A new interview celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace flips everything we know about the film, and franchise, on its head. Though it ultimately didn’t come to fruition, George Lucas originally conceived that the roles of Jedi Master and apprentice would be changed around in the film, with the apprentice taking on his Master’s name in the end.
In the film itself, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is a Jedi master and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is his apprentice. When Darth Maul kills Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon makes Obi-Wan promise to train young Anakin Skywalker, which he does, setting up everything else we know in the trilogy. However, during development, concept and storyboard artist Iain McCaig revealed Lucas had another idea. Neeson would play Obi-Wan, McGregor would be Qui-Gon, and when Obi-Wan died, Qui-Gon would take his name as a tribute.
“It’s interesting how things evolve,” McCaig said in an extended interview with the official Star Wars website. “For a time, the older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon. It was very poignant that at the end, as Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays with his Master as he passes away, he not only takes on his Master’s quest, but he takes on 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 goes, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard….’ Because he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon. And right at the end, George changed it.”
It’s hard to even imagine the film playing out like that after 25 years, but let’s think about it a bit. If Alec Guinness was originally Qui-Gon, it might make that early moment in A New Hope play a bit better. “Oh, right, that wasn’t my real name,” etc. But the later moment between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader on the Death Star would’ve made less sense. Vader/Anakin would’ve originally known Obi-Wan as Qui-Gon—and even if he was named Obi-Wan the whole time they trained together, the change adds nothing. It just muddles things up.
Flipping the characters does, however, make for a more interesting version of The Phantom Menace though. Imagine watching the movie and seeing “Obi-Wan” die. Everyone would’ve been shocked. But, ultimately, making the change certainly feels like the right move.
There are a ton of other cool stories in the McGaig interview, such as how he came up with a design for Darth Maul, so head over and check that out. But also, let us know what you think about this. Did Lucas make the right choice?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
