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Unbelievably, the day our childhoods died was over 25 years ago. That was the day, in the words of 1 Corinthians 13:11, the harsh reality of the universe made us put away childish things and become the bitter, cynical Outposter bastards we all are today. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
A new interview with original Star Wars concept and storyboard artist Iain McCaig, as part of the anniversary content, has been making the rounds online. It is up on the official Star Wars website, where he unveiled that George Lucas was originally planning a twist at the ending. In an earlier version of the script, the characters of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) were switched.
He explained:
“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.”
Having recently caught The Phantom Menace on television, this would have been the least of its problems.
It has really, really, really not aged well.
The post THE PHANTOM MENACE Was Changed? appeared first on Last Movie Outpost.
