No matter what you feel about the prequel Star Wars movies, every fan of a galaxy far far away can agree that the fight scene between Star Wars characters Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith is iconic.
Taking place on the fiery volcano planet of Mustafa, the duel between the two Jedi ended with Obi-Wan getting the high ground and ultimately cutting down Anakin’s limbs – who was later rescued and transformed into Darth Vader. It is a pretty intense sequence. However, it turns out that the initial choreography for the scene was a whole lot darker than the version we saw on the big screen.
In an interview with the YouTube Channel Star Wars Theory, stunt coordinator of the prequel Star Wars movies, Nick Gillard, revealed that Obi-Wan’s win in the science fiction movie, was meant to have been the result of a tragic accident and not pure flat-out aggression.
“Originally, they swung off that great big rope, and they just landed on the side of the volcano on the lava, right next to each other. Then, straight away, Anakin disarmed him [Kenobi], grabbed him by the throat, he has got him, and Obi’s lightsaber is down on the ground, Gillard explained. “And Anakin says, ‘I’m sorry it has to be this way, my master’, and actually lets [the saber] go.”
“Obi hunches to get away from it, tucks his saber up and blocks it, and as he his pulling his sabre up, cuts through Anakin’s arms – almost by mistake, and then chops through his legs almost by mistake. The whole body fell off of its legs, and it was more of a defence gone wrong,” Gillard continued.
The fight sounds a lot more emotional, as it turns Obi-Wan’s deliberate cutting down of his corrupted pupil into an accident that ultimately would of made anyone feel guilty. It is a tragic twist to show how a simple moment of defence could absolutely ruin another person. However, despite the Star wars cast‘s appreciation of the dark sequence, ultimately, the fight was changed.
“It was strong. Even the boys, Ewan and Hayden, went to George and said, ‘George this!’ but he was having none of it,” Gillard explained. Lucas preferred the version we all saw in the 2005 action movie, so that is the cut we got. And, considering how traumatising and heart-breaking the original concept may have been for both Obi-Wan and audiences alike, maybe it was a good idea it did change.
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