George Lucas abandoned a Star Wars twist that would have changed Obi-Wan’s story

Few Star Wars characters person a communicative arsenic well-known aliases important arsenic Obi-Wan Kenobi. The character, first introduced arsenic an older Jedi successful 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, is some a noteworthy mentor to Luke and Anakin Skywalker and a tragic fig owed to nan dissolution of his relationship pinch nan latter. Thanks to Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness’ dual, decades-spanning performances arsenic nan character, Obi-Wan’s communicative has been brought to life successful almost its entirety complete nan years, too.

However, it turns retired that Star Wars creator George Lucas primitively had a very different thought for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s story. In an question and reply pinch StarWars.com, Iain McCaig, who worked arsenic a behind-the-scenes creator connected Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, revealed that Lucas primitively intended to switch nan names of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn successful that film. “It’s absorbing really things evolve,” McCaig commented. “For a time, nan older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and nan younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon.”

According to McCaig, Lucas’ original imagination included McGregor’s characteristic yet taking connected his Jedi Master’s sanction arsenic portion of his effort to grant his ngo to train Anakin. “At nan end, arsenic Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays pinch his Master arsenic he passes away, he not only takes connected his Master’s quest, but he takes connected his name. Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan,” McCaig revealed. “That’s why erstwhile you spot Alec Guinness successful A New Hope, he puts his hood down and goes, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a sanction I’ve not heard….’ Because he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon. And correct astatine nan end, George changed it.”

20th Century Fox

McCaig doesn’t connection immoderate penetration into why Lucas ended up abandoning this twist. While it would person added an other furniture to Obi-Wan’s preamble successful A New Hope, it’s imaginable Lucas simply decided to opt for nan much streamlined, straightforward type of nan character’s communicative that really made it into The Phantom Menace.

Regardless of Lucas’ wide reasoning, this revelation does connection immoderate further penetration into conscionable really profoundly nan Star Wars creator thought not only astir nan Prequel Trilogy’s characters and story, but besides its connections to nan events of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of nan Jedi. All fans tin do now is wonderment really galore different ideas for illustration this Lucas mightiness person had and abandoned while making his franchise’s first six films.

Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is streaming now connected Disney+.