- director Ron Howard (American Graffiti, A Beautiful Mind) revealed that George Lucas intended the prequel trilogy to be directed by someone other than him.

- Ron Howard said said during a podcast that George Lucas actually approached Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, The Frighteners, Contact, Cast Away, The Walk) and him to direct the Star Wars prequel films but apparently they all got cold feet.

- Ron Howard said:

“George Lucas] didn’t necessarily want to direct them. He told me he had talked to Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and me. I was the third one he spoke to. They all said the same thing: ‘George, you should do it!’ I don’t think anybody wanted to follow-up that act at the time. It was an honor, but it would’ve been too daunting.”

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace/38005/star-wars-the-phantom-menace-the-directors-who-turned-it-down

So yeah, can you imagine how things could have been if someone else directed those films?

Who do you think could have been the best pick to direct the prequels among those who George Lucas approached?

If you didn't like the prequels, does this information somehow shifts, at least a little, the blame / responsibility for how those films turned out?

Spielberg could have been a good choice since he had shown with Jurassic Park that he could handle CGI without going overboard.

Steven Spielberg would have been amazing for creating the prequels.

Yeah, I think the scripts itself were a bigger problem than the direction.

Thankfully he directed those movies or else people would be asking for him to return for the new trilogy. It's better to have a bad experience first than to delay it. :P

(that said I don't even think prequels were as bad as some people claim).

Yes.

I enjoy them. I'm planning on watching all films soon as some sort of preparation for The Force Awakens.

Neither do I. I can see what people complain about though and understand why it is a big deal for them. But I enjoy them nonetheless.

I am not sure if I'll go watch it at theaters. I am thinking on waiting until it hits Candian Netflix next year and watch the rip.

I will watch the Prequels (1,2) then Cartoon Network "Hand-drawn" Clone Wars miniseries (one of the best Star Wars works), then Clone Wars film (which I didn't like much), then Clone Wars CG TV Series, then Episode 3, then Star Wars Rebels, then the Original Trilogy, then Lego Star Wars Droid Tales, then The Force Awakens. :D

How to say not to Mr. Spielberg. But then we also have Robert Zemeckis who has been responsible of so many awesome films.

A different director could have improved the quality of the films somewhat, but if the scripts were going to be the same, it would've been a turkey either way.

A great director can't make a great film if it's not on the page. Bottom line. If you have a terrible script, you will have a terrible movie. Doesn't matter who directs it or who you cast in it.

And that's the main problem with the prequels. Not the CGI. Not the actors. Not even the director. The SCRIPTS are very badly written.

And this was basically proven correct by the fourth Indiana Jones movie which had Spielberg directing (a good director), but the movie still sucks. And it doesn't even have a lot of CGI aside from one sequence. Still sucks. Why? Because the script sucks.