25 years after the premiere of the first prequel, a piece of information was known that would have modified the Star Wars canon.
One of the things that fans liked the most about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was the inclusion of Ewan McGregor like a young version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, however George Lucas was about to change that (in a way).
A recent interview with the “Star Wars” concept and storyboard artist Iain McCaig (via StarWars.com) to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace reveals that Lucas was originally planning a surprising twist for the film. McGregor’s Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Liam Neeson They were originally exchanged, which means that Neeson was playing the real Obi-Wan and therefore the real Obi-Wan died.
“For a time, the older Jedi was called Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was called Qui-Gon,” McCaig said. “It was very moving that at the end, when Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays with his Master when he dies, he not only takes on his Master’s mission, but also takes on his Master’s name. Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan.”
“That’s why when you see Alec Guinness in ‘A New Hope,’ he takes off his hood and says, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I’ve never heard before…’” McCaig added. “Because it is not Obi-Wan, it’s Qui-Gon. And right at the end, George changed it”.
One of the biggest Star Wars reveals
McGregor always played the younger version of Alec Guinnesswho originally played the role of Obi-Wan in Star Wars: A New Hope from 1977, but the character’s origins were originally going to undergo a big change in The Phantom Menace. That the character was actually Qui-Gon adopting the name of his late mentor Jedi would have been one of the biggest “Star Wars” reveals in the history of the franchise. Lucas changed course before filming began.
McGregor reprized the role of Obi-Wan in two Star Wars sequels: attack of the clones from 2002 and Revenge of the Sith 2005. Two decades later, he starred in the series Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi and has been candid in interviews when asked about his interest in doing a second season, even though the show was originally conceived as a limited series.
“I really hope we do another one.”McGregor told British GQ magazine before the final aired in 2022. “If I could do one of these once in a while, I’d be happy about it.”
Source: Ambito
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