Axed Star Wars Battlefront concept shows evil Obi-Wan Kenobi
There's a dark rumbling in the Force, and just when you think you've seen all there is to see in terms of wild Star Wars ideas, along comes some concept art that has us all musing about what if that game had happened.
There are a slew of axed Star Wars games from the galaxy far, far away, and away from the tragic demise of Star Wars: 1313, Free Radical Design's Star Wars Battlefront IV is another major casualty. Now, resurfaced concept art shows the brilliant brainwave of an evil Obi-Wan Kenobi.
What is the Star Wars Battlefront IV concept?
Although it's hard to keep up with the complicated lineage of the Battlefront games, we're going way back to the original franchise that flew under Pandemic Studios and nearly Free Radical Design.
As well as losing the rights to develop Battlefront when it was in the midst of working on Battlefront III, Free Radical Design had been sketching out an epic arc for Battlefront IV. Playing out like a Marvel's What If...? of Star Wars, it was going to imagine an alternate version of the galaxy's history.
As LucasArts proved with Force Unleashed, Star Wars can have a lot of fun making up its own alternate timelines. Shared on Twitter by Marshal Commander Cody, the resurfaced Battlefront IV art shows what could've been. Alongside a "dark" Obi-Wan, Leia Organa and Mace Windu were given the same treatment.
Other out-there concepts show a redeemed Anakin Skywalker, a heroic Darth Maul, and a full-blown Jedi Count Dooku. Our personal favourites are a non-cyborg Grievous and the idea that Anakin was going to kill Yoda on Naboo.
Responding to the images, one fan wrote, "No way the Leia slave dark side sh*t was actual concept art I thought porn artists invented that." Another added, "The saved Anakin is amazing. I love how it all fits together and makes me wonder what happened if he really did get saved."
Someone noted how Dark Obi-Wan looks a lot like Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll in the upcoming Ahsoka series, while someone else concluded, "Lucasfilm is really missing out on money by not making a Marvel style What If? show. So much potential."
What's going on with the Battlefront series?
Click to enlargeSadly, Battlefront III and IV aren't the only casualties to hit the war-torn series. Much like Valve has an aversion to the number three, DICE's Battlefront 3 (as a sequel to 2017's Battlefront 2) was blown up like the Death Star.
As well as 2017's game being marred in controversy due to the loot box scandal, Battlefront 2 wasn't considered enough of a success to warrant a threequel. Instead, DICE has doubled down on its efforts to save the ailing Battlefield series.
We recently reported how Battlefront 3 was much further along than we were led to believe, which is another major blow for fans of the sub-series. Sure, Star Wars: Squadrons was perfectly fine, but it was hardly up there with Battlefront in terms of scale.
Sadly, Battlefront IV is scrapped on Jakku with the rest of the brilliant Star Wars concepts we'll likely never see. Here's hoping Kathleen Kennedy can see the potential in an evil Obi-Wan Kenobi and give Star Wars the What If...? anthology it deserves.
