Obi-Wan Kenobi was a show filled with memorable fan-favourite moments but the one I’ll truly never forget was the skyline. In the show’s first episode, the largely Tatooine-based story cuts away to this lush, pristine-looking planet. Fans instantly knew where we were and what it meant — this was Alderaan, home of Leia Organa — and the ramifications were huge. But that was not the original plan.
Speaking at Fan Expo Boston this past weekend, Obi-Wan Kenobi himself Ewan McGregor said that the story was originally about his character and that other Skywalker sibling. “It was going to be a story about me and Luke,” McGregor said. “It was always going to be that, and that was one of the genius moments where everyone went, ‘Wait a minute,’ and then changed it.”
This revelation is somehow both shocking and expected. If Star Wars has taught us anything in the past 10 years, it’s that more often than not, the story is going to be about the same thing: the Skywalkers. Even shows that are seemingly offshoots like The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett end up circling back to the Skywalkers. So that the Obi-Wan Kenobi show was, originally, going to be about Obi-Wan and Luke makes total sense. That’s the easy way to take the story. It’s the story we know. However, because of the fact it’s so obvious, that someone actually recognised that and flipped it, feels almost equally surprising. It was 100% the right choice…even if it is, still, about the Skywalkers.
Plus, it was a surprise that held until the minute the show premiered, only adding to the excitement. McGregor went on to praise the company for adhering to that secrecy. “That’s the beautiful thing about how passionate Disney, Lucasfilm, all of us are, who are involved with it is from the beginning is we try really hard not to let anything of the bad just to protect your experience of seeing it for the first time,” McGregor said. “I think it’s really cool that Disney and Lucasfilm care so much for the fan experience. They really want you to have a 100% experience the first time you see it, and if you’ve read that, and that leaked, and this came out, it’s just a bit of a shame isn’t it? It’s like looking at your Christmas presents before Christmas Day.”
It’s mindblowing how different the show we saw on Disney+ was from all the iterations before it. Remember it was also going to be a film trilogy? And so when fans ask “Why are Star Wars shows or movies sometimes not that great” or “Why is the next project taking so long?” just look at how much Obi-Wan Kenobi changed.
At the same event, McGregor said he’d love to come back and make more Kenobi, but that no one has approached him yet. Do you want to see more? Let us know below.
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.