Stuart Beattie, the writer who penned the scrappedObi-Wan Kenobitrilogy of movies forStar Wars, has revealed exactly what this story would have looked like, and I can’t help wondering what it would have meant for the franchise if it had actually been made. Thescrapped Obi-Wan trilogyhas been a topic of conversation ever since Beattie started discussing it around the time of theObi-Wan KenobiTV show, which was loosely based on what Beattie had already written. As it turns out, however, Beattie’s trilogy is vastly different from what actually happened in the show.
To be clear, my current feelings about theObi-Wan Kenobishow go either way. I do feel as if there was much more that could have been done and developed better in Obi-Wan’s show, such as the ending thatReva’s character has and the overall relationship between Obi-Wan and Leia. One of my biggest personal gripes about it is actually the decision to cut out the fan-favoriteclone Commander Cody’s plot with Luke on Tatooine. Upon being faced with the details of this trilogy, though, I’m beginning to wonder ifStar Warsis really better off without it.
What Would Have Happened In Lucasfilm’s Scrapped Obi-Wan Kenobi Film Trilogy?
Its Storyline Was Ambitious
According to Beattie (viaStar Wars Theory), his trilogy would have centered around the idea that Obi-Wan told Luke he once thought Anakin could still be redeemed inA New Hope. Since this never happened in the prequel trilogy, Beattie decided to write the story where the two cross paths once again before the events of the original trilogy. In Beattie’s story,Obi-Wan puts the immense guilt he feels after the events ofStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithonto the baby Luke, believing that his investment in Luke’s early training can right all of Obi-Wan’s wrongs.
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This training, of course, doesn’t go well, and it doesn’t help that Obi-Wan has lost his own connection to the Force. Matters get worse when the Empire arrives on Tatooine, even with Commander Cody acting as Obi-Wan’s eyes and ears to protect him from being discovered. The Empire is eventually alerted to Obi-Wan’s presence, and he has to flee to a space station transportation hub with other refugees, where he’s met by another kind of Force cult.Their revelations inform Obi-Wan that pushing Luke too hard will create another Vader; he has to trust the Force’s timing.
The climactic moment arrives when Vader and Obi-Wan confront one another and are the only two left on the space station that’s left hurdling towards a gas giant. It’s then that Obi-Wan realizes how far gone Vader is to the dark side, and it gives him the courage to give up on his old friend. Obi-Wan manages to flee, but Reva insists that she killed him, something that Vader, in turn, kills her for - allowing her to die with her secret. There are many layers to this story that I think would have been interesting to see, but also controversial.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi Trilogy Would’ve Done Justice To Ewan McGregor & Hayden Christensen
They Deserved To Share The Big Screen Again
Easily one of the biggest benefits to actually making this trilogy would have been allowing Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to get their proper justice. While the two have certainly still received their own kind ofStar Warsrenaissance with theObi-Wan Kenobiseries (and, for Christensen, theAhsokaseries), having a trilogy of movies centered on their characters would have been even more effective in healing their relationship with theStar Warsaudience. In a post-sequel trilogy era, this return to prequel era nostalgia would have been accepted with open arms.
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In fact, there wouldn’t have been a better time forStar Warsto have McGregor and Christensen both leading a charge back to the movie theater.The sequel trilogy was so divisive that it helped to change public opinion about the prequel trilogy, causing some audiences to look at those movies in a more positive light. McGregor and Christensen alone would have been huge motivators for audiences to go to the movie theater once again. This Obi-Wan trilogy could have been the cinematic eventStar Warshas long since been dreaming of.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi Trilogy Would Still Have Been Divisive
The Story Still Contains Controversial Elements
Still, even with McGregor and Christensen headlining this trilogy, I think it would have been largely divisive - perhaps even more so than the sequel trilogy itself.Obi-Wan and Vader are characters that are, in many ways, larger than life, which makes any endeavor as ambitious as this in reframing their original trilogy story a risky gamble. One such element that I’m certain would have been divisive is the new Force cult, given the current track record for howStar Warsaudiences have responded to new perspectives on the Force in recent years.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Cast
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Set during the reign of the Galactic Empire, the narrative follows former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as he undertakes a pivotal mission to reconcile with former allies turned adversaries while confronting the formidable forces of the Empire.
Another divisive element ofObi-Wan Kenobithat would have remained is the character of Reva. Though much of the backlash she received initially had little to do with her actual character, it became evident by the end of the series that the story didn’t really know what to do with her. It sounds as if the movie would have at least given her a better ending, but this wouldn’t have erased that initial backlash she received. Unfortunately, I believe that still would have been the case with these movies, which means this trilogy wouldn’t have been universally accepted.
Stuart Beattie’s Obi-Wan Kenobi Plot Causes Some Unfortunate Continuity Problems
Luke’s Early Training Is A Major One
One of the other divisive issues of the trilogy would have been its continuity problems, most notably that of Luke’s early training. While Obi-Wan confronting Vader in those years would have been acceptable, especially as that’s the case now inStar Warscanon because ofObi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan training Luke until he was four years old would have been a huge issue.Luke doesn’t really know anything about the Force and the Jedi when he does finally start to receive his training from Obi-Wan inA New Hope, and he undoubtedly would have remembered that part of his life.
Would Lucasfilm’s Scrapped Obi-Wan Kenobi Trilogy Have Been Better Than What We Got?
It’s hard for me to say whether I think this scrapped trilogy would have been better than theObi-Wan KenobiTV show, but I do think that trilogy may have been worth the risk. Obi-Wan is such a massive character, and McGregor and Christensen are both such belovedStar Warsactors. They deserved to have a chance to return to the big screen as Obi-Wan and Vader, and to breathe even more life into this fascinating storyline. The biggest problem with theObi-Wan KenobiTV show as it stands is that it wasn’t nearly long enough to properly serve its story.
Spreading the story out into a movie trilogy would have given it the proper scale and the room for its story to breathe.
It’s understandable why Lucasfilm decided to change its approach to the Obi-Wan story, givenSolo: A Star Wars Story’s box office failure at the time, butthey would have greatly benefited from taking the risk anyway. Spreading the story out into a movie trilogy would have given it the proper scale and the room for its story to breathe. This story certainly isn’t perfect and needed some reworking, but it’s captivating all the same. This is a gamble I do wishStar Warshad taken, one that I think could have ended up being even better than what we got.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
