Peter Mayhew Tweeting Star Wars "Journal of the Whills" script. "Big announcement" to follow... — Page 4

Didn’t they decide to kill him because LF were afraid their escape looked too easy, and that the Empire didn’t seem like an actual threat?

EDIT: I think I read it in the DVD commentaries.

Perhaps we’ll never know (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Guinness):

However, Guinness soon became unhappy with being identified with the part, and expressed dismay at the fan following that the Star Wars trilogy attracted. In the DVD commentary of the original Star Wars, Lucas says that Guinness was not happy with the script rewrite in which Obi-Wan is killed. However, Guinness said in a 1999 interview that it was actually his idea to kill off Obi-Wan, persuading Lucas that it would make him a stronger character, and that Lucas agreed to the idea. Guinness stated in the interview, “What I didn’t tell Lucas was that I just couldn’t go on speaking those bloody awful, banal lines. I’d had enough of the mumbo jumbo.” He went on to say that he “shrivelled up” every time Star Wars was mentioned to him.

Obi-Wan was actually a kind of last addition to the plot. He didn’t even show up in the script until very late in the writing process (third draft I think). Although I do agree that he does add tremendous weight to the final battle, so Lucas definetely struck gold when he got the idea to give Luke an aged mentor. I think it was Joseph Campbell’s writing that eventually convinced Lucas that there had to be a teacher/guide of some kind.

Actually, from the 1975 third draft in which he was introduced, until the actual shooting script, Ben Kenobi survived to the end of the film. GL knew Luke would still need a Jedi mentor in future films - after all, the hero hadn’t even used his magic sword yet!

The decision to kill Obi-Wan came about during shooting in Tunisia, when GL realized that the Death Star sequences didn’t feel dangerous enough. The original plan had been to convey the brutality of the Imperials by having Leia be badly beaten up (and possibly also with a wardrobe malfunction) after she was tortured.

However, by the fourth draft in January 1976, GL backed away from open violence and nudity on screen, fearing that an R rating would further damage what he saw as the already precarious box-office take from SW.

The result was that the Death Star felt too safe in the script that went before the cameras. GL eventually recognized this and decided to rectify the problem by killing off Obi-Wan in his duel with Vader.

He had to break the news to Alec Guinness during the shooting in Tunisia. As I understand it, Guinness didn’t take it well at first, especially because he thought making such a major plot change during mid-shoot was very unprofessional. In fact Guinness initially threatened to walk off the film, before deciding that the change was an improvement (not least in apparently getting him out of the franchise).

Killing off Obi-Wan in SW 1977 also meant that GL had to find a way to get Luke to his new mentor Yoda in ESB. He decided to bring back Obi-Wan as a Force ghost – a decision that had its own plot complications, which culminated in the Father Vader storyline.

emanswfan said:

Wait, Star Wars was at one point going to be R-rated? Was it just that Leia scene

What leia scene?

emanswfan said:

Wait, Star Wars was at one point going to be R-rated? Was it just that Leia scene, or were there other brutal aspects that got toned down? Apparently I’m Jon Snow in the world of Star Wars script drafts.

That was indeed the idea. Leia was going to be running around with some nasty facial bruises, and possibly no clothing above the waist, from the moment Luke enters her prison cell to the arrival at the Rebel base.

Leia’s injuries are mentioned in the text of the 3rd draft, and several sketches by McQuarrie and John Mollo show her in various states of clothing damage.

There was also some additional violence that was cut – for instance, Alex Tavoularis’ storyboards show Vader literally ripping a Rebel soldier’s arm off during the opening battle.

Density said:
I don’t know if it’s true, but I actually heard once it would have been rated G if not for the graphic image of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s corpses.

Which just shows how far GL went in the other direction in his quest to get a PG rating so as to maximize the profit margins.

Further evidence of the way American movies have gotten more buttoned-down since the 80s. After all, THX 1138 was a PG film on its first release, but an R in 2004 - for the exact same nudity!

Somebody making a Star Wars type film today probably wouldn’t even consider having bare breasts on screen. For which state of affairs the huge success of SW itself - and its co-option by the US political right-wing - bears a large share of blame.

It’s amazing all the stories coming out in nerd sites about "Mayhew reveals original fate of Kenobi. " click bait, or do fans really not know this?

SilverWook said:

Movie ratings were different back then though. Even Jaws was a PG.

Rocky (1976). Features intense makeout scene. PG.
Logan’s Run (1976). Features open female nudity and overt creepiness. PG.
Temple of Doom (1984). Features a guy’s heart being ripped out of his chest. PG.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Harmless action movie. PG-13.

Double post, sorry.

Trooperman37 said:

SilverWook said:

Movie ratings were different back then though. Even Jaws was a PG.

Rocky (1976). Features intense makeout scene. PG.
Logan’s Run (1976). Features open female nudity and overt creepiness. PG.
Temple of Doom (1984). Features a guy’s heart being ripped out of his chest. PG.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Harmless action movie. PG-13.

Don’t forget TFA PG-13. it’s as if death itself merits a mature audience these days.