Star Wars Cut A MAJOR Phantom Menace Ending Twist, Now Revealed 25 Years Later

The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy was a monumental cinematic event, which helped re-define the story of the Star Wars Saga. Before getting to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side of the Force, the first film, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace decided to begin with the story of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) trying investigate a political conspiracy – one that also exposes disturbances in the Force, including the renewed threat of the Sith, and a child “chosen one” who could tip the balance of power.

By now, the storyline of Phantom Menace is so well ingrained in Star Wars fans’ minds that it’s genuinely shocking to learn, 25 years later, that there was originally a massive twist in the story that would’ve changed Star Wars mythology forever!

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’s Big Twist Ending Revealed

Artist Iain McCaig did character artwork for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; in a new interview, McCaig discusses one big idea that crossed his desk but didn’t make it into the finished film. That idea would’ve seen a massive character switch, wherein Obi-Wan would’ve been the older Jedi, and Qui-Gon would’ve been the younger padawan:

“It’s interesting how things evolve,” McCaig told Star Wars‘ official site. “For a time, the older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon.”

The surprises didn’t end there: McCaig went on to reveal that George Lucas initially had the twist ending of having “Qui-Gon” take on his master Obi-Wan’s name after Obi-Wan was killed in the duel with Dark Maul:

” It was very poignant that at the end, as Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays with his Master as he passes away, he not only takes on his Master’s quest, but he takes on his name,” McCaig explains. “Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan.”

This name-switch was not just a twist for shock value: Lucas intended it to reframe our understanding of actor Alec Guinness’s performance as Obi-Wan in Star Wars: A New Hope:

“That’s why when you see Alec Guinness in A New Hope, he puts his hood down and goes, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard….’ Because he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon,” McCaig said, before revealing that “right at the end, George changed it.”

Star Wars has established a precedence for characters taking on new names or identities – whether it was the initial Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker reveal, or Caleb Dume adopting the alias of “Kanan Jarrus,” Ahsoka Tano doing covert-ops as the Rebel agent “Fulcrum,” etc. The Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon flip would’ve been a lot for fan to take in; that’s probably what ultimately motivated Lucas to change the dynamic into a more standard Jedi Master-padwan relationship that becomes one of the most formative bonds of Obi-Wan’s life, and the foundation of his own bond with Anakin Skywalker.

What do you think of the original version of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace‘s story for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan?

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace can be streamed on Disney+.