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Star Wars: The Phantom Menace recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the official Star Wars site has been sharing fascinating insights about the film’s creation.
One such piece is an eye-opening interview with Iain McCaig, a legendary concept artist whose work spans across major films like Avengers: Endgame, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, not to mention his significant contributions to the Star Wars saga.
McCaig, who has lent his artistic vision to numerous films and even the first Titanfall game, is particularly known for his work on the Star Wars series.
He had a hand in all three prequel movies, The Force Awakens, and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
His latest interview about his time on The Phantom Menace, however, dropped a surprising revelation that might change how we see the entire Star Wars narrative.
In the original script for The Phantom Menace, the roles of the two main Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, were actually flipped. McCaig shares that initially, the elder Jedi was Obi-Wan, and the younger was Qui-Gon.
The plot twist at the end would have had a dying Obi-Wan, with Qui-Gon defeating Darth Maul and choosing to carry on his master’s legacy, even adopting his name.
This twist brings a whole new light to a familiar scene in A New Hope where Alec Guinness’s character reveals himself as Obi-Wan. According to McCaig, the line ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard…’ hints at a deeper story where he is actually Qui-Gon, not Obi-Wan.
George Lucas, however, decided to change this detail just before the release, altering the path of the story we know today.
Reflecting on what could have been, it’s intriguing to imagine how this switch would have linked The Phantom Menace to the original Star Wars trilogy.
Although the reasoning behind Lucas’s last-minute decision remains unclear, it certainly leaves us wondering about the impact of such a storyline.
This alternate ending adds a layer of complexity to the characters and their journeys, providing a fresh perspective on their destinies.
While some might argue the original plan was perhaps too straightforward, it undeniably would have offered a poignant continuity through the saga.
As we continue to celebrate The Phantom Menace’s milestone, revelations like these offer us a glimpse into the creative processes behind our favorite films, reminding us of the ever-evolving nature of storytelling in cinema.
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