’s not really what we got.
Years later, it’s fine because it’s Star Wars and it did tell the story of Anakin’s fall (even though I’d say most agree they either don’t understand it or at least it was very rushed) and if you just take it as something separate from the OT, it’s still pretty good.
We still need explanation on how Episode 6 Luke got to Episode 8 Luke !!!
I did enjoy each of the prequel movies when they each were released to the public. Yes, I had my issues with each film. But watching them in today's time and place I enjoy watching them.
I love all of them all.👽🖖 May the Force be with you Meg.