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We'll never get over the treatment of Maul in Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace!
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00:00Just imagine how awesome it would have been to see some iconic villains get a little more time
00:05to shine, or how much more impactful certain moments would have been had specific elements
00:10been handled better. Not even a George Lucas special edition can fix or alter these prequel
00:16issues slash moments sadly, but that still won't stop fans from wondering about what could have
00:21been. So I am Gareth here from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
00:26missed opportunities we'll never get over. Number 10, the Separatist forces weren't all that
00:31intimidating by episode 3. After watching our heroes be chased around the galaxy by the Empire's not
00:37always entirely accurate stormtroopers throughout the Star Wars original trilogy, an upgrade was
00:42certainly needed for the prequel's villainous forces. And for a minute there it looked like
00:47they may have received precisely that. During episode 1, The Phantom Menace, the Trade Federation's
00:52droid army initially came across as a quite terrifying and seemingly never-ending stream
00:57of merciless mechanical soldiers. Then after an often quite intimidating introduction during that
01:03first prequel entry, and even some pretty epic moments in Attack of the Clones, things all got
01:08a little silly didn't they? Most noticeably in Revenge of the Sith, the battle droids that once
01:12struck fear into the hearts of Gungans were spending more time back chatting and cracking jokes than
01:17trying to take out Republic forces. Even with the arrival of a few upgraded super battle droid
01:23troopers, there's no denying the fact that turning this once menacing army into a source of wacky
01:28comedy seriously undermined the threat of the Separatist army as the Clone Wars reached their end.
01:33George Lucas initially appeared to have created a frightening new collection of droid fighters
01:37to keep the Republic busy when given the opportunity to unleash a new evil in the galaxy,
01:42but frustratingly opted to eventually undo a ton of that awesome work in favour of a few one-liners
01:48and slapstick gags. Now I've got a quick question for you, what's your favourite droid in the galaxy?
01:54Let me know in the comments section right down below.
01:56Number 9, Boba Fett Doesn't Get His Revenge
01:59In one rather brutal moment amidst Attack of the Clones, a young Boba Fett is forced to watch his
02:04father Jango get his head sliced clean off by Jedi Master Mace Windu. But this young Fett never quite got
02:10the chance to fire his blasters at Windu in the prequels before he was shot out of a window by
02:16Darth Sidious in Episode 3, something that eventually felt like a massive missed opportunity to create
02:21another iconic Star Wars moment. Perhaps even more frustratingly, there was actually a time when
02:27Boba returning to attack Windu in that third entry was seemingly considered, with a piece of
02:32Revenge of the Sith concept art depicting the sharpshooter killing Mace in the flick. And while the
02:37icon would actually clash with Windu again during the Clone Wars animated series, the fact he didn't
02:42get the chance to take out his father's killer in the prequels will always be a tough pill to swallow.
02:47Number 8, Super Speed Arrives Then Swiftly Disappears
02:51Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were forced to use a brand new Force power
02:57early
02:57on in Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. Rapidly getting out of dodge, the two show off an awesome Force
03:03speed ability to evade a droideka standoff. Rather than dust off this handy skill whenever
03:08they needed to catch up with an enemy, or once again avoid droid blasters in the minutes and
03:12films that followed though, this Jedi tool bizarrely sprinted out of the galaxy far far away after this
03:18first use. The fact a Jedi is never really seen briefly using some of their energy to fire
03:23themselves across a battlefield at ridiculous speeds again during these Star Wars prequels feels
03:28like a huge waste of what seemed to be a cool new addition to their arsenals.
03:33Number 7, Everything To Do With Padme Amidala After Episode 1
03:37Successfully tricking a pair of Jedi into thinking she was little more than a loyal handmaiden for
03:41much of The Phantom Menace, Queen Padme Amidala quickly established herself as a character worthy
03:47of being the mother of the iconic Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. But then things all got a bit weird
03:52and regularly uncomfortable from Attack of the Clones onwards. On top of choosing to have Amidala
03:58somehow fall for Anakin Skywalker after some of the most excruciating intimate moments ever to land
04:03in theatres, Padme was then completely sidelined during Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. Gone were
04:08the days of Padme taking up a blaster and shooting her way out of trouble or doing anything even remotely
04:13interesting in the series. Instead, her role in the final prequel consisted of her being loved up with
04:18Anakin, getting pregnant, crying about his turn to the dark side, and then bafflingly dying of a
04:24broken heart after giving birth to Luke and Leia. An actor as terrific as Natalie Portman was utterly
04:30wasted in what could have been an equally wonderful role. And speaking of which, number 6, Not Giving
04:35World Class Actors The Chance To Show Off Their Talent
04:38Natalie Portman wasn't the only top class actor who wasn't really given the opportunity to properly flex
04:43their acting muscles in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. While there was the odd exceptional performance
04:48scattered across episodes 1 to 3, the amount of talent that was wasted is criminal. The mighty
04:54Samuel L. Jackson, outside of being the only on-screen Jedi to boast a purple lightsaber,
04:59was regularly saddled with painfully bland dialogue. And his most memorable moments after three whole
05:04films involved him chopping off a bounty hunter's head in front of his son and being chucked out of
05:09a building by a wrinkly Sith Lord. Impressive. Elsewhere, the likes of Terrence Stamp, Christopher Lee,
05:15Joel Edgerton, Rose Byrne, and even Liam Neeson didn't really show what they're capable of with
05:20the right direction and material. None of their performances were unwatchable by any means,
05:25but you'd be lying if you said you weren't even a little underwhelmed by these various Oscar
05:29nominees and soon-to-be superstars prequel turns in the galaxy far, far away.
05:34Number 5, The Jedi Generals Not Being In Action More
05:37One of the many tremendous moments to tumble out of this year's Ahsoka series involved both Anakin Skywalker
05:43and his padawan Ahsoka Tano being transported back to the Clone Wars. However, those few visuals of
05:49Hayden Christensen marching across the battlefield in live-action Jedi armor were incredibly bittersweet,
05:55as they likely left many wishing they'd been treated to more of this sort of Jedi general
06:00action in episodes 1 to 3. Admittedly, if you're really craving some time with the galaxy's
06:05protectors in the middle of various battles, then the animated Clone Wars certainly has you covered
06:10and then some. But that still doesn't change the fact that the prequels annoyingly don't contain
06:14all that much Jedi battlefield action outside of Attack of the Clones' first big battle of the war
06:20on Geonosis. Perhaps if the Clone War had kicked off a little earlier in the trilogy, fans would have
06:25been able to see Christensen, Ewan McGregor and many more don the armor and lead their clone troops
06:30into a few more spectacular live-action skirmishes. Instead, all we really got was Obi-Wan Kenobi finding
06:36and eventually killing General Grievous during a battle on Utapau, Yoda largely just watching the
06:41fight on Kashyyyk, and a few shots of Jedi Masters getting gunned down by their own soldiers in various
06:46war zones in Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith. We should have had more, damn it cause we're greedy.
06:51Number 4. The Fumbling of the First Ever CGI Supporting Character
06:55Before this Gungan stumbled into the lives of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace,
07:01there had never been a fully CGI supporting character in any big screen project.
07:06But instead of creating a figure that would go down in history as both a groundbreaker and
07:10entirely adored three-dimensional addition to the galaxy far, far away, George Lucas decided
07:15to make Jar Jar Binks a silly and somewhat offensive presence in the flicks. Through no fault of Ahmed
07:21Best, who was simply performing the role as he was directed to, Binks swiftly became one of the
07:26worst-received elements of the prequels, and Lucasfilm opted to pull the character away from the
07:31spotlight in the wake of the horrendous backlash sent the actor's way after The Phantom Menace,
07:36Best at least was given the chance to step back into the universe as Jedi Master Keller
07:40and Beck during the latest season of The Mandalorian. However, there's still no changing the fact
07:45that Lucas well and truly fumbled the chance to do something special with cinema's first
07:49ever fully computer-generated supporting character.
07:52Number 3. Not Enough Focus on the Building of the Rebel Alliance
07:56While there were plenty of compelling seeds planted throughout the Star Wars prequels that
08:00would eventually lead to some of the subsequent original trilogy's greatest moments,
08:04the glaring lack of any real mention of the early beginnings of what would eventually become
08:08the Rebel Alliance sticks out like a sore thumb. This isn't a case of George Lucas just completely
08:14overlooking how interesting it would have been to witness the first few flickers of Rebellion
08:18pop up as Sheev Palpatine's plan to take over the galaxy neared completion, though.
08:23The director actually shot a number of compelling but ultimately deleted scenes that showed the likes of
08:28Bail Organa, Padme Amidala, Mon Mothma, and other senators discussing how they could save the
08:33democracy that would soon be destroyed by the Emperor. Organa even goes as far as to note how
08:38himself and Mothma were putting together an organization that could save democracy in the
08:44Republic during the deleted moments. Now, leaving these political conversations in would have perhaps
08:49slowed down Revenge of the Sith a little, sure, but keeping these scenes in the finished article would
08:54have also given a number of underutilized characters something a bit more to do in the film. And
08:59deciding to not throw in a few subtle hints at the Rebellion to come feels like yet another squandered
09:04prequel opportunity. Number two, not enough time was spent with the villains. While the key villain of
09:09the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Sheev Palpatine, certainly got more than a decent chunk of screen time
09:15throughout the flicks, the same couldn't be said of some of the other memorable antagonists on show.
09:20When it comes to Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and General Grievous, the three other main thorns in
09:25the sides of the Jedi during the movies, you'll struggle to find a single fan who wasn't clamoring
09:30for more big screen time with the equally badass and captivating lightsaber wielders than they
09:35eventually got. It is worth noting how all three were at least given a lot more time to shine in
09:40the Clone Wars animated series in the years that followed their all too brief time as part of the
09:45live-action Skywalker saga. For those who haven't enjoyed Maul's shocking return,
09:50Dooku's compelling actions in between episodes 2 and 3, or Grievous warring with the Nightsisters,
09:56are no doubt still cursing George Lucas for not doing enough on the big screen with three
10:00intriguing bad guys who sadly ended up being little more than a collection of somewhat mysterious
10:05middle bosses to overcome. Number one, not letting other directors help bring the trilogy to screens.
10:11If the sequels have taught Star Wars fans anything, it's that bringing in a bunch of different cooks
10:16to prepare a potentially delicious trilogy isn't always a recipe for success. However, before George
10:22Lucas decided to direct the prequels he had written himself, the hugely successful and still adored
10:27original trilogy involved the creator of the galaxy far, far away, Irving Kirshner and Richard Marquand
10:33taking turns directing the projects that were overseen by Lucas. So you do have to wonder what episodes 1 to
10:393
10:39would have looked like had Lucas been able to convince the likes of Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg or
10:44Robert Zemeckis to help him bring the earliest Skywalker saga chapters to theatres. If any of
10:49these talented filmmakers were given the opportunity or convinced to put their own stamp on the galaxy
10:54far, far away, all while being guided by their pal George and generally staying true to his singular
11:00vision, the issues that popped up during episodes 7 to 9, talented movie makers not all sticking to
11:05the same plan because there wasn't one, would have likely been avoided. And what ultimately became a
11:10rather stunning if often quite soulless collection of prequel tales, thanks to the fact dialogue and
11:16directing actors isn't exactly George's speciality, could have looked and felt entirely different had
11:21any one of those other masterful directors opted to seize the opportunity and join forces with Lucas for
11:27the prequel ride. What could have been eh? But that is our list, now do you know of any prequel
11:33trilogy missed opportunities that we've missed? Well let us know all about them in the comments
11:36section right down below and don't forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you
11:40are down there. Also if you're into this sort of stuff then please head on over to whatculture.com
11:44and find some more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right now is based
11:48on. I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the force be with you as always, cheers for
11:53checking out this video today and hopefully we'll see you soon. Bye bye!
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