Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Almost Switched Names in THE PHANTOM MENACE

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As a gamer with over two decades of Star Wars fandom under my belt, I can’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia upon hearing about George Lucas’ almost-revolutionary twist for Episode I – The Phantom Menace. If only they had stuck with the original plan! Imagine the shock and awe when Neeson’s Qui-Gon, our mentor from A New Hope, would have met his untimely demise, revealing that the Obi-Wan we knew was once Ewan McGregor’s padawan learner.

It’s now 25 years since “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” was released in cinemas, and we’re still discovering fascinating details about its creation. A recently shared revelation would have come as a significant surprise to viewers if it had been implemented. In an interview with StarWars.com, as reported by Variety, veteran Lucasfilm concept artist Iain McCaig disclosed that George Lucas initially intended a significant twist for the first prequel movie. Originally, Ewan McGregor’s character Obi-Wan Kenobi and Liam Neeson’s character Qui-Gon Jinn were supposed to be switched. To put it differently, their roles would have been reversed in terms of names.

As a gamer, I was all set to embody the wise, older mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, who’d be discovering Anakin Skywalker in the prequels. Liam Neeson would have been my character, while Ewan McGregor would have played Qui-Gon Jinn, my padawan learner. The twist was that even though I, Obi-Wan, would fall in battle, it wouldn’t be a shock to the fans of the original trilogy because they assumed Neeson was portraying a younger version of Alec Guinness’ Jedi from “A New Hope.” But as McCaig pointed out, this idea had progressed quite far into pre-production, and it was only at the last minute that George Lucas decided to change his mind.

McCaig continued to explain, “It was touching how at the end, Obi-Wan perished while Qui-Gon bested Darth Maul and remained by his Master’s side as he breathed his last. Not only did Qui-Gon inherit his Master’s mission, but also his name, transforming into Obi-Wan. George Lucas has a penchant for symmetry in his trilogies, and this would have been quite a surprising echo if a character named Obi-Wan had died in the initial chapters of each trilogy. Had they chosen this twist, it would have meant that Obi-Wan had three names during his lifetime, considering Ben as well. Even Lucas might have recognized that’s simply one name too many.

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2024-11-02 02:32