5 Great Star Wars Characters Ruined By The Prequels

3. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars Obi Wan The prequels had their work cut out for them when it came to finding the right actor to play Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sir Alec Guinness played the character in the first three films, and though he despised the role, he still gave the only performance in the saga€™s history to receive an Academy Award nomination. The character served as a mentor to Luke Skywalker, and was a close friend of his father, Anakin, so fans were excited to finally see this friendship play out in the prequels. For Episodes I-III, Ewan McGregor portrayed a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi and gave a respectable performance, despite not having much to work with. This version of the character was such a wet blanket, it€™s amazing that McGregor was able to salvage it from the pits of utter boredom. But young Kenobi€™s bland personality wasn€™t what ruined the character, it was his uncharacteristic cruelty at the end of Revenge of the Sith. At this point in the film, his old friend Anakin had gone to the dark side and assisted in Jedicide. He was a sith, and Obi-Wan had to reluctantly kill him. What he did not have to do, however, was sever all of Anakin€™s limbs and leave him on the shores of a lava river to burn alive. €œYou were my brother, Anakin. I loved you,€ Obi-Wan laments as his best friend€™s torso writhes in agonizing pain before catching fire. If Obi-Wan really loved him, the least he could€™ve done was cut off his surrogate brother€™s head to put him out of his misery. Instead, he walks away with no guarantee that Anakin will succumb to his injuries. This gives the Emperor the chance to swoop in and save Anakin by putting him in the famous Darth Vader suit. The rest is history, but it was history that could€™ve been prevented had Obi-Wan not been so stupidly sadistic.
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J.D. Laney is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. When he isn't trying to write his own material, he is constantly consuming the work of others for analysis and, occasionally, for fun. He has a particular interest in film, literature, and video games.