Whatever they wanted from a continuation of Obi-Wan’s story, fans almost got more – a whole lot more. Speaking exclusively with The Direct, screenwriter Stuart Beattie revealed that Lucasfilm originally planned an entire trilogy of movies starring McGregor as Obi-Wan. “Yeah, Ewan was on board, everyone,” Beattie assured the outlet. But one problem stood in the way: Solo: A Star Wars Story. When that prequel movie failed to meet expectations, Lucasfilm decided to scrap their plans and start anew, changing the three-movie epic into one six-hour television season. Originally, Beattie had planned for a trilogy to connect the defeated Obi-Wan of Revenge of the Sith to the wizened teacher ready to sacrifice himself in A New Hope. For the writer, there are “three different evolutions that the character has to make in order to go from Obi-Wan to Ben.” The first movie contained much of what made it into the show, involving Obi-Wan learning to surrender to the will of the force and, as Beattie puts it, “[l]eave the kid alone.” But the second movie in the trilogy is what really excited the writer, as it gave him a chance to explore universal themes about one’s end and purpose. That movie would have followed Obi-Wan’s struggle to accept that he will die, which sets up his sacrifice to save Luke in A New Hope. In that movie, “Obi-Wan now has to come to terms with his own mortality, somehow in a prophecy, or Qui-Gon telling him, ‘There’s going to come a moment where you’re gonna have to sacrifice yourself for the good.’” Despite his disappointment, Beattie holds no ill will towards Solo – “I like Solo, personally,” he revealed – and has moved onto other things. Even better, he’s glad that the series exists and that his “story got told.” Even better, there’s the possibility that Chow and Harold will return to Beattie’s scripts if Obi-Wan Kenobi season two ever happens.
