Abandoned ‘Star Wars Battlefront 4’ Concept Art Twists the Entire ‘Star Wars’ Saga Timeline

Years before Disney bought Lucasfilm and essentially cleaned house of all the previous Star Wars projects in development, there was one major project from a galaxy far, far away that got canceled and really disappointed fans.

Star Wars Battlefront III got the axe in 2008 when game developers Free Radical suddenly lost the rights to develop the game despite spending years working on it. Fans never got to play the game despite the fact that it was essentially complete at the time it was canceled. Since developers were finishing up the third installment, they had already started developing the fourth installment.

Star Wars Battlefront 4 would have been a radical departure from previous installments by following an alternate saga timeline, one that turned iconic Jedi to the dark side, and villains into Jedi. If just the mere idea of an alternate timeline like this in the Star Wars universe is too much to handle, wait until you see Star Wars Battlefront 4 concept art of characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Leia in dark side gear. It would have been quite the twisted version of Star Wars.

A huge batch of Star Wars Battlefront 4 concept art has surfaced online thanks to LukeLandwalker on Imgur, and it shows off some of the character designs imagining if the entire story of the first six episodes in the Star Wars saga were completely flipped.

For example, there are dark side versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has been a Sith since his younger days. Things like the Battle of Naboo and the Battle of Endor wouldn’t have gone in favor of our traditional heroes. Darth Vader would have eventually become Emperor after killing Master Yoda and completing his training with Palpatine. But he would also eventually redeem himself by turning to the light in his older years while his dark side son Luke Skywalker dies in his arms following an alternate version of their battle in Return of the Jedi. It’s all very strange and quite radical. So let’s get a look at some of these designs.

The Dark Side

Obi-Wan Kenobi

In this timeline, it appears that Obi-Wan Kenobi has been on the dark side of the Force since his younger years. There are several pieces of concept art featuring the likeness of Ewan McGregor as a dark side version of Obi-Wan from the prequels with varying dark side traits. And apparently he’s always on the dark side throughout this alternate timeline.

As you can see, there are also pieces of concept art imagining an older version of dark side Obi-Wan Kenobi. One of them gives him a mix of wardrobe choices from a uniform that looks like an Imperial officer to an armor neck and shoulder piece that resembles Darth Vader. The other version is a bit more drastic in design, making him look like dark side version of Obi-Wan who has seen better days. His clothes are all tattered, he almost resembles Darth Vader as he looked under the helmet in Return of the Jedi.

Mace Windu

The Jedi master Mace Windu apparently went to the dark side as well. It looks like he may have some kind of purple version of a darksaber too, which looks pretty badass. We’re not sure what happened to his face on the left piece of art, but it kind of makes him look like a version of Nick Fury who stumbled into Mortal Kombat. The designs on the right look a little more grounded as far as Sith character designs are concerned, with some designs even having some Darth Maul similarities.

Darth Vader

Even though Obi-Wan might look like he’s replaced Darth Vader, that’s not the case. Vader is still very much on the dark side, but his story takes a bit of a different path. Instead of threatening Padme on Mustafar and battling with Obi-Wan Kenobi, resulting in the burning of his body and loss of several limbs, Anakin Skywalker still has his full unharmed body.

However, it appears at some point he still gets into some kind of battle that turns him into the more traditional Darth Vader we know from the movies. There are a few different versions of Darth Vader when he has become the Emperor. In the piece above, you can see he has an upgraded breathing apparatus with digital readouts and some changes in his usual garb.

Apparently the confrontation with Padme in Revenge of the Sith would have been switched to Naboo and Anakin would have succeeded in killing her. We’re not exactly sure how Luke and Leia still get born after that, but apparently they do, and they may have grown up learning the ways of the dark side.

Dark Leia Skywalker

It would appear that maybe Leia ends up being raised by Anakin Skywalker instead of Bail Organa. As you can see, this is a younger looking Leia who has been trained in the dark side. Some of the designs give her red and black armor, while one opts for gold instead. Another is clearly influenced by her slave outfit from Return of the Jedi, but I can’t imagine that would have flown too well.

Then there are these designs which make her look like some kind of Sith dominatrix. Considering this game was being developed 10 years ago, it’s not surprising to see how the game would have still sexualized Leia in some way, but that likely wouldn’t work out too well if the game were produced today. Plus, the influence of the slave outfit is still too prevalent. It was something she was forced to wear, and she likely wouldn’t opt to wear something so revealing, especially as a warrior of the dark side.

Dark Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker being on the dark side isn’t anything new to hardcore Star Wars fans who immersed themselves in the Expanded Universe before it became branded Star Wars Legends. There’s a story arc where Luke chooses to turn to the dark side in the years after Return of the Jedi, but having Luke raised in the dark side by his father Anakin Skywalker would have been something new.

As you can see, Luke could have gotten a pretty drastic makeover. He’s even given two purple lightsabers, perhaps a nod to his Expanded Universe wife Mara Jade, who also carried a purple lightsaber.

The above designs would appear to be for a younger dark side Luke, but then there are these designs too:

Not to make another Mortal Kombat reference, but these designs make Luke look like the character Quan-Chi. Of course, the influences are drawn from other Sith characters, including Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, but some of those wardrobe accents look like they belong in another world entirely.

This version of Luke Skywalker also brings about another pivotal change in the overall story of Star Wars that would have apparently played out in the campaign of Star Wars Battlefront 4.

The Redemption of Darth Vader

At some point, it seems that Darth Vader would turn away from the dark side, just as he did in the final moments of Return of the Jedi, but he would have done it far sooner than that. In the events that follow the alternate Return of the Jedi storyline, which sees the Rebels losing and Endor blown up, dark Luke would have face his redeemed father in a lightsaber battle and died in his arms.

The Light Side

At some point in this alternate storyline, Darth Vader turns to the light. Some of his signature pieces of armor are adapted into the lighter Jedi wardrobe style in the design on the left, along with a white version of the lower part of his helmet for breathing purposes. The one on the right created a different breathing apparatus for him that doesn’t require the use of a mask and looks a little more bionic.

Jedi Leia Skywalker

It would appear that Leia turns to the light side with her father, since there are Jedi versions of Leia in the concept art as well. There are clearly some influences from her look in Return of the Jedi, especially her hair on the left. Meanwhile, the image on the right almost looks like it could be a design used for Rey in the next installment of the new Star Wars trilogy.

Jedi Count Dooku

In this alternate timeline, there are also Sith who are Jedi. Count Dooku was once a Jedi in the prequel trilogy, so this isn’t too difficult too imagine. But this is the first time we’ve seen the character in Jedi robes. The design on the left gives him a vibe as a replacement for Qui-Gon Jinn, who apparently wouldn’t have been involved with this storyline at all.

Jedi Asajj Ventress

One of the Nightsisters (or maybe it’s Lightsisters now) was also switched to the light side for this alternate take on Star Wars mythology. Her style mostly just includes light colors, but also the possibility for different hairstyles, one of which makes her look a bit like Shadows of the Empire villain Prince Xisor.

Jedi Darth Maul

Darth Maul gets a drastic makeover, too. He also looks considerably younger and nothing like Ray Park. I wonder if he was intended to be the young apprentice of Count Dooku, perhaps a stand-in for a lack of Anakin Skywalker As you can see, he’s missing his black facial tattoos, but still has the horns. The designs on the right feature different variations with his hair and horns, as well as one with white facial tattoos. His double bladed lightsaber has also been traded in for two separate lightsabers.

Evil Chewbacca

The Jedi and Sith aren’t the only ones to be swapped around. It looks like Chewbacca was made to be a villain, or at least a little more rough around the edges. Instead of being saved from slavery by Han Solo (whose place in this story isn’t clear), Chewie spent some time as a slave, as evidenced by his scars. But we’re not sure what that control collar is about. Is he being bossed around by the Empire? Or is there a dark version of Han Solo who forces him to do his bidding?

Non-Cyborg General Grievous

General Grievous has been given a different trajectory, too. He wouldn’t have been turned into a cyborg. Instead, he’s his normal self, almost looking like some kind of alien, refugee version of Boba Fett. The question is whether he’s working for the Empire or with the Jedi.

How Would Fans Have Reacted to This?

Even though this alternate timeline for the entire Star Wars saga is an intriguing premise, it seems a little too extreme of a departure for fans to be happy with it. But then again, putting it into video game form might make it a little easier to swallow. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind reading an entire treatment of how the six movie arc is completely changed with these character swaps. At the very least, it’s an interesting idea that could maybe one day be used in a comic. But since Lucasfilm now has all new Star Wars stories under the new canon umbrella at Disney, it’s very unlikely. Maybe someone else behind the scenes can release some more details to help flesh out what we learned from this concept art.

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