"if you strike me down...

[Sephiroth]

Lucas has been forced to "re-state" his goals for the length of the film series since 77, it was originally supposed to be a 12 part serial like those made in the 1930's, then it was supposed to be a trilogy of trilogies, and now, cause of the EU, he won't touch the third trilogy

 

[Skywalker]

Well, keep in mind that at the time, there was no guarantee that there would be anymore movies after Star Wars.

Yes, but as I recall, Lucas did have a plan for a larger saga, should Star Wars succeed. In fact, wasn't the whole idea originally to be a TV serial?

I honestly don't know about the TV serial, but yes, you're right, he did have a grand overarching plot outline (as do all storytellers worth their salt).

Lucas has been forced to "re-state" his goals for the length of the film series since 77, it was originally supposed to be a 12 part serial like those made in the 1930's, then it was supposed to be a trilogy of trilogies, and now, cause of the EU, he won't touch the third trilogy

Lucas won't touch the third trilogy because he decided to incorporate things he would have done in the third trilogy into ROTJ. For him, number six has been the final chapter in the story for twenty-five years.

 

[prometheuspan]

EU? European Union?
Evil Union? ???

 

[Skywalker]

Expanded Universe. Basically, everything Star Wars that didn't take place in the movies. Books, comics, video games, TV shows, etc.

 

[John Picard]

Well, keep in mind that at the time, there was no guarantee that there would be anymore movies after Star Wars.

Exactly. Star Wars was originally developed to be akin to the old 1930's serials, where the viewer is dropped directly into the middle of an already developed story. This is why audiences of the day (I was 8 back then) were at first perplexed by the opening which declared it as "Episode IV". The only reason ESB and ROtJ were developed was because of the overwhelming popularity of Star Wars.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

I believe killing Obi-Wan was Guinness' idea, not Lucas'.

That's what I've always heard as well -- mainly because Guinness was actually embarrassed by the role, more than anything, as he felt it was "below" his talents/capabilities?

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[DWF]

I believe killing Obi-Wan was Guinness' idea, not Lucas'.

That's what I've always heard as well -- mainly because Guinness was actually embarrassed by the role, more than anything, as he felt it was "below" his talents/capabilities?

Cheers,
-CM-

If that were true then why did he return for the next two movies?

 

[FalTorPan]

I believe killing Obi-Wan was Guinness' idea, not Lucas'.

That's what I've always heard as well -- mainly because Guinness was actually embarrassed by the role, more than anything, as he felt it was "below" his talents/capabilities?

Cheers,
-CM-

Although Guinness did later ridicule Star Wars, it was not his idea for the character to be killed. For more info, see this book, which is based on interviews and production notes from the time when Star Wars was being made.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ Thanks, FalTorPan, I'll have to check it out. Sounds interesting...

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[TheBrew]

To answer the question, being immortal (by living as a Force spirit) was how Obi-Wan was to be more powerful. Darth Vader was looking for a way to prevent death and Obi-Wan knew that secret.

That was not a retcon, that was how it was originally intended.

 

[Forbin]

This is why audiences of the day (I was 8 back then) were at first perplexed by the opening which declared it as "Episode IV".

It wasn't, you know, in the first run.

They put that "Episode IV" title in for the rerelease, after they knew for sure they'd be doing sequels.

 

[John Picard]

This is why audiences of the day (I was 8 back then) were at first perplexed by the opening which declared it as "Episode IV".

It wasn't, you know, in the first run.

They put that "Episode IV" title in for the rerelease, after they knew for sure they'd be doing sequels.

No it wasn't. It's been there since day 1.

 

[DWF]

This is why audiences of the day (I was 8 back then) were at first perplexed by the opening which declared it as "Episode IV".

It wasn't, you know, in the first run.

They put that "Episode IV" title in for the rerelease, after they knew for sure they'd be doing sequels.

No it wasn't. It's been there since day 1.

No it was added later, not only was the Episode IV not but niether was A New Hope.

 

[sojourner]

It wasn't, you know, in the first run.

They put that "Episode IV" title in for the rerelease, after they knew for sure they'd be doing sequels.

No it wasn't. It's been there since day 1.

No it was added later, not only was the Episode IV not but niether was A New Hope.

^Agreed, ¨Episode IV: A New Hope¨ was added with the rerelease in the summer of 1978. I saw it both 77 and 78 and remember being excited and confused by the addtional titling.

As far as the ¨original plan¨ , I always read that it was for 9 movies. at the end of ROTJ Luke was going to join the dark side along with his father. In the next 3 movies we would see Leia train as a jedi and reconvert Luke to the light side.

 

[Gaith]

It would probably have been better if Vader had killed Obi-Wan against his will in that scene... but that's a pretty small quibble in a classic film.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I thought the starwars.com website had a mention of the addition to the crawl but it appears the site has been stripped of much of its former content.

However, I found it amusing to find this on the official site, even as part of the "expanded universe":
http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/ackmena/index.html

Thanks heavens you can get this at the official store:
http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/pr...5522&category_id=&pcid1=&pcid2=&rid=SWHPFPROD

 

[M'Sharak]

This is why audiences of the day (I was 8 back then) were at first perplexed by the opening which declared it as "Episode IV".

It wasn't, you know, in the first run.

They put that "Episode IV" title in for the rerelease, after they knew for sure they'd be doing sequels.

No it wasn't. It's been there since day 1.

No, it hasn't.

The "Episode IV: A New Hope" sub-title was a later addition. It was not there when I watched the movie the first few times in 1977 (I was somewhat older than 8, back then.) The movie was called simply Star Wars.

 

[Jon1701]

Plus, it's mentioned in the Star Wars documentary on the DVD's...

 

[captcalhoun]

Thanks heavens you can get this at the official store:
http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/pr...5522&category_id=&pcid1=&pcid2=&rid=SWHPFPROD

thank christ they don't do it in 'large' or bigger...

 

[J.T.B.]

Originally, Obi Wan was supposed to escape the Death Star with the others. But there was a problem: What does he do the rest of the movie? Just watch from the sidelines? Lucas decided to kill him off, which would also make the escape from the DS more dramatic. He did a rewrite and told Guinness during filming in Tunisia. Guinness didn't like it, and when they got to England he told Lucas he would walk off the picture if the character was killed. They had a long lunch meeting, and Lucas finally persuaded Sir Alec that it was better for the movie and better for the character. Guinness later admitted that Lucas was right.

Ben Kenobi was a fairly late addition to the script. Originally there was an older general/warrior/bodyguard, sort of like in The Hidden Fortress, who was dropped. In a later draft there was a shabby but wise and mystical old Force-wizard that Luke stumbled across on Tatooine. I think it was in the next-to-final draft that Kenobi was created, combining the two. At first he was part machine, too, presumably because of battle wounds.

This is covered in The Making of Star Wars by Rinzler and Skywalking by Pollock.

--Justin