The new Star Wars baddie

[lostcarpark]

I've recently been watching the Star Wars Clone Wars animated series, which I've enjoyed thoroughly. The last couple of episodes feature a new baddie, General Grievous, who seems to be some kind of evil sith cyborg/robot. Apparently he's the main new bad guy in the next movie.

As a huge Star Wars fan from the age of seven, I can't help but be disappointed by Lucas' pandering to commercial concerns over art. I can still think of a few twists that could vindicate the entire series, but my confidence in Lucas having the courage to go down that route isn't high.

Comments

Re: to clone or not to clone

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

I agree Lucas is a lousy director, and the best parts of the original trilogy were the bits he dodn't direct. Unfortunately he seems to have become obsessed with everything being 'his'. However, I think he's always been acutely aware that he makes the most money out of the merchandising opportunities, and inserting "cute" characters like Ewoks and Gungans boosts toy sales.

Darth Maul was a very cool character, but the role was only developed to a fraction of its potential. He could have been every bit as sinister as Darth Vader was in the original trilogy, but there was no room given to developing the character. Having him be the main bad guy (apart from the Emperor) for all three prequels, perhaps having Anakin "strike him down and take his place", mirroring the decision Luke would later be faced with.

I really enjoyed the Clone Wars series, though it does feel a bit disconnected. As far as I know the animators were given a lot of freedom to do whatever they wanted, and there were lots of parts which left me wondering "why couldn't they have done that in the movie?"