I mentioned a few weeks ago something about midi-chlorians and my absolute abhorrence of them. I was going to wait until March to go on my happy rant about the whole change in the Force system that Lucas introduced us to in Star Wars, but having just finished reading Michael Stackpole’s I, Jedi it started nagging me again.

What I want to know is how Lucas went from the description Yoda gives, about the Force being nature itself, to that crap about it being a parasitic lifeform.

We went from this, which made the Force a beautiful, if awesome, thing to behold:

“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” (Star Wars: Obi-wan)

“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.” (The Empire Strikes Back: Yoda)

To this, from The Phantom Menace, which made it nothing more than a bug inside the body:

QUI-GON : Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that reside within allliving cells and communicates with the Force.
ANAKIN : They live inside of me?
QUI-GON : In your cells. We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians.
ANAKIN : Symbionts?
QUI-GON : Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force.

Now if you can’t have the Force, let alone life, without midi-chlorians, why were they never brought up 30 years ago when Star Wars was first introduced to millions? Despite, and likely because of, all the controversy concerning the addition of midi-chlorians Lucas has been quoted as to say they were always an intention for the series.

Okay then, George, great, so how about you introduce them to being with instead of pissing off your fans decades later? Personally I’m much happier with the idea of some all mystical power surrounding and surviving through life instead of a bug.

The again, being a Stargate fan as well, I’m not real big on the idea of symbiotic lifeforms. I’m also one of those fans that would have rather seen Lucas adapt the Heir to the Empire trilogy by Timothy Zhan into films instead of the story behind Vader.

As a fan of Star Wars I think Vader’s history was better left in the legends told in the original Star Wars, instead of filmed and obliterating so much of the mythology that was originally created.

This is just my opinion. What’s yours?