20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

2. Qui-Gon Originally Returned For The Sequels

The Qui-Gon Jinn character underwent a number of changes while George Lucas was conceptualising his story for the prequels.

Initially, Qui-Gon didn't actually exist at all, and the bulk of The Phantom Menace saw Obi-Wan hanging out with Anakin (Jake Lloyd) by himself, with most of Qui-Gon's notable attributes rolled into Obi-Wan's character.

But despite the expectation from many fans that Qui-Gon would be sticking around for the trilogy - those who didn't read the damn soundtrack listing before seeing the movie, at least - he of course ends up killed by Darth Maul at the end of this film.

And this was also a major change of plan, as Lucas initially planned to have Qui-Gon return as a Force Ghost in the sequels, who would try to stop Anakin from turning to the Dark Side.

Given the utter boredom that was Attack of the Clones, there's no way Neeson could've made the film any worse, so it's a damn shame Lucas never acted on instinct here.