‘Star Wars’, the first film in the Star Wars saga, which was later renamed ‘A New Hope’ featured the legendary alec guinness as ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, the character later played by Ewan Macgregor in the prequel trilogy and the forgettable Disney+ series. But this almost didn’t happen.
The force will be with you, always
At the time, Guinness was an acclaimed actor who had already won major awards like BAFTAs and an Academy Award when he made ‘Star Wars.’ Sir Guinness commented on his involvement in the franchise on multiple occasions, regularly changing his tone and enthusiasm for the films. It was clear that the actor never enjoyed the fervor of Star Wars among fans, leading many to claim that Guinness actually held the franchise in contempt. What was not known at the time is that his participation in the saga was almost a coincidence.
Reviewing the actor’s biography, which is from 2003, he laid out the details of how he was offered the now-iconic role of Kenobi by George Lucas, and his feelings about it. When the idea was presented to him, he did not seem too enthusiastic about a science fiction movie. A few days after he was offered the part of the Jedi Master in 1975, he wrote to his friend Anne Kaufman, referring to the script as “fairy tale trash“and mentioning George Lucas by the wrong name:
“I’ve been offered a movie (20th Cent. Fox) that I can take, if they can get the right money. Shooting is in London and N. Africa, starting mid-March. It’s Science Fiction, which makes me think, but it will be directed by Paul [sic] Lucas, who did ‘American Graffiti,’ which makes me feel like maybe I should. It’s a great role, but it’s fairy tale rubbish, but maybe it could be interesting.”
Guinness goes on to recall that 20th Century Fox offered him 150,000 plus two percent of the producer’s earnings in January 1976 for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, double what he was offered the week before. But that is not the key for which he agreed, but the blessing of actor Vincent Price, at least according to the actor, who was one of his great friends. In the Santa Cruz Sentinel in October 1979, Price recalled that he actually convinced Guinness to take on the role of Obi-wan.
Vincent Price and Alec Guinness were great friends. In the Santa Cruz Sentinel in October 1979, Price recalled that he actually convinced Guinness to take the role of Obiwan. A tid bit that floored me when I first heard it.#MayTheFourthBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/5PvJWtXzJH
— TheFullPrice (@FullPricePod) May 4, 2022
The actor he recalled how Guinness approached him one day to ask him about science fiction movieswhich he considered as “idiocies”.
“He said, ‘You’ve done a few, what’s it like working on them?’ Star Wars'”.
Oh Harrison Ford, have you ever heard of him?
Guinness had a major impact on his character’s story arc for ‘A New Hope’ when he suggested killing Kenobi so he could be a more effective mystical mentor. What Guinness didn’t mention to George Lucas is that his intention was to avoid the “cheesy dialogue” that he thought made Kenobi’s character unclear and unbearable, even after the changes you suggested to the script. After shooting began in March 1976, she wrote to Kaufman again to say that he was not “enjoying the movie”:
“… horrible new dialogue comes to me every other day on pink scraps of paper, and none of it makes my character clear or even bearable. I only think, fortunately, of the delicious bread, which will help me carry on until the next April… I must go to the studio and work with a midget (very sweet, and has to wash in a bidet) and your compatriots Mark Hamill and Tennyson (that can’t be right) Ford Ellison (? – No!) – Well, a lanky, lanky young man who’s probably smart and funny, but God, God, they make me feel like I’m ninety and treat me like I’m 106. “Oh, Harrison Ford, have you ever heard of him?” “
Later, in an interview on the Parkinson Talk Show, Sir Guinness stated that the fascination with Star Wars was “of a wonderful and wholesome innocence, a great rhythm, a wonderful view, nothing unpleasant“. In the conversation, he predicted that “people will see too much behind it, but it’s a simple thing… for all ages”.But when the strong fan reaction to ‘Star Wars’ came immediately after its release, Sir Guinness grew increasingly tired of movies.
In his 2003 autobiography, Guinness explained how the charm you first saw in the movies then turned into a nightmare:
“A revamped ‘Star Wars’ is somewhere or everywhere, I have no intention of revisiting any galaxy. I cringe inside every time it’s mentioned. Twenty years ago, when the movie was first shown, I had a freshness, also a sense of morality. good and fun. Then I started to feel uncomfortable about the influence I could have.”
The actor was uneasy about movie fans, whose devotion he found “obsessive” at times (for a reason he couldn’t imagine). He admitted to being personally “baffled” by the Star Wars phenomenon. In 1980, a 12-year-old boy approached Guinness and gleefully told him that he had seen Star Wars more than 100 times. A horrified Sir Guinness traded his autograph in exchange for a promise that the fan would never see the film again.. It would have saved us from a lot of trouble anyway.