The prequels are, in a way, the best thing that could have happened to The Force Awakens. Expectations will be kept in check thanks to the memory of those films, and there is a chance that we will actually be impressed.
Besides [warning: controversial post] now that it's been like 40 years since the first film everyone can realize that it's really just a cheesy, kitschy B movie that became weirdly massive because the effects were cool for the time, which means whatever get in December will probably be an improvement no matter what.
