Prequels or Sequels, which one’s better? When it comes to Star Wars, the original trilogy takes the cake.  Then Disney came along and graced us with a brand new trilogy. Suddenly, the Prequels and Sequels were fighting for runner up. Which is stupid, because the Prequels obviously win.

Okay, so I know people have differing opinions on this. That being said, most fans I’ve met agree that the Prequels are better. I’ve also noticed that a lot of hardcore fans tend to uphold the Prequels while more casual viewers gravitate towards the Sequels. That could just be me, but it seems to be the vibe I’m getting. Now, on to the discussion.

Ask any Prequels fan, and we’ll be the first to tell you the movies are terrible. In fact, we’ll laugh along with you. Awkward scenes and terrible animation make for the ultimate cringe fest. Then there are the memes. It’s like George Lucas foresaw the advent of meme culture and made the Prequels solely for that purpose.

Despite this, the Prequels remain a meaningful contribution to the Star Wars universe. Palpatine’s rise to power and orchestration of the Clone Wars was ingenious. In fact, with the exception of the Anakin/Padme love scenes, the entire plot was well thought out. Starting with the invasion of Naboo, the movies combine political intrigue with a healthy dose of slam-bang action. The lightsaber fights were intricate, and the space battles spectacular. Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan grounds viewers into the story. His journey from stressed out padawan to cool Jedi Master keeps the audience growing along with him. Add this to McGregor’s chemistry with Hayden Christensen (Anakin), and you can’t help getting attached. As for the cringy parts, they could have easily been fixed. This is evidenced by the success of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The TV show cut the fluff and incorporated the rest. The result: a world were Anakin is awesome and Jar Jar isn’t (quite) so embarrassing. Problem solved.

Another thing about the Prequels is that they fit. The films were engineered to be the originals’ other half. George Lucas created Star Wars with the intention to go back in time. It was always part of the plan. The movies shed light on characters like Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Boba Fett. They explain the mystery of Palpatine’s rise to power and how Luke and Leia were separated at birth.

The Sequels were the exact opposite. Instead of complimenting the Star Wars universe, they trampled on decades of precedents. Disney observed the backlash to the Prequels and aimed to make a trilogy divorced from Lucas’ second child. Unfortunately, they decided to ignore decades of other stories as well – even the originals themselves.

The main problem with the Sequels is that they failed to do the original characters justice. In order to attract viewers, Disney brought Han, Luke, and Leia back for the films. However, Disney’s main priority was to create a new set of characters for a new generation. The original characters became moral support for Rey, Finn, and Poe. Even worse, J.J. Abrams and Ryan Johnson ignored all of George Lucas’ carefully created character arcs. Luke reverts back to the whiney kid from A New Hope. Han turns out to be a loser who abandoned his wife and kid. His growing loyalty throughout the stories is completely wiped away. When Han dies, Leia hugs Rey not Chewie. After just meeting Rey, she has more sympathy for her than Chewbacca. She then treats Poe like trash and entrusts the Rebellion to stuck-up Amiyln Holdo. Leia’s wit, negotiation skills, and ability to make wise decisions seem to have gone down the drain. Also, where was Lando? He only showed up for a few minutes during the Rise of Skywalker.

What’s really sad is that Disney missed the perfect opportunity to reunite the main characters on film. They had the opportunity to do so and refused. Since Carrie Fisher died in 2016, it will never happen again. Though no one could have foreseen her death, with the actors getting older, it would have been wise to reunite them before it was too late.

Many fans would have preferred something similar Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn Trilogy that kept to most people’s visions of post-Return of the Jedi. There would still been plenty of action, but Han, Luke, and Leia could be front and center. Their characters would continue to develop as the three embarked on their journey to restore the New Republic and defeat the remnants of the Empire. Disney could have also brought characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade to the big screen. As for the new characters, they could have been saved for later. It’s not like Disney plans to sell Lucasfilm anytime soon.