Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Defended by Production Designer: ‘It’s What George Wanted’
A production designer for The Phantom Menace agrees with the fans that say the Star Wars prequels deserve more credit.
Fans of the divisive Star Wars prequel trilogy gained a new ally as a former production designer for the franchise defended the films, citing maintenance of George Lucas’ original vision.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Gavin Bocquet, a production designer on the prequel films, said he felt that George Lucas was sometimes unfairly criticized for his decisions when making the films. He reflected on his experience as a production designer on The Phantom Menace, stating that he was proud of his work, regardless of its overall reception, since it was true to what Lucas had envisioned for his story. “It’s what George wanted to make,” Bocquet said. “If he wanted to make them, and he wanted to make them like that, why shouldn’t he?”
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Unfortunately for Lucas, general audiences at the time did not share this sentiment as Episode I: The Phantom Menace debuted in theaters to lukewarm reviews at best, with many fans and critics taking issue with the film’s visual design, which relied heavily on CGI. Compared to the rugged, practical look of the original trilogy and given the lack of a strong central protagonist, The Phantom Menace disappointed droves of filmgoers hoping for a similar experience. The sequel, Attack of the Clones, fared even worse, becoming the series’ lowest-rated film to date.
While things turned around a bit with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which remains the highest-rated film in the trilogy, the prequels soured a lot of people on Star Wars for quite some time. However, as a new generation of fans began to take shape, raised on the prequel films and later, the animated spinoff The Clone Wars, younger fans began to see the prequels in a new light and a devout fanbase quickly formed to defend the divisive films.
Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars property in 2012, the company began work on an all-new trilogy that would continue the story from the original films to culminate in what would eventually be known as the Skywalker Saga. This led to a series of spinoffs that would feature various callbacks and cameos from the prequel trilogy, causing longtime fans to develop a newfound appreciation for the films that would culminate in the reunion of prequel stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with Christensen returning once more to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka.
Bocquet said that Lucas waited to make the prequels initially until the proper technology existed to make the films and that the industry needed to grow enough to make it accessible on their budget. Now, despite their critical reception, the Star Wars fanbase has grown into the films as well.
