Oh yeah, I had to give it in tags that there was something to how stories that were executed like the PT (movies specifically) resonated more closely with Lucas's intent at the time (late 90's/early 00's). The execution has been seen as clunky over time, but during it's airing, it did succeed in what it meant to do. The fantastical intent of the films wasn't lost even as older audiences spoke with not just each other but Lucas himself on the more mature themes to the films. Standards have evolved, and I think audiences need the writing of something that's trying to be both to thread the needle with more refinement (rightly so), be it bc of real-world events or just the art of movie/scripting developing over time, but it did do what it meant to do in this regard (past tense). Not everyone liked it, but the suspension of disbelief in toeing this line of whimsy-and-politics wasn't lost.
How the franchise is perceived in regards to its genre has shifted as well. Classic star wars, or Lucas star wars (OG & PT movies), is a fantasy that if we put it in a range, it's closer to something fairy tale like/a moral fable, as opposed to a fictional historical drama. There's more BTS back-and-forth btwn Lucas & Filoni that other notes in this post get into, how Filoni often wanted to lean into the latter, granting more detail to the events playing out that could ground what happens in a more practical "reality" while Lucas stuck to the more timeless & simple Good vs Evil narrative while still adding moral nuance with themes that yes, could be dark, but that younger audiences can absolutely handle.
The OG trilogy is something that time and again gets brought up as The Hero's Journey. It's simultaneously unavoidably whimsical as well as takes inspiration from real-world conflicts like war, fascism, familial cycles of abuse. But it's not a dichotomy; it's difficult to go into a fantasy setting that's about space warriors helping a space princess overcome the evil fascist wizard without its intended sense of whimsy. Similarly, the PT is about a magic kid who goes to a space school for wizards where he gets a glowing sword that helps with his space magic. It is also about his conflict between the resources that can help him vs the temptations of a dictatorship that promises it can give him everything he wants, and the tragedy of his failure.
"Having fun" with star wars as well as appreciating what Lucas & co. are trying to say with its themes & conflict isn't a dichotomy but admittedly a lot gets lost in the noise, and why I brought up the issue of the classics' genre is that being able to to do this is a lot less hard when going into Lucas's films knowing that what's on-screen isn't trying to be a fictional historical drama but closer to a fantastical fairytale/moral fable. TCW and other expanded works start to break that tone, but that wasn't for years after all six classic films came out. Classic SW is intended to be watched within the context of its original tone, and it helps the darker themes that those films were exploring easier to see and digest.
The themes on Good vs Evil are not absent of nuance but it's just not in line with the conflicts Filoni wanted to explore; Lucas's is still in line with keeping SW as a fairytale & moral fable. Luke can easily make the same mistakes as his father; he doesn't! There's conflict to remain mindful of his choices, of the people it effects, his anger, and the consequences thereof and the rewards of choosing better. There's an immense amount of nuance in the PT that audiences of the time might not have preferred in their Star wars but they understood it, esp once the political events of the time got rolling. How do people who start out good go so wrong? The Senate grants Palpatine power bc they're convinced at first it's the only way to save more people - there is a temporary boon but at the cost of making the democratic process more passive. It's the kind of power that Anakin is told by Palpatine he can have - if he just de-prioritizes selfless considerations of other people and communities, he can have everything he wants; a temporary boon at the cost of his principles in the longer run.
The thing is these nuances, these "darker" themes are not in conflict with the movies' genre; it's both "simple" Good vs Evil and "realistic" in its own way as well - the narrative shows how messy people can become when tempted by greed and fear. The messages are harder to lose this way; as someone in the notes said: Lucas had messages and had things to say. Plenty, in fact! But something like "child soldiers" wasn't one of them. That's not in line with the genre Lucas's star wars had, and in fact conflicts with the rest of its tone.
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