May of 1999 felt strikingly similar to “Star Wars” fans as this December. Carrying hype from trailers and TV spots, the sci-fi franchise was preparing to release another installment in the saga. The first of a new trilogy, promising the Darth Vader’s backstory and the creation of the Empire had fans thirsting for “The Phantom Menace” as the last few weeks wound down.

Then, the countdown was over. Despite garnering the highest box office sales of the six movies, according to The Wall Street Journal, the reaction that ensued was a jumble of negative emotions.

English teacher Harley Brook was among a multitude of fans who attended the premiere of “The Phantom Menace”, exiting the theater with great disdain for the movie.

“Frankly, I thought it was a terrible movie,” Brook said. “About two-thirds of the way through it I started to tune out, so much so, that I consciously decided to fall asleep.”

Brook was merely a year-old when the original “Star Wars” came out in 1977, so he didn’t see a “Star Wars” film in theaters until “Return of the Jedi” in 1983. By that point, he and his brother had already fallen in love with the franchise. They owned many of the toys and had seen the first two movies multiple times when their mom took them to “Return of the Jedi.”

That childhood adoration Brook found in the original “Star Wars” trilogy fueled his interest in “The Phantom Menace” and, likely, his distaste towards the film and the rest of the prequel trilogy. As a result of such a reaction, he didn’t bother to see the premieres of the other two prequels.

“I didn’t bother spending time to see episodes two or three in theaters, and just waited for things to pop up on cable,” Brook said. “It left me so disinterested that I just wanted to pretend they didn’t exist.”

Unfortunately for the franchise, Brook’s sentiments were shared by many. Even fans who weren’t alive to see the originals in theaters voiced complaints, like Senior Bryan Bott.

“They felt like different movies,” Bott said. “They have a different look to them, a different story, the characters are different. It’s not ‘Star Wars’.”

Sixteen and a half years after “The Phantom Menace” premiere and ten and a half years after the last “Star Wars” film–“Revenge of the Sith”–the franchise is releasing its seventh installment. “The Force Awakens” hits theaters on December 18, with a different director in J.J. Abrams, whom people hope will stay true to the “Star Wars” essence they knew in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. However, fans have a lingering fear the new film will create a similar sentiment that they expressed towards the prequels.

“I have that nightmare every night,” Senior Julian Raab said. “I have that feeling that I’ll walk into the theater and come back out of it like, ‘crap, that was another Episode One.’ That fear is overshadowed by the confidence that I have in the directors that they know what they’re doing.”

The appeal of “The Force Awakens” is mostly rooted in the return of classic characters, such as Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). The familiar characters and props seen in the trailers remind fans of what used to be in the original trilogy.

These things have drawn Brook in, alluding to his former childhood love. Much like in 1983, Brook will meet up with his brother to watch the start of a new “Star Wars” story. It could be considered a second chance for the sci-fi saga he once loved after the prequels left him disenchanted. Now, he has a two-year old nephew, only one year older than Brook was when the first “Star Wars” was released, who he hopes will develop the same childlike love he once had for the films.

“Eventually, we’ll be able to sit down with him and watch at least [episodes] four, five, six, and seven,” Brook said with a laugh, hinting at his disappointment with the prequels. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to take him to one of the films so he can see firsthand some of the things we experienced when we were kids.”