Star Wars Almost Made Obi-Wan Kenobi Fall To Something Worse Than The Dark Side
Apart from being one of the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor) is easily one of the most influential. Even before miniseries "Obi-Wan Kenobi" dropped on Disney+ in 2022, the franchise had charted his journey from young Padawan to Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) old mentor across several movies, animated TV shows, and other works. Throughout it all, Obi-Wan avoids all temptation and remains with the light side of the Force — but in an interview with Vanity Fair, McGregor noted that the TV show nearly depicted a life that could have been even darker than turning to the dark side.
"The first episode used to start with me as a waiter in a bar. He's really lost his way, Obi-Wan," the actor said. "He's drinking too much. I got beaten up. People are kicking me, and I'm just taking it, then stalking out into the night. That was our first idea, anyway."
Ultimately, the creative team went with another approach. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" focuses on a reclusive loner version of the character, and it's clear he's well on his way to becoming the hermit fans meet in "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" ... but not before he's drawn into yet another planet-hopping adventure that, among other things, explores whether Obi-Wan is more powerful than Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen).
A full movie about this dark version of Obi-Wan was on the table
Turning Obi-Wan Kenobi — arguably the finest Jedi in the Order's final days — into a heavy-drinking desert planet outcast would have been a considerable departure from the character's usual portrayal. While the people behind the show chose a more incognito lifestyle for Obi-Wan, Ewan McGregor explained in the Vanity Fair interview that at one point around 2018, the intention was to make an entire film about the bar worker version.
"We were talking about a movie at that point, not a TV series," the actor said. "Disney+ wasn't there yet. I said, all I can see is him broken after some time after 'Episode III' and he's in a really dark place."
At the end of the day, history might have promptly filed this particular character arc in the Jar Jar Binks cabinet. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" does many things better than other Star Wars series, so deciding against the original idea for Obi-Wan's life on Tatooine may have benefitted the series.
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