...why change what is good.
You could ask Lucas the same question about the Special Editions.
I didn't like a LOT of the Saga. For myself,
Star Wars started falling apart right after TESB hit theatres. That was the last good Star Wars movie if only because Lucas was still a nobody who had to prove the first film wasn't a fluke. He surrounded himself by talented people who WEREN'T afraid to speak their mind.
Star Wars at its best is a collaboration of creativity. Lucas lost sight of that when he started work on ROTJ and began remaking his own movies rather than seeking help from others. His "repeating themes" mantra is just an excuse for a dry well of good ideas. His ego has gotten in the way of good storytelling.
Not to go off on a rant, but Lucas claims that everything he puts on screen is there to further the story, otherwise it gets cut. If that were truly the case,
The Phantom Menace WOULD have been a five-minute prologue. Unless Qui-Gon shows up in Episode III to do something more wonderful than a lame voiceover, his role in Episode I is pretty much filler material.
I hate to judge a work before it's even completed, but based on what I've seen so far, Lucas has done an exemplary job of taking a once venerable franchise and flushing it down the toilet. If it weren't for the Star Wars logo in the movie, no one would care about this story.
This Wonderful World of George that brings us together deserves better, and I think someone else can do just that. And yes, even me.