The real story of what happened to Qui-Gon:
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INT. SKYWALKER RANCH - LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM
George LUCAS, Rick McCALLUM, Ben BURTT and Rob COLEMAN sit in a row in front of an assortment of journalists.
Posters of Episode I and a variety of props from the film decorate the room.
COLEMAN: . . . .so as you can see that's a lot more special effects than have ever been done for a film of this scale
JOURNALIST: Mr Lucas, now that the first installment of the new Star Wars Trilogy has hit the screens . . .
LUCAS smiles and nods.
JOURNALIST: . . . I was just wondering how you might explain the differences between the death of Liam Neeson's character and the Death of Ben Kenobi
LUCAS: Well you see those two events were always meant to mirror one another, like in a symphony - they are both meant to reinforce the other . . .
JOURNALIST: (interrupting) Sorry, what I meant Mr Lucas is that in this film Liam Neeson's character, Qui-Gon, is killed and his body is then cremated in an elaborate funeral scene
LUCAS nods politely
JOURNALIST: (continues) But then in the original Star Wars . . .
McCALLUM: (interrupting) Episode Four, A New Hope
JOURNALIST: (Pauses) Yes . . . that one . . . well Ben Kenobi disappears when he is killed?
Long pause as room becomes deathly silent. BURTT, COLEMAN and McCALLUM shift in their seats.
LUCAS: Umm. . . well . . . err . . . well . . . you see . . .umm . . . the thing is about poetry . . . and fresco painting . . . errr . . . (trails of)
Silence again as LUCAS furiously leafs through his notes
McCALLUM: This is something that I'm sure George has thought about and it will be spelled out in excrutiating detail in the next two films . . . such a bold move . . . simply awesome . . .
LUCAS: Yes, yes . . thought about . . . next two films . . .yes
BURTT: (chuckles) George is hardly going to fiddle with something that has been Star Wars lore for the past twenty years without having a very good reason for it . Don't worry, it will all be crystal clear and fully understood by the time Episode Three is released.
LUCAS nods enthusiastically as he removes a handkerchief and wipes his brow.