A Star Wars artist revealed a last-minute change George Lucas made to The Phantom Menace that would have pretty significant implications for the Obi-Wan Kenobi we know today. Concept and storyboard artist Iain McCaig gave a wide-ranging interview to StarWars.com in honor of The Phantom Menace's 25th anniversary and in it, he revealed that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan originally had their names swapped — but there's a reason for it.
He explains: “For a time, the older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon. It was very poignant that at the end, as Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays with his Master as he passes away, he not only takes on his Master’s quest, but he takes on his name. Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan.
That’s why when you see Alec Guinness in A New Hope , he puts his hood down and goes, ‘Obi-Wan? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard...
.’ Because he’s not Obi-Wan, he’s Qui-Gon. And right at the end, George changed it.
” That tidbit is mostly interesting for how I'll view that Alec Guinness scene in A New Hope a little differently now, but it's also fun to think about what that would've meant for Obi-Wan's character for the entirety of the series. Qui-Gon's death at the hands of Darth Maul was already a massive character-shaping moment for Obi-Wan, but having the impact of that event even extend to how Obi-Wan identifies himself? Ouch. The rest of the interview is packed with other little interesting details, also touching on.