Obi Wan Kenobi is widely known as a great Jedi Master. However, in his own series, the character was intended to appear anything but glorious at first. Actor Ewan McGregor has now revealed what the showrunners had in mind for the character.
Which series is it about? Since Disney acquired the Star Wars brand, various movies and series have been released that sometimes spotlight individual characters. Prominent examples include the film “Solo: A Star Wars Story” about Han Solo, or the series “Obi Wan,” which focuses on the famous Jedi Master.
The series premiered in 2022 on Disney+ and consists of six episodes in the first and so far only season. It told the story of Obi Wan’s life after the end of Episode 3. For reference: The Jedi were mostly exterminated, and the last remnants were driven away.
So was Obi Wan, who had retreated to the desert planet Tatooine. There he wanted to keep an eye on the still young Luke Skywalker. The series aimed to connect to Episode 4, the film with which everything began in 1977.
Back then, Alec Guinness played the Jedi Master. Since Episode 1, Ewan McGregor has embodied the character. Interestingly, he initially didn’t want to play the role at all.
McGregor portrayed Obi Wan in the three prequel films, creating a very popular version of the character. It was only a matter of time before there would be a standalone series.
McGregor has now revealed what the original plans for the series looked like. Not much was left of the master’s former power.
Obi Wan as a drunken waiter
What were the plans for the character? The series was supposed to show the character in a completely different situation at first. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ewan McGregor revealed that Obi Wan had virtually gone into Jedi retirement in an initial draft.
He worked as a waiter in a bar. McGregor describes his character’s everyday life as follows:
The first episode began with me as a bartender in a bar. It seemed like Obi-Wan had lost his way. He works in a bar, drinks too much, gets beaten up. People kick me, and I somehow endure it, then I start at night. I mean, those were our first ideas. There was a draft where it started like that.
Ewan McGregor via Vanity Fair
So Obi Wan was supposed to have lost all the glory of former days and hit rock bottom. He would have had to struggle day by day. This was intended to show that the best years of the Jedi Master were definitely over.
Fans think the same when they see Obi Wan running through Fortnite with a butter knife.
The showrunners decided differently: In the end, the idea with the waiter was scrapped. It was an experiment that ultimately felt inappropriate. Instead, the showrunners opted for a more melancholic story.
It shows how Obi Wan continues after the events of Episode 3 and reminisces about earlier times. Until necessity forces him to pick up the lightsaber again. Not only is Obi Wan hunted by agents of the Empire, but the young Princess Leia is also kidnapped and needs help.
Although the original idea was discarded, it would have provided an interesting counterpoint to the shining Jedi Master. His colleague Hayden Christensen fulfilled a nerdy wish with another “Star Wars” series.
