Although the term prequel is relatively new, the concept has been present in stories long before filmmaker George Lucas created 1999’s “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” In short, the idea of a sequel to a film that was made after the fact but takes place before the film to which it is a sequel is inherently recontextualized. Using “Star Wars” as an example: When the original trilogy was released from 1977 to 1983, everyone who watched them will tell you that Luke Skywalker was the hero of the saga. Once Lucas completed his prequel trilogy after 2005, one could argue that the entire series was actually about Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader, with his son Luke only appearing in the latter three. Played the role of hero in films. Now, following the conclusion of the sequel trilogy of “Star Wars” films from 2015 to 2019, the films are collectively named “The Skywalker Saga”, as each trilogy focuses on a different character bearing the name Skywalker.
Even though critics of the films complain that the films focus too much on bloodlines, I feel compelled to point out that Rey is a Skywalker by choice, not by birth. This notion of a lead character choosing to inherit a name known throughout the galaxy is, as it turns out, nothing new to the series. Long before JJ Abrams made “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” Lucas was considering a name-swap switcheroo while making “The Phantom Menace.” As originally envisioned, the film’s younger Jedi (played by Ewan McGregor) would have been named Qui-Gon Jinn, and the older Jedi (played by Liam Neeson) would have been called Obi-Wan Kenobi. Essentially, this film would have been identical to the one we got, yet this wild twist would have massive ripple effects in the next two films and, by implication, the original trilogy as well, emphasizing one of the major themes of the saga, the dark side. The path is being paved with good intentions.
Obi-Wan twist would have made the character and the Jedi more versatile
during A recent interview with Lucasfilm storyboard and concept artist Ian McCaig ,through diversity), discussing the 25th anniversary of “The Phantom Menace”, McCaig discussed how Lucas’s original concept for the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan switcheroo came about, as well as which lines of dialogue from the original “Star Wars” The line (in which Obi-Wan was played by Alec Guinness) may have been directly affected as a result of the twist:
“For some time, old The Jedi was named Obi-Wan and Small The Jedi was named Qui-Gon. It was very touching that in the end, when Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and remains with his master after his demise, he not only Goes, in fact he also takes his name. Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan. That’s why when you see Alec Guinness in ‘A New Hope,’ he puts his hood down and says, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard…’Cause he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon. And finally, George changed it.”
It’s easy to understand why Lucas changed his mind about this, as changing the name streamlines and simplifies the story; The filmmaker has long said that the “Star Wars” movies are for kids. Perhaps Lucas was feeling some pressure (internally or externally) to meet expectations for the film, and knowing that the “I am your father” twist from “The Empire Strikes Back” helped make that film such a phenomenon. He thought a big twist needed to be included. Dropping this twist would have allowed Lucas to incorporate more of his ideas into the next two films, instead focusing on this new Obi-Wan’s secret identity. Who knows – maybe he already had an idea of what the big twist ultimately was in the “Revenge of the Sith” prequel, Order 66.
While the prequels certainly work fine without the wild twists, it’s a shame that Lucas didn’t stick to his initial instincts, as changing the name to McCaig as Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan’s character is a very Would have added an interesting dimension. Described. This would also shed light on one of the key ideas of the prequels, which is that the Jedi were doomed long before Order 66 was executed. Throughout the films, the Order makes one bad decision after another, sticking too close to their ancient systems of belief and law, while ignoring what is happening around them until it is too late, and A Qui-Gon-as-Obi-Wan goes into hiding. His intervention could have been a good example of his shortsightedness. However, given Lucas’ penchant for revising his films after the fact, who knows – perhaps we’ll one day see a “Phantom Menace Special Edition”, where ADR finally changes that name.
