Jovo

I think Episode I was certainly a big deal, but I do believe the release of Episode VII is a bigger deal. When Episode I came out in 1999 it was a promise fulfilled. Ever since 1978 when we learned that the first Star Wars movie was actually Episode IV, we were wondering about Episodes I-III. After ROTJ was released in 1983 everyone figured we'd have Episode I in 1986 since it had taken 3 years between each of the original trilogy movies. But it was not meant to be. Finally in 1999 our patience was rewarded with a brand new Star Wars movie. The prequel trilogy was wrapped up with Episode III in 2005. Most people assumed the Star Wars saga was over. Lucas had basically said so many times. Star Wars would live on in books, comics, games, and even on TV but the prospect of more movies seemed dim. And then Lucas retired and sold Lucasfilm to Disney. We were told more movies were coming. In fact, a whole new trilogy would continue the story of the Skywalker family in Episodes VII, VIII and IX. WHAT?! So just when we thought the movies were done, we were given the promise of another trilogy set 30+ years after ROTJ and our original heroes would be back! So in a nutshell, I believe (for me at least) that Episode VII is a bigger deal because it is the trilogy we were never supposed to have in the first place. We had been expecting Episodes I, II and III for many years, but even the idea of another trilogy after Episode VI seemed more and more out of reach as the years went by. One more reason is that we really have no idea where the story will take us. We had a good idea of what needed to happen in the prequels to set up what we had already seen in Episodes IV-VI. So for me, as a fan since I was 11 in 1977, the release of Episode VII in December and then two more movies to complete this trilogy AND a few "anthology" movies added in for good measure....the force has indeed awaken the young boy in me once again.