The Star Wars prequels have been a topic of discussion since their inception. Many despise their very existence, others, for whatever reason, enjoy Jar Jar Binks and the fact that he breaths. Love them or hate them, I think most of us can agree with the statement that Ewan McGregor’s performance as Obi-Wan, is the best part about them. Even if McGregor wasn’t cast, why wasn’t Obi-Wan the main character of the prequels? 

     As an example, let’s use the third prequel, Revenge of the Sith. The scene where Obi-Wan and Anakin speak, right before Obi-Wan leaves to track down General Grievous, should have been the last time we see Anakin. The next time we should have seen him was the shot where he’s standing on the balcony on the planet Mustafar, when we see his evil yellow eyes and expression of hatred.

     By spending more time with Obi-Wan, the audience would feel his hurt when, for example, he tells Yoda, “I cannot do it,” when told he needs to kill Anakin, or when he tells Anakin, “You were like a brother to me. I loved you.” 

     By lessening Anakin’s screen time, the more menacing Darth Vader becomes. Seeing Anakin kill the younglings exclusively through the hologram, rather than a scene dedicated to it, not only again, helps us better understand Obi-Wan’s perspective. But also makes us go, “Wow, I wonder what Palpatine could have done or said to make Anakin so evil as to kill children.” It lets the audience become more active in the film by showing less, in turn leaving us with open endedness, which makes Vader seem even more intimidating and violent in his actions of the original trilogy. 

     Seeing the prequels through Obi-Wan’s side helps us understand why he lied to Luke about his father in A New Hope. It would have added to the characters of Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, and to the Star Wars universe as a whole. Having Obi-Wan as the main character in the prequels just makes sense.