The Obi-Wan Kenobi series was announced with a big promise, namely that Rematch of the Century. 17 years after the theatrical release of Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen meet again for the first time in the Star Wars universe – a special event.
On a lonely planet, Obi-Wan and Darth Vader’s lightsabers cross again. As it turns out, the big duel should went completely differently. Speaking to The Direct, screenwriter Stuart Beattie, who was working on a theatrical Kenobi trilogy prior to the series, reveals his original plans.
Epic Star Wars Duel: Darth Vader was originally set to defeat Obi-Wan on a space station
If Obi-Wan’s story had hit the big screen, we’d have the final battle on one sinking space station seen. But the biggest difference to the current version would have been another: There would have been a clear winner in the film. Darth Vader would have thrown Obi-Wan down.
In my [Version] would have Vader won the fight. [Er und Obi-Wan] would have fought on a space station that would have fallen apart in the atmosphere of a large planet. Vader would have pushed Obi-Wan down and the two would have gone their separate ways.
©Disney
Obi Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader
It would have been clear to Vader that his former master was dead. From the beginning of Beattie’s screenplay there was a Conflict between Vader and the Emperor, which was about Obi-Wan’s survival. Beattie describes a humorous scene in which the two villains would tease each other about their failures.
[Der Imperator] sends Vader to a moon to crush a rebel uprising and demands, ‘Forget Kenobi, forget Kenobi.’ And then I had this funny dialogue where Vader says, ‘Kenobi is one of the two biggest threats in the galaxy.’ The Emperor replies, ‘Too bad you didn’t kill him when you had the chance.’ And Vader replies, ‘The other one [Bedrohung] is Yoda.’
That answer would have greatly angered the Emperor – an intriguing thought. After all, in the Star Wars films none of his subordinates dare question the great villain of the saga. Rather, the Emperor is the one who put people to rightsas evidenced by the finale of the Obi-Wan series on Disney+.
Star Wars Plans Abandoned: Obi-Wan wanted to team up with Anakin against the Emperor
Beattie would have taken the idea a step further. The moment Obi-Wan realizes that Anakin is still alive, he will together with him bring down the Emperor.
This option B was never considered by Obi-Wan because he thought Anakin was dead. Option A, i.e. Luke, was the only option so far [zur Rettung der Galaxis]. But suddenly an option is revealed to him where he doesn’t have to wait for Luke to grow up and trained in dealing with power becomes. Of the [Imperator] can be defeated instantly. [Anakin und Obi-Wan] just pay Palpatine a visit and it’s over.
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The Emperor in Obi-Wan Kenobi
In the end, Obi-Wan’s new plan would have failed. Last but not least, there isn’t much left of Anakin like he did on find out painfully got to. Beattie would have introduced Darth Vader as a Jedi killer. Instead of showing Order 66 from young men’s perspective, his film would have started with the following scene.
My film started with Vader taking on five Jedi at once and killing them all. So he will directly established as a Jedi killer. The Inquisition only catches them, but Vader is the big bad guy who comes in and brings nothing but death to the Jedi while the Kenobi hunt.
Although between Beattie’s version and the current series many parallels exist, statements like this show just how much the Obi-Wan Kenobi project has changed over time. There is still a chance that some of the discarded ideas will be picked up in future Star Wars films and series.
There have been rumors about a possible second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi for a few weeks. These have not yet been officially confirmed. Lucasfilm seems to have bigger plans, especially with regard to Reva, played by Moses Ingram. We can’t wait to see what Star Wars announcements there will be in the coming months.
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Would you have preferred to see this version of the Obi-Wan/Vader duel?