Before the new trilogy was announced, Star Wars was in a weird place. The prequel trilogy directed by George Lucas had landed badly with fans of the originals, and it was unclear what the future of Star Wars was going to be. And so, when the sequel trilogy was announced following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney in 2012, the excitement was palpable – and Abrams seemed to capitalize on this by going out of his way to recapture the spirit of the original movies in his first Star Wars movie, 2015’s The Force Awakens.
Since Disney’s reboot of the franchise, many fans have started to reassess the prequel trilogy, while kids who grew up with Episodes I to III look back on the films with nostalgia. For all their faults, it seems as though the prequels have found a new place in the hearts of Star Wars fans. During a promotional visit to Tokyo for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, director JJ Abrams told IGN Japan that working on the franchise gave him a new respect for “how easy George
Source: IGN.com How the Star Wars Prequels Influenced Rise of Skywalker