It’s no secret thatGeorge LucasandSteven Spielberghave a good working relationship, as the two teamed up to createIndiana Jonestogether. Although Spielberg wasn’t involved in the making of theStar Warsprequels, the director still had some sway over Lucas. According toRevenge of the Sithstunt coordinator Nick Gillis, Spielberg came up with the idea of the high ground scene during the climatic battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin on Mustafar.
In the scene, Obi-Wan leaps off a mining trawler onto a slope and warns Anakin that he has the high ground and the fight is over. Anakin ignores the warning and loses the battle along with several of his limbs. The injuries were so severe that it resulted in him being transferred into the iconic Darth Vader suit, and the rest is history. In an appearance on theChris And Company podcast, Gillis said he fought against that scene, but he ultimately fought a losing battle.
“I think Spielberg…I think that [was] Spielberg’s idea, that scene. I might be saying too much now, but I’m pretty sure it is. It’s just the way George [Lucas] hung onto it. We hated it, it’s common knowledge. We hated it. We had a different version for it. We campaigned as hard as we could to get it changed, but George was having none of it.”
In a surprising turn of events, this moment has become one of the most popular parts of the prequels. To be fair, many of the lines uttered throughout the prequel trilogy have become memes, but that is what keeps them relevent in these times of social media dominance.
Ewan McGregor & Hayden Christensen Fought Against the Line
This isn’t the first time Gillard has talked about the infamous scene. Back in 2023, Gillard told YouTuberStar Wars Theory that bothEwan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, the Obi-Wan and Anakin actors respectively, were against the line.
“Even the boys, Ewan and Hayden, went to George and said, ‘George, this!’ and he was having none of it,” he told Star Wars Theory. “We hated the high ground thing…You know, it has its place now.”
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’s Mustafar Showdown Holds One Big Franchise Record
Star Wars has been known to use many practical effects, but their record-breaker from Revenge of the Sith still stands as their biggest.
There were plans for an alternate version of the scene that never came to fruition. In the same interview, Gillard said the plan was to make Obi-Wan’s attack on Anakin more of a self-defense move instead of what played out in the final cut. He explained
“Anakin just grabbed [Obi-Wan] by the - he disarmed him, grabbed him by the throat,” Gillard said. “He’s got him and Obi’s saber is down on the ground, and Anakin says, ‘I’m sorry it has to be this way, my master,’ and actually lets [the lightsaber] go. Obi hunches to get away from it, sucks his saber up. As he pulls his saber up, he cuts through Anakin’s arms almost by mistake and then chops through his legs almost by mistake, and the whole body fell off of his legs. It was more of a defense-gone-wrong kind of move. It was strong.”
Of course, that never happened, but it looks like things turned out just fine for the film. While the prequel trilogy is divisive among fans, the consensus typically agrees thatRevenge of the Sithis the strongest of the three.
