[Chefelf]

Lucas needed that expository dialogue in SW4 simply because, with no Jedi kicking around to demonstrate the Jedis powers, he had no other way of getting that information across.

One of the things I liked about TPM was that he dealt with the exposition of who the Jedi were and what they could do in a way that wouldn't confuse new fans and wouldn't bore old fans who already knew.

This is the thing. If the Jedi were as well known and plentiful as they appear in the prequels (actually having an office in Coruscant, being government involved, etc.) then it is absolutely preposterous that Luke doesn't know anything about the Jedi. This is something that only died out 18 years previously.

If someone came up to me with Nazi armband and started talking about the third reich and about the Aryan race. I wouldn't be like, "The third reich?" And then wait as Obi-Wan KaGoebbels tells me about the Nazis and how they came to power and what happened. Everyone knows about these people! And this happened a full 32 years before I was even born, not just 18.

Sorry for the Nazi/Jedi analogy but I couldn't think of any other group that vanished from the face of the Earth to use as a comparison.

It's also preposterous that Luke says, "The Force?" clearly never having heard of it considering it appears to be a fairly common exp​ression to say, "May the Force be with you."

Wait, am I attacking the OT or the PT here?

The PT, of course, but more so the lack of clear thought between the two.

[Bond]

Well, the poor fellow lives a rather sequestered life on Tatooine; he probably was withheld such information by his aunt and uncle, similar to Harry Potter.

[jariten]

Well, the poor fellow lives a rather sequestered life on Tatooine; he probably was withheld such information by his aunt and uncle, similar to Harry Potter.

Chef made a good point though, one that I'd never thought of before. Although he had an exaggerated kids eye view of who they were, Anakin had heard of the Jedi in TPM.

Luke was born right as the Jedi died out, but it's hard to believe that stories of these amazing warriors with magic powers would have died out in under two decades.

That's the insurmountable problem Luacs had, there was no way that he could explain Mottis comment about "ancient religion" without having the prequels set 1000 years before the originals or something. Then again, Lucas probably should have realised this when writing ANH's script in the first place.

[Just your average movie goer]

Perhaps it would have worked better if the Jedi were already in decline by the time of the prequels. Perhaps there just weren't that many of them anymore.

I also liked the idea that some jedi, rather than all getting killed, just hung up their lightsabres in their later years and called it a day - probably because Ben told Luke in his homestead that he was once a Jedi Knight, meaning that he didn't count himself as one anymore.

Perhaps if the Jedi had been calling it quits for quite a while, then it could easily be that by the time of the prequels, their beliefs were an ancient religion.

And to tell you the truth, I think that would be quite believable. It's very hard to maintain a constant vigil over a long period of time when there's no threat. Perhaps after thousands of years of peace, Jedi just starting thinking "Hang it all. I think I'm gonna be a farmer."

Still, Lucas didn't think much about the problem, did he? At least, I hope he didn't. If he had been working on the prequels during the entire twenty year interlude before coming up with what he did, that would be a very sad thing indeed.

[Bond]

Yup.

However, Alec Guinness' performance in ANH can go either way, I suppose...