- 18/05/2025
General Grievous was very nearly another familiar foe...
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00:00If you thought some of the twists George Lucas actually managed to squeeze into episodes 1 to 6 were bonkers,
00:05then wait till you get a load of what else almost altered the galaxy forever.
00:09Gareth here from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 insane Star Wars plot twists George Lucas nearly made happen.
00:16Number 10, Han Solo was actually raised by Chewbacca on Kashyyyk.
00:20Acting as unquestionably the most iconic best pals in the galaxy,
00:24Han Solo and Chewbacca's friendship throughout the original trilogy and beyond
00:27helped establish both characters as the sort of lovable rogues you'd love to share a pint of blue milk with.
00:32And in an attempt to infuse some of that glorious Chewie Solo spirit into his prequel trilogy,
00:37George Lucas was actually rather close to throwing in a cheeky cameo
00:40that would have added a rather unexpected detail to the pair's relationship.
00:44On top of being gifted a solitary line in the form of I Farm Part of a Transmitter droid near the East Bay,
00:50I think it's still sending and receiving signals.
00:52Lucas had initially revealed in his script that a 10-year-old Solo was actually an orphan on Kashyyyk
00:57being raised by, you guessed it, everyone's favourite Wookiee.
01:01Yeah, it's Chewie, it's Chewie.
01:03Yoda would have also reportedly come into contact with the soon-to-be legendary smuggler
01:06for the very first time on screen in this brief scene,
01:09with the interaction getting as far as the concept art stage,
01:12before the Episode 3 director decided against using it in the finished product.
01:16Number 9, A Potential Anakin-Padme-Obi-Wan Love Triangle
01:20Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala's forbidden romance
01:23sits as one of the key factors in the former's eventual fall to the dark side.
01:28However, their love was once very nearly made a whole lot more complicated,
01:32with it being hinted at in an early draft of The Phantom Menace
01:34that the Queen of Naboo had some feelings for her future lover's eventual master.
01:39That's right, on a couple of occasions in those early days of Episode 1,
01:42Lucas alluded to Amidala apparently being quite interested in Obi-Wan Kenobi,
01:46giving him a quote-unquote long adoring look at one point in those initial pages.
01:52This could have potentially set up one hell of a love triangle in later installments,
01:56with Anakin no doubt growing increasingly jealous of the fact that Amidala initially had eyes for his Jedi master.
02:02Awkward.
02:03And this likely playing more heavily into his eventual decision to embrace the dark side,
02:07as he attempted to keep from losing his beloved in more ways than one.
02:11Ultimately, Lucas obviously decided against muddling the central romance of the prequels
02:15with any blatant Obi-Wan flickers of additional taboo love.
02:19But that still didn't stop a paranoid Anakin from seemingly alluding to this eventually erased twist,
02:24with his words of,
02:24You will not take her from me, as the pair collided on Mustafar in Episode 3.
02:28Number 8, Han Solo was nearly frozen for good.
02:31Returning to the figure who unquestionably shot first,
02:34long before he was finally given his wish of biting the dust in the galaxy far, far away,
02:38Harrison Ford was very nearly taken out of the Star Wars action altogether in the middle of the original trilogy.
02:44While the likes of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were said to have signed on to appear in all three flicks,
02:49Ford was only contractually obligated to show up in A New Hope and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back.
02:54And genuinely not knowing whether his solo actor would be all that interested in playing the character again
02:59for a third time in Return of the Jedi,
03:00with Ford famously and repeatedly asking for his smuggler to be killed off throughout,
03:05Lucas decided that it was likely best to just freeze him in carbonite,
03:08until it was clear as to whether they'd have a Han to play with in Episode 6 or not.
03:12George at one point even told producer Howard Kazanjan that he was sure Ford would never return,
03:18meaning that he was very much preparing for an almost unthinkable world
03:21where Han's last hurrah would have come in Episode 5.
03:24Thankfully though, Ford was eventually convinced to make a comeback,
03:26and Lucas went about writing the legend back into the trilogy ending mix.
03:31Number 7, Luke becomes the new Darth Vader.
03:33In what could have ranked as a twist on the same level as another Darth Vader occurrence
03:38that absolutely rocked the galaxy,
03:40there was actually a minute there when Return of the Jedi ended on the mother of all bombshells.
03:45Jumping back to a script conversation between George Lucas and co-writer Lawrence Kazdan,
03:49the latter eventually noted how the former told him of a scenario he had in mind,
03:53involving Luke Skywalker pulling off one hell of a heel turn late on.
03:57After unmasking his dying father as Return of the Jedi reached its dramatic conclusion,
04:02Lucas envisioned a sequence depicting Mark Hamill's character donning the iconic helmet,
04:06before shockingly claiming,
04:08Now I am Vader.
04:10On the back of executing the ultimate twist as he put it,
04:12Skywalker would then proceed to kill the rebel fleet and rule the universe.
04:16Lovely stuff.
04:17Despite Kazdan absolutely adoring that plan and admitting that's what he wanted to happen however,
04:22Lucas soon backtracked and reminded his co-writer that this whole thing was actually,
04:26you know, for kids.
04:28So it was probably wise not to end the trilogy on a moment that would have no doubt left them all
04:31scarred for life.
04:32Would have been memorable though, right?
04:34Number 6, Uncle Owen was Obi-Wan's brother.
04:36Disney Plus' recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series confirmed that the titular broken Jedi did actually have a
04:42brother, remembering glimpses of his pre-Jedi family in a chat with a young Princess Leia.
04:47But in reality, Kenobi having a long-lost bro was almost made a part of Star Wars live-action
04:51history many years before that statement.
04:53With George Lucas originally writing Ben's big family reveal into Return of the Jedi
04:58screenplay many moons ago.
04:59Before Episode 6 eventually made its way onto the big screen, Lucas initially planned to
05:04make Luke's Uncle Owen Lars Master Kenobi's brother.
05:07And while this revelation was ultimately left out of the finished picture, it did actually
05:11make its way into the novelization of Return of the Jedi.
05:14With Ben noting to Luke,
05:15I took you to live with my brother Owen on Tatooine.
05:18With the legend Star Wars stories ultimately not remaining a part of the new canon though,
05:22that unexpected twist never really made its way onto the big or small screen.
05:26But who knows, if Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2 goes on to become a thing, perhaps Joel Edgerton and
05:31Ewan McGregor's versions of Owen and Ben respectively will finally explore a twist that once very nearly
05:36happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
05:39Number 5, Padme Tries to Kill Her Beloved Anakin At One Point
05:44Another element of the doomed romance that sat at the center of George Lucas' prequels,
05:49which never made its way into the finished article,
05:51it turns out that Padme Amidala was once set to take out her fallen beloved herself!
05:55Or at the very least try.
05:57That's according to prequel trilogy concept artist Ian McKaig.
06:00With the talented soul revealing a few years back that Lucas' originally planned ending
06:04for Episode 3, would have seen a stunning twist involving Anakin Skywalker's love putting
06:09a knife to the Chosen One's neck!
06:11In that earlier version of Revenge of the Sith, Amidala would have been spotted putting
06:15the pieces in place for the rebellion that was being designed to overthrow an Anakin she
06:19could see was becoming a monster!
06:21Despite eventually getting within stabbing distance of the now Darth Vader on Mustafar though,
06:25she still wouldn't have been able to follow through on her mission to save the galaxy.
06:29Even with Skywalker allowing her the chance to do the heartbreaking deed,
06:33she just loved that crazy youngling killer too damn much.
06:36Sadly, Lucas ultimately opted against this far superior way of writing Amidala into the ending
06:40though, instead going for the choice of sobbing wife who has the life pretty much choked out
06:44of her by her raging hubby.
06:46Number 4, Darth Vader and Boba Fett are bros
06:49Obi-Wan Kenobi and Owen Lars weren't the only two lads who were once on the verge of becoming
06:53canon brothers.
06:54Two villainous figures who also just happened to sport the coolest pieces of headwear in the
06:58galaxy were almost revealed to be related too.
07:01Back when Boba Fett first arrived on the big screen scene in The Empire Strikes Back, fans
07:05were desperate to learn all they could about this effortlessly badass bounty hunter.
07:09And according to George Lucas' ex-wife and Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas, the OG plan
07:14would have seen the filmmaker eventually reveal in the prequels that the iconic antagonist was
07:18actually very much brothers with fellow legend Darth Vader.
07:21As time went by though, Lucas eventually fell out of love with the idea, feeling that it
07:26was simply too hokey to make a part of his Skywalker saga.
07:29Rather than have Boba turn out to be a Skywalker all along, Lucas instead went down the Jango
07:34Fett route of course.
07:35And yet another utterly tragic father-son tale was eventually laced into the Star Wars story.
07:41Number 3, General Grievous was actually Maul
07:43Speaking of iconic forces of evil in the Star Wars universe, one of the most instantly recognizable
07:49villains of all time very nearly slipped back into the prequel trilogy under fans' very noses.
07:54That's because back when George Lucas was figuring out a way to introduce the world to
07:57the cyborg menace that eventually would become General Grievous, the initial plan actually
08:02involved the shocking return of none other than Maul.
08:05After being sliced in half and seemingly killed during his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo,
08:09Maul wouldn't appear on the big screen again until Solo A Star Wars Story, though he would
08:13take on a substantial role in both the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.
08:17However, as revealed by one of the writers on those two animated shows, Henry Gilroy,
08:21Lucas did actually nearly bring Maul back under the armored plating of Grievous in Episode 3.
08:27The concept guys almost managed to convince the mind behind the galaxy far, far away to commit
08:31to the return of Maul in the prequel trilogy too.
08:34But Lucas eventually felt it was best to have the General just do his own thing, something
08:38that Gilroy was thankful for.
08:40Number 2, Ota Gunga was initially wiped out before the Phantom Menace's final battle.
08:45Playing a rather large part in taking the Trade Federation down a peg or two in the closing
08:49stages of the Phantom Menace, imagining in Episode 1 where Jar Jar Binks and the rest of the
08:53Gungan Grand Army aren't seen launching boomers at those silly little battle droids would be
08:58rather difficult at this stage.
09:00But in truth, there was actually a period in pre-production when George Lucas was considering
09:04leaving the Naboo natives out of the fight entirely.
09:07In fact, according to early storyboards for the flick, the Gungan city of Ota Gunga wouldn't
09:11have even made it into the final act of the film in one piece.
09:15Those early plans would have involved the beautiful underwater city being entirely destroyed, along
09:20with much of the Gungan race just before the Battle of Naboo got underway.
09:24Bummer.
09:25Feeling this particular genocide may have been a little too dark for its film though, Lucas
09:29eventually decided against wiping out the Gungans early on.
09:32Blowing up an entire planet in Episode 4 however, that's all fine and dandy apparently.
09:37Number 1.
09:37Palpatine Created the Chosen One
09:39Unquestionably sitting as one of the most popular fan theories you'll find on the old
09:43interweb, the concept of Emperor Palpatine actually being the force behind the bizarre
09:47conception of the Chosen One has often felt too damn logical to be wrong.
09:52After all, this was the same Sith Lord who was taught everything he knows by Darth Plagueis.
09:56You know, the dark side user who managed to find a way to create life via the Force,
10:00and had George Lucas decided to leave in a few lines during his original script for
10:04Revenge of the Sith, then that twist could have very much become canon in Episode 3.
10:09During the famous opera scene that eventually sparked the aforementioned theories into being,
10:13Palpatine would have initially told a troubled Anakin Skywalker that he had waited years for
10:17him to fulfill his destiny.
10:19Going further, the future Emperor would have shockingly added that he used the power of the
10:23Force to will the Medichlorians to start the Cell Division that resulted in a baby growing
10:28in Shmi Skywalker's belly. But Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin ultimately noted that
10:33Lucas scrapped this early script bombshell due to him not wanting Anakin's story to feel
10:38predestined. And so, one of the biggest mysteries in Star Wars history was preserved,
10:43opening the door for unlimited fan theories in the years to come.
10:47And that's our list of any other insane Star Wars plot twists George Lucas nearly made happen.
10:52Then please let us know all about them in the comments section right down below,
10:55and do not forget to like, share, and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:59Also, if you like this kind of thing, then please head on over to whatculture.com and find some
11:02more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching this very second is based on.
11:07I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the Force be with you,
11:09I hope I see your faces very, very soon, but in the meantime, just be good to yourself.
11:13Bye-bye!
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