Revenge of the Sith is the best entry in the Prequel trilogy for Star Wars, one that brought audiences face to face with the downfall of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Order, and the rise of the Galactic Empire. While the Prequels have been infinitely memed, the trilogy, especially its finale, consists of some of the most emotionally charged moments of the entire franchise.
One such moment, that has been simultaneously memed and and considered one of the most emotionally charged moments of the franchise, is the battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (now Darth Vader) on the plane of Mustafar. One of the many things that made fans laugh out loud was the finale of the battle, where Obi-Wan Kenobi declares that he has the high ground, but it seems that this was not the only iteration of the fight between the Jedi Master and his former Padawan.
Obi-Wan’s severing of Anakin’s limbs was supposed to be an accident in Revenge of the Sith
Speaking with Star Wars Theory, Nick Gillard, who was the Stunt coordinator for the film, opened up about how he was not completely on board with ‘the high ground’ scene, and it was something he clashed with Lucas about on set. He said:
The thing we fought on most of all was the high ground thing. We hated the high ground.
He further opened up about how the scene was actually going to be different, revealing:
He disarmed him, grabbed him by the throat and got him, and Obi’s saber’s down on the ground, and Anakin says “I am sorry it has to be this way my master’ and actually lets it go. Obi hunches to get away from it, sucks his saber up, blocks, and as he pulls his saber up, he cuts Anakin’s arm, almost by mistake, and then chops his legs, almost by mistake.
The scene was much less deliberate, with Obi-Wan not intending to cause the amount of harm that he did to Lord Vader in the final iteration of the scene. However, the scene that did make it into the film, while memed at during its opening, is heartwrenching as it rolled out, culminating in Obi-wan’s ‘You were supposed to be the chosen one’ scene.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker’s fight scene was more symbolic than most fans think
Anakin was supposed to be the Chosen One according to a Jedi prophecy. Yet, the character was haunted by one death, and let it influence him to prevent another. Obi-Wan Kenobi was not a prodigy by any stretch of the word and survived the death of his Master, the death of the woman he loved the most, the fall of his order (the one home he has known his entire life) and saw his best friend turn to the dark side, and still remained grounded in the light side of the Force.
During the fight, we see that Anakin’s status as the chosen one was not because he was the best the Jedi had to offer, it was because he was allied with the Force in its entirety, rather than the Jedi doctrine.
Obi-Wan on the other hand, was more inclined to keep with the laws of the Jedi, in the name of maintaining peace in the galaxy. Anakin was the representation of the objective reality of the Force (that as a whole is composed of light and dark) while Obi-Wan was the idealized Jedi, a man-made interpretation of the ways of the Force.
