MOVIE NEWS – Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca, shared some pages from the original ‘Star Wars’ script. There was one very particular part in there, which was drastically different from the final script! It was the outcome of the iconic lightsaber duel which opposed Darth Vader with his former master. Yes, Obi-Wan survived the duel!

It’s interesting to see; that had Obi-Wan Kenobi lived through his climactic lightsaber duel with his former pupil in A New Hope; we might be looking at an entirely different franchise. And that was the first original draft in for Star Wars written by George Lucas. Eventually, he thought it over, and the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi would turn into a pivotal turning point for Luke Skywalker. But that wasn’t always the destiny arranged for these iconic characters.

We discovered all these thanks to Chewbacca actor, Peter Mayhew, who shared the latest script pages on Twitter. The past couple of months, Mayhew has been steadily sharing the first draft of George Lucas‘ seminal screenplay, which is unlike from what made it to the screen in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. And letting Obi-Wan Kenobi live is one of the biggest changes of all. You can read the three script pages below in their entirety.

#chewscript 027 Obi-wan lives through his fight with Vader. Check it out. @starwars pic.twitter.com/Mrt7SaT3Qc

— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) 2016. április 13.

In this version of the narrative, Obi-Wan evades Darth Vader’s death strike and is instead aided by Luke Skywalker in fleeing the Death Star. Yes, Kenobi will live to see another day. And it would have drastically changed everything from this moment on. And Star Wars history wouldn’t be what we know it today. Not only does Luke’s destruction of the Death Star would have been less powerful, but there would also be no soul searching for the young Jedi, and the Yoda subplot becomes unlikely. All this would radically change a great big portion of The Empire Strikes Back as well. And what about Luke’s training? Would he have two Jedi Masters? Would Kenobi continue to show him the ways of the Force? It’s possible we’ll never know.

Having Old Ben killed before the third act of the movie was a masterful idea by George Lucas, and gave the film a huge twist. It also introduced the concept of a Force Ghost, which has become an important part of Star Wars lore. Losing  Ben Kenobi considerably ups the stakes. Some speculate that George may have made this significant change to pacify Sir Alec Guinness, who was not happy with some things were going on set. The actor may have seen the potential for more sequels, and the director graciously gave him a way out that made for a better movie? Perhaps.

Having Ben Kenobi survive is a great ‘What If?’ And it’s one that fans will surely ponder for years to come. We’ll never know what might have become of Luke Skywalker, and his training had he remained under the tutelage of Obi-Wan. We all saw what happened to his Padawan Anakin. Would Kenobi have failed from keeping Luke away from the Dark Side as he did Darth Vader? You can continue reading the original script pages below. When the screenplay reaches its conclusion, Peter Mayhew promises a big surprise. So stay tuned.