Original Obi-Wan Plan Perfectly Highlights Star Wars’ Story Problem

Lucasfilm’s original plans for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show reveal the major problem with modern Star Wars. The last few years have seen Lucasfilm transform Star Wars into a trailblazing transmedia franchise, with its Disney+ shows proving particularly successful. The Mandalorian is essentially Disney+’s flagship TV series, with the first season launching alongside the streaming platform in 2019. But as successful as they may be, these Disney+ shows are in danger of becoming rather too formulaic.

The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series has the potential to be one of the best to date. It features both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, and the trailers make it feel almost as spectacular as the Star Wars movies themselves. Set during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, it will feature no less than two duels between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. But the show wasn’t always intended to be quite so spectacular.

Preproduction of Obi-Wan Kenobi was paused in early 2020 among reports Lucasfilm was unhappy with the scripts, which had been written by Hossein Amini (McMafia, The Alienist). Little by little, details are emerging of those original plans – which were frankly far less ambitious. Though these issues look to have been resolved for the upcoming series, they also point to what could still be major problems for Lucasfilm’s Disney+ TV shows – namely, that they lack the creativity, ingenuity and fresh-feel of the franchise’s stronger entries.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Original Story Plan & Changes

According to recent reports, there was a simple reason the Obi-Wan Kenobi series needed to be rewritten; conceptually, it was too similar to The Mandalorian. THR claims the show originally had a Wolf Cub-like plot in which the desert nomad Obi-Wan emerged from the shadows of Tatooine to protect a young Luke Skywalker, with sounds similar to The Mandalorian season 1’s Din Djarin and Baby Yoda arc. To be fair to Lucasfilm, back when they commissioned Amini to work on Obi-Wan Kenobi they had no idea how popular The Mandalorian would become. It proved so huge that they quickly realized they couldn’t tell a story with the same beats – meaning Obi-Wan needed a major rewrite.

Remarkably, it seems Darth Vader may not have originally been the main villain of Obi-Wan either. Instead, reports suggest it would have focused on the return of Darth Maul, as the former Sith Apprentice sought his old rival Obi-Wan and the mysterious teenager he sensed was so important. It’s easy to see why Lucasfilm would like the idea of facing Darth Maul and Obi-Wan up against one another in live-action form; this idea would follow on nicely from Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s brief glimpse of Maul, allowing Lucasfilm to fill a major gap in his story. Reports are inconsistent about just how well-developed this particular idea was, with some suggestions footage of Ray Parks as Darth Maul had even been shot.

The Problem With Star Wars Stories Today

Lucasfilm’s original plans for the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series inadvertently point to the core problem with the current wave of Disney+ Star Wars TV shows; they lack creativity. While it’s understandable Lucasfilm underestimated the success of The Mandalorian, making initial similarities between Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian more problematic, the fact remains the studio had two shows in development with the same themes and narrative at the same time. Worse still, neither approach is especially original; The Mandalorian mined the Mandalorian diaspora plot of the old Expanded Universe, and wasted no time heading to Tatooine after the Empire’s departure. Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s original plan followed the same themes, but moved them closer to the stars of the franchise.

There’s a sense in which Lucasfilm’s original plans involving Darth Maul were frankly even worse, because these were actually retelling a story that had already been told. The vendetta between Obi-Wan and Darth Maul was one of the most compelling arcs in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but it had already received a superb resolution in Star Wars Rebels season 3’s “Twin Suns.” Generally seen as one of the best episodes of Star Wars animation, this saw Darth Maul come perilously close to discovering Luke Skywalker on Tatooine – only to die at Obi-Wan’s hands in a beautifully choreographed duel. There is no need to revisit this – and, in fact, attempting to do so would have risked damaging “Twin Suns.”

The idea of a Darth Maul arc points to a further problem that’s developing in Lucasfilm’s stories; an overdependence on continuity that nonetheless fails to avoid continuity mistakes. The return of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi is big news for Star Wars fans; it has the potential to draw in viewers who normally only watch the movies. Darth Maul’s cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story was confusing enough for this audience, and Lucasfilm would be most unwise to then put Maul at the heart of what is essentially an event series. It’s very easy to envision a scenario where Lucasfilm failed to please anybody with Obi-Wan Kenobi, confusing viewers who didn’t know much about Darth Maul’s resurrection while simultaneously annoying viewers who loved “Twin Suns” by damaging that episode’s emotional impact.

Star Wars’ Future Needs To Be Different (& Bolder)

 Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni reportedly came up with the idea of making Darth Vader the main villain of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show, and it was undeniably the right call. The series was already event viewing due to McGregor’s return, but the addition of Hayden Christensen makes it feel almost as essential viewing as the movies themselves. This is certainly a case of “Go large or go home.” But, looking beyond Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s interesting to ask what lessons Lucasfilm needs to learn for their future shows.

First and foremost, there is a need to diversify Lucasfilm’s Disney+ TV offerings. Other Disney studios appear to be learning this lesson, notably Marvel; the first wave of Disney+ TV shows were all thematically and even narratively similar (even using the same third-act Marvel villain twist), but trailers for Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel show increasing diversity in terms of tone and style. At the moment, the live-action Disney+ shows all feel thematically and stylistically similar, drawing inspiration from Westerns to portray a solitary desert hero who changes the world. This is frankly a waste, given the breadth and depth of the Star Wars galaxy and the fact the franchise has always hopped around the timeline with impunity. There are positive signs in the future – The Acolyte promises to be unique, teased as a mystery-thriller that “will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” But these still need to be realized.

Spinning out of this, Lucasfilm needs to look beyond the films and TV shows they have already made and try to do things that are fresh and original. The Mandalorian started out feeling different to anything that’s been seen in Star Wars to date, but it didn’t take it long to head to Tatooine, and by season 2 Mark Hamill was reprising the role of Luke Skywalker for a major cameo. As exciting as that was, Star Wars needs to continue to grow and evolve, and that means looking beyond the franchise’s past. Otherwise, however popular these Star Wars Disney+ TV shows may be in the short-term, they won’t last.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4937 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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