The Clone Wars Retcon: A New Hope Scene

Introduction

George Lucas' Star Wars: The Clone Wars retconned one of the most important scenes in A New Hope. The Clone Wars is a great TV show that provided a host of new stories and characters, such as Anakin Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who have gone on to play key roles in the Star Wars universe. Its work fleshing out the Clone Wars and the relationship between Padm\u00e9 Amidala and Anakin arguably redeemed the prequels. Despite how good it is, it had its fair share of retcons, and one of these is far bigger than it may appear at first glance.

Princess Leia's Hologram in Star Wars

Bail Organa, while named, is not seen at all during the original trilogy. This is because he and his wife, Queen Breha Organa, were on Alderaan when it was destroyed by the Death Star. However, content set during the prequel and the Dark Times eras has fleshed out his character and shown that he played an extremely important role in the birth of the Rebel Alliance. As such, this content has made Bail Organa a popular character among fans. However, there is one Clone Wars detail that has retconned an important part of Bail Organa's initial original trilogy name-drop.

Bail Organa & R2-D2 in Rebels

Leia Says Obi-Wan Served Bail Organa During The Clone Wars. During her famous R2-D2 message in A New Hope, Leia states, 'General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire.' The fact that she calls him 'General Kenobi' and says that he served her father implies that Bail Organa was some kind of high-ranking military commander who commanded Obi-Wan during the war. However, Star Wars later proves that this isn't the case.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bail Organa, and Yoda in Revenge of the Sith

The Retcon

Obi-Wan never worked for Bail Organa. As a senator and member of Alderaan's royal family, Bail was not even in the Republic's army, and he certainly didn't command it. As such, Obi-Wan never actually served Bail. The closest that Obi-Wan came to serving Bail during the Clone Wars was when Obi-Wan and his clone unit saved Bail from a Separatist attack. This, however, doesn't count as Obi-Wan serving him, as it was no different from what Obi-Wan did daily during the Clone Wars - fighting the Separatist army and protecting senators and regular folk from their attacks.

Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa watches as Palpatine dons himself Emperor Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

Obi-Wan and Bail's interactions during the Clone Wars and beyond, while meaningful, were limited, and most were characterized by Bail helping Obi-Wan rather than the other way around. For example, at the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Bail helps Obi-Wan escape Order 66 and takes in Leia as his own daughter. Just as Obi-Wan helped Bail when he was being attacked by the Separatists, Bail returned the favor by helping protect Obi-Wan when he was being attacked by the clones. Neither of them served the other at any point during the Clone Wars.

Bail Organa in Revenge of the Sith.

After the Clone Wars, Bail did get more involved in military matters. As an influential figure in the formation of the resistance against the Empire, he worked heavily with the Rebel Alliance before his death on Alderaan. He gave the Rebel Alliance necessary supplies and gathered intel from inside the Imperial Senate that he used to give rebels like Ahsoka Tano missions. As such, it could be said that Ahsoka Tano served under Bail Organa. However, Obi-Wan was not involved in the Rebellion, as he instead focused on watching over Luke Skywalker.

Bail Organa on Tantive IV with the droids in Revenge of the Sith

Implications and Future Possibilities

While Obi-Wan's and Leia's adventures in Obi-Wan Kenobi may not solve this particular issue, they do at least explain why Leia cared for Obi-Wan in some capacity.

Bail and Beha Organa holding young Leia in Revenge of the Sith.

One way to explain the retcon is to show Obi-Wan going on a secret mission with Bail Organa in which Bail acts as his commander. If Star Wars wants to honor the integrity of this pivotal moment, it has to explain why Leia would say this. If such a mission were to take place, it would be interesting to see. Given Bail Organa's position as both a senator and a member of Alderaan's royal family, there is a lot of potential for him to be uniquely positioned to run a key mission against the Separatists. In The Clone Wars, Padm\u00e9 goes on a secret mission to meet with her Separatist friend Mina Bonteri to try to end the war. If Bail led a similar mission, he could enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi General could have served under him during it.

Bail Organa in The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is available to stream on Disney+.

Bail Organa In The Clone Wars