The Importance of Being Episode III

By D. Maxwell

 

There is no doubt that the Star Wars saga has lived a very exciting life in its 26 year reign: From the late 1970s when Star Wars was the king of the cinema; to the mid 80s when the trilogy was the mantle by which all other science fiction movies were judged; to the late 80s when Star Wars was considered all but defunct; to the early 90s when interest once again began to rise in the form of the Heir to the Empire novels; to the mid 90s with the impending release of the Special Editions; to the late 90s with the fever pitch anticipation of The Phantom Menace; and finally to the great success of Attack of the Clones last year.

 

Yet even with this grand history proceeding it, if you listen to the sceptics you will hear them say that in the past few years “the puff has run out of the Star Wars train” or “George Lucas has got it all wrong”.  More often than not these comments come from those people who have not embraced the new Star Wars films with the same passion as the original trilogy and instead are vehemently critical of them. To some degree one can interpret this as being “spoilt” due to the virtual “gluttony” of new Star Wars films and associated merchandise now being released. The result of which is that people can be almost nonchalant about dismissing a new Star Wars film - much like the treatment the various Star Trek incarnations received during the 1990s, and more recently the Star Trek films themselves. It is almost a case of “too much of a good thing is bad for you”.

 

Following the post The Phantom Menace fervour, fans were quick to point out that it didn’t really matter if The Phantom Menace was a good film or not, as there were still two more Star Wars films to come. After all, if you pick up a bad apple, you simply toss it aside and pick up another one. Yet I believe that there is now a sudden realisation that is beginning to creep into people’s minds, and that is, after Episode III there will be no more films. As a result of this, those prequel hardened critics are starting to drift back into the Star Wars fold because they, along with everyone else, are starting to realise just how important Episode III really is.

 

Find it a little hard to believe that a single movie could make such a difference? Well let’s look at it another way. Currently there are two great film series that are both awaiting the launch of their third and final chapters. Star Wars and Lord of the Rings – taking into account their vastly different release dates. There are some people who consider Lord of the Rings to be the superior film trilogy and as such consider the final film of that series, Return of the King, to be the most anticipated film release. Admittedly “from a certain point of view” this may be the case, as there is no question about the outstanding quality of the Lord of the Rings films. I would argue, however, that Episode III is in fact a more important film. Why? Well quite simply if both Return of the King and Episode III were to cease production right now, never to be released, one could easily find out what happens in the Lord of the Rings conclusion by simply reading the book. Sure you would not get the grandiose visual spectacle that the Lord of the Rings films have produced, but at least you would know the conclusion to the story.

 

In the case of Episode III, there is NO such book, there are NO such easily assessable answers, there is simply a lot of guess work, hearsay and speculation. With this in mind, there is a growing realisation that Episode III is vital to the Star Wars saga because it is the one film that answers all the questions. How does Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader? Will we actually see the legendary duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin at the lava pit? How are the Jedi Knights defeated? What actually happens in the Clone Wars? Will we see the fate of the twins and how they end up on Tatooine and Alderaan? Episode III is a lot more than just another Star Wars film, it is the film that we, as the fans, must have.

 

This level of conjecture and anticipation has been no more apparent than at the TF.N (www.theforce.net) Star Wars message boards. Despite the fact that the release of the film is still over two years away, the Episode III discussion forum has already amassed over 10,000 individual postings by fans, which is double the Attack of the Clones postings at 5,000 and far in excess of the remaining four films (including the original trilogy) which barely even clock up 3,500 postings collectively!

 

People are now realising that Episode III is a pivotal film in the entire Star Wars saga. To be fair cynics can dismiss it by arguing “but we already know who Darth Vader is, and we all know who the twins are”, however I believe that it is simply not enough to just accept those statements at face value, not when the real answers are almost at our finger tips.

Perhaps equally important, is the need to see Episode III if only to confirm that our own theories about what happens in the story are correct. It will be intriguing to see if the questionable links between the new films and the old films are finally explained, ie: why doesn’t Threepio recognise the Lars homestead in A New Hope? Will Leia remember her mother as being beautiful and sad? Why is there a “dark side” cave on Dagobahand why is Yoda there to begin with? Unfortunately the only possible downside to this will be if Episode III creates more questions than it answers. As mentioned earlier, we already know that certain events have to transpire within the story,However, we do not necessarily know the reasoning or motivation behind them. We do not know the ‘why’, and often The why is the most important factor of all. Likewise, we don’t know what will be shown and how it will unfold. I believe it is this desire to know that is a driving passion with the fans. A desire that can only increase as time goes on.

 

In fact I can not begin to imagine even the most hardened critic being able to avoid seeing the film as they too can finally learn the truth, to feel that there is now closure to the whole story. And with that closure comes solidarity, as reality sets in and people begin to realise there will be no more Star Wars films, they will inevitably be drawn together to celebrate its success and to ensure its legacy.

 

As a result of this, the future of Star Wars within the next few years is destined to become very bright indeed. In my view, Star Wars will go through a huge resurgence as people clamber on board to relive the wonder of the Star Wars mythos. With six complete films under its belt, there will be many (including the sceptics) who will embrace Star Wars again simply because it will be a glorious end to a fantastic existence.

 

While this remains to be seen one thing is certain, as the first decade of the 21^st century rolls to a close, it will once again fall upon the fans to keep the Star Wars memory alive, just as it was the fans who, in the late 1980s, kept the saga alive when the original trilogy was considered “complete”.

 

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