In reply to Paul Potiki (see the discussion about the order of events in Episode 1), I wrote: "Lucas stated in a recent interview that he'll make the movies like a musical composition, repeating certain 'themes' to give the movies a harmonic framework. Starting Episode 1 with the same 'theme' as the ending of the last Episode would illustrate this 'composition'."   
The anonymous person reacted:   

"Rod:   

I think you are mis-interpreting what George has said about his movies repeating the same themes over and over again.  He repeats the same concept (i.e., betrayal, love triangles, destruction of bad guys headquarters) not the same physical scenes.  What I mean is that the prequel does not open with Coruscant because ROTJ ended with Coruscant; that is not how symphonies are composed.   

• For example, Anakin represents Luke.  Anakin is waiting around in the Tatooine desert for something to happen just like Luke was in ANH.
• Qui-Gon Jinn is hermited away in the Dune Seas just like Ben was in a New Hope.
• Events occur which force Qui-Gon to come out of "retirement" and fate whisks Anakin away from Tatooine because his family is murdered by the bad guys just like Lukes family was killed in ANH.
• At the beginning of the film, Padme arrives on Tattoine to hide from the "bad guys" who are pursuing her.
• Anakin, Qui-Gon, Padme and R2 arrive in Mos Espa looking for someone to get them off Tattoine. Enter Ben Kenobi who is a reckless freighter pilot and he takes them to Naboo.

But instead of having to rescue the princess, one of her relatives has to be rescued instead and along the way Qui-Gon finds Jar Jar who joins the adventure . . . "

• why would Qui-Gon be hermited away in the Dune Seas, when he's Anakin's father? Is he Anakin's father at all?
• If Padme arrives on Tatooine with a ship, why do they need Ben Kenobi to take them back to Naboo?

Who is this relative of Padme that has to be rescued?

Lucas knows Mythology inside out. He also enjoys the sounds of names, as well as patterns and themes. First and foremost, he is an editor with a graphically visual eye. Although we've heard that we won't be hearing that fanfare [ as you know, 4-6 was actually Luke's theme ], the large ship dominating the skies is a powerful image, and I'm sure we'll see it again, even if it's just for *1.  

I think Coruscant, the political centre of the Galaxy, would very nicely open and close the 6 part Saga, bracketing the fatefully important "farthest star" of Tatooine. The various characters of course mirror those we meet 40 years later. Lucas is giving us a moral history lesson, where we see one Angel Fall, and the son redeem him.  

I'm glad someone has reminded us that officially ( ? ) 3PO is rather older than 45 years, though of course he could've been rebuilt and repaired, and there are such nasty things as memory flushes.  

Madison Lloyd's presence does NOT mean that she has to be Anakin's sister. However, with the similarities of the early draft to the french pics, wouldn't it be 'right' for Anakin to be a witness, at an early and impressionable age, to a powerfully horrific event ... like the death of his sister [ Deak Starkiller ] ?"

Lucas will no doubt give us a tragedy. It's unfortunate that there are so many Star Wars fans out there who favor the evil characters and will be more pleased with Anakin being a cocky little jerk whose fall from grace was the cool thing to do. I think that if there is one prediction I can make with certainty, it is that Anakin will become more popular than Luke ever will because Anakin was the one to fall to the darkside and become the pretty cool evil character. It seems strange to me that Luke (once the most popular character, easily) has now become hated and called Anakin's "wussy son" by many. I think Luke is a very admirable character because he was able to resist the greatest temptation of all. Unlike his father, Luke, in the end, does not display weakness. Because Luke was able to accomplish what his father wasn't, Luke is indeed not a "wussy", but maybe Anakin is.  
Also, I think that though the themes of Episode I and Episode IV may start out the same,  throughout the trilogy it is going to go off on a new direction. Remember, the prequels will most likely end on a down note. With the Jedis wiped out, Anakin turned to the darkside, Obi-Wan and Yoda going into hiding, how could they end happily? The next trilogy will no doubt become much darker that the original, and as a result may end up being a disappointment to many like The Empire Strikes Back was when it was released."

I sent in the comment about the storyline of Ep 1 and Ep 4 being "roughly" parallel to one another.  

I need to clarify what I told you.  
  

• First, Qui Gon is hermitted away on Tatooine with his family, Anakin and Shmi. Shmi is the one who is killed.
• Ask yourself this: What is a venerable Jedi Knight like Qui Gon doing on a remote world like Tatooine? Well, your guess is as good as mine.  But one thing is for certain, he is no longer an active Jedi because of his age: mid-40's.
• Padme arrives and needs help.  This is what motivates Qui Gon to return to action (just as Old Ben was motivated by R2's message from Leia to leave retirement). 
• Second, Padme can't use her ship because the bad guys are looking for it. So Kenobi's craft is used to slip away from the bad guys.
• Also, there is something that the bad guys think that Padme has that they desperately need to recover from her (this is a parallel with her mother, Leia, in Ep 4 who briefly possesses the Death Star plans before slipping them to R2 and Vader desperately needs to recover these plans for the Empire)."

If this is to really be a 'new' movie, the repeated themes are going to be brought in just as the direct references are- very balanced. Take the settings as an analogy: We've all seen Tatooine before, which would probably be a third of the movie. However we've never seen Coruscant and this 'Naboo' planet. These places are visually new to us. Likewise, while there will be an aura of familliarity to the story, it should be technicially quite new. The mere fact the Qui-Gon is an aging Jedi already references Obi-Wan in ANH, his death in part I would only become redundant. The 'Queen' is already on the run from the 'Gungans', however unlike Leia, she escapes her foe. Jar-Jar is already similar to Chewbacca in that he's a lone alien character protagonist in the midst of the company of humans. The fact that he's a Jedi, however, would make him quite different and a more complex character than Chewbacca, who was just a pilot who really doesn't do a whole lot except shoot guns and growl a lot.  

Therefore, events in the story that pattern ANH must be done very carefully- you've got to create a general feeling, not blatant copying of storylines. ANH is already very similar to the vein that is shown on your site: Princess comes to main character, Character meets with old sage, hotshot guy comes in midway through, they leave tatooine with their trust alien sidekick and go to defeat the bad guys. This is enough, when you take the Falcon and upbeat mood of the story into account. What the goal should now be is to make the story as DIFFERENT as possible while keeping these basic motifs, so that it really is a NEW story. The old sage being the protagonists father is one way. Letting the old sage live (as Ben was first meant to in ANH) is another. Having the princess be on Tatooine in person is yet another, as is the inclusion of things such as slaves and the like. "

It's pretty easy to see already that most of the characters are basic composites of Trilogy characters.   The way I think of it is basically the taking of Epy 4 and moving back on the spiritual evolution.  The characters shift a notch backwards in maturity and enlightenment - but the role types will remain the same.  The fundamental role types are an essential motif from Ep. 1 through 6 because they all hinge upon one another on a larger scale - ( hopefully, interwoven a subtle way) showing an evolution towards the process of  final enlightment/judgement. Just like tarot cards, if you've ever taken a look. (match them to the Major Arcana of the Tarot you can easily find: "The Fool", "The Emperor", The High Priestess" etc.) In reality, people would obviously fall between these..a gray category. But for Star Wars, most everything is told in contrasting level of either youth or maturity,  light or dark.  This simplicity is satisfying for a modern age.  
  

So, yes, the main characters are going to be repetitive to prove a point on a larger scale. There are pitfalls though. The one thing I would be careful of is duplicating another "Han Solo type"  I would rather mix parts of that persona in with Anakin (i.e. dare-devil pilot) then see a Dash Rendar (a Solo syndrome substitute) added in for comic relief, action.. what have you..  
Having the young Queen caught between two men (ala Luke and a Han type) in a B plot - would definitely be senseless, repetitive conflict that would serve no point. The possibility of having Anakin and Ben vying for Padme may come too close to a contrived, mimicking theme.  However, in true form to the overall premise: In Episode 1, Anakin was meant to be Luke and  in Episode 4 - Luke was meant to be Anakin. That's fine because it's the focal point. Anakin and Luke are cosmically linked - 2 sides of one personality type that end up choosing 2 separate paths.  Now, that is a symphony to SW fans. As for the critics, who knows.."

"Ep 2 does not and cannot end with the duel between Anakin and Ben because Lucasfilm has stated that Ep 3 ends with the birth of the Skywalker twins. Two years lapse between Ep 2 and 3 and since it only takes nine months (on average) from conception to birth, the duel cannot take place until Ep 3. The duel occurs midway through Ep 3, after Anakin and the Queen have been intimate for the last time and the Skywalker twins are conceived.  The Jedi purge occurs during the nine months of the Skywalker twins' gestation and we watch as our beloved Jedi, who have scattered across the galaxy and are hiding from the Empire, are hunted down by Vader, bounty hunters, etc., which parallels the intense hunt that Vader put on in Empire to find the Jedi called Luke Skywalker."