This Iconic Star Wars Character Nearly Had a Very Completely different Backstory

Obi-Wan Kenobi is probably the most beloved determine in Star Wars historical past, however his origin was not all the time so lower and dry. In celebration of the twenty fifth anniversary of The Phantom Menace, Star Wars artist Iain McCaig revealed George Lucas’ unique intentions for the character. Debuting for audiences in Star Wars: A New Hope, Alec Guinness played the character reluctantly earlier than Ewan McGregor took up the mantle within the Star Wars prequels. McGregor’s portrayal of the younger padawan who follows his Grasp Qui-Gon Jinn’s (Liam Neeson) directive to take care of younger Anakin (later performed by Hayden Christensen) is a excessive level of the sequence. His duel with Darth Maul (Ray Park) within the first prequel is iconic and McGregor has gone on to reprise the character many instances over. However this acquainted story of Obi-Wan taking Anakin below his wing might have been a lot totally different, as McCaig instructed StarWars.com.

“For a time, the
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Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the youthful Jedi was named Qui-Gon. It was very poignant that on the finish, as Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays along with his Grasp as he passes away, he not solely takes on his Grasp’s quest, however he takes on his identify. Qui-Gon turns into Obi-Wan. That’s why once you see Alec Guinness in A New Hope, he places his hood down and goes, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a reputation I’ve not heard….’ As a result of he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon. And proper on the finish, George modified it.”

This twist would have added extra intrigue to the Star Wars prequels that have become more widely accepted not too long ago. Nonetheless, this will not have been in one of the best curiosity of the trilogy.

Obi-Wan Would Have Been a Completely different Character in ‘Star Wars’

The Star Wars prequels already had loads happening below the hood even earlier than this revelation. George Lucas applied a whole Republic not but earlier than seen within the franchise. Queen of Naboo and later Senator, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), was typically concerned in political intrigue, which was an apparent metaphor for American politics of the time. Including yet another layer might have been a bridge too far.

Altering Obi-Wan’s identification additionally would have modified his character fully. Whereas Lucas couldn’t have recognized how Ewan McGregor’s interpretation of Obi-Wan would go on to be embraced, it’s for the higher that this resolution by no means took root. Obi-Wan’s look, not simply in live-action however, in Dave Filoni’s animated series such as The Clone Wars, has cemented his bond with Anakin and proven extra sides to the character. Altering his identification would have made him a distinct character and pushed him to make totally different selections. This twist additionally doesn’t add something substantial to the narrative. It will be a twist solely for shock worth and confuse the central battle. Whereas stunning, Obi-Wan ought to stay unbesmirched by a distinct identification. Viewers can revisit all of McGregor’s – and Guinness’ – appearances by streaming Star Wars content material on Disney+.

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