Obi-Wan’s Death In ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ Was Originally Much More Graphic
One of the most innovative, exciting, and tragic things in Star Wars: A New Hope was the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. The duel ended with Obi-Wan’s death and the disappearance of his body (we would later find that he had turned into a Force ghost), and Luke had to come to terms that his mentor is gone. Star Wars: A New Hope surprised everyone with how wildly popular it became and it set the standards for the space opera/science fiction genre storytelling. It was also innovative in the things that were done to craft the ships and special effects, and, of course, the lightsaber which had fans hooked since Obi-Wan Kenobi pulled Anakin’s blue lightsaber out to show Luke.
Lightsabers were elegant, fascinating weapons. Not only did they glow blue, and then red, as fans saw with Darth Vader’s, but they also were dangerous and exciting. When they were shown in a duel, it had fans unable to tear their eyes away from the screen.
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The lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader was the first duel that is shown in Star Wars, and while it was not full of acrobatic flips or platforms or drama, it still had audiences riveted to the screen. It was a pretty basic “sword fight” and did not last long at all before Obi-Wan effectively let Darth Vader cut him down. It ended tragically, with such a feeling of loss. However, it was not bloody, gory, or dramatic. In fact, no one lost a limb or got a cut. In terms of lightsaber battles in Star Wars, it was definitely the tamest. It was needed in the story for Luke to grow on his own. However, this duel almost ended very differently than what it ended up being shown in the movie.
From the first time we met Obi-Wan, we learned that Darth Vader was Obi-Wan’s failed apprentice. Vader and Obi-Wan felt each other’s presence while on the Death Star together. Obi-Wan knew that they would meet and was ready for the encounter. It was inevitable from the start that the two would meet in battle. While by today’s standards, the duel was rather slow, it was not missing suspense. Fans root for Obi-Wan to win, and for good to triumph over evil. Unfortunately, it was not that easy. Good seemed to have lost, for now.
In the novelization for A New Hope, Obi-Wan’s death was different than what was shown on screen. Vader still killed Obi-Wan, but it was described in much more detail than Vader just simply cutting down Obi-Wan. This was the passage:
“[Vader] lunged forward, feinting, and then slashing in a deadly downward arc with the saber. It struck home, cutting Kenobi cleanly in half.”
From the movie, we all know that Vader just ended up cutting the blade through Obi-Wan’s mid-section, and then Obi-Wan’s body disappeared. In the novelization, Obi-Wan’s body still disappeared. However, this passage seemed to suggest a much more gruesome end. Obi-Wan was cut down vertically instead of horizontally. This section read much more like what Obi-Wan ended up doing to Darth Maul during their duel on Tatooine. Even though Obi-Wan’s body disappeared, physically seeing him being cut in half through the head would have added a level of gruesomeness to this scene that would have probably changed the entire tone of the fight. Of course, novelizations are known to embellish quite a bit, because obviously, in writing a novel from a movie, you have that room to add a lot more descriptions.
In addition, another note seemed to suggest that Obi-Wan’s death was supposed to look different from the final product. This was from the actual screenplay for A New Hope, which read:
“Vader brings his sword down, cutting old Ben in half.”
Again, you had the downward slash cutting Obi-Wan in half instead of the side slash. From that line in the screenplay and the line in the novelization, it appeared George Lucas definitely had the vision of Obi-Wan dying by being cut in half vertically.
Something happened though and that was not what ended up being filmed. If it had worked out, and they had gone with what was in the screenplay, it definitely would have added a very dark turn of events to the scene and added an overall darker tone to Star Wars. Even though in the end, there was no blood or Obi-Wan’s body showing. Who knows what would have happened to the tone of the original three movies if they had kept in this morbid death scene. Maybe it would not have changed anything at all.
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Written By Elizabeth Dresdow
Source(s): CBR