PT Bail Organa in Episode I

It's no secret that Bail Organa was originally set to appear in Episode I, as portrayed by actor Adrian Dunbar. Though the footage was deleted from the film, that character was changed to Bail Antilles, who was actually mentioned in the final film, and stated to be the same character in the EU. Was this a result of a script rewrite, or was it just EU trying to make it less confusing that there were two Bail Organas?

Also, has the footage of the original Bail ever been shown? I've only seen a few stills and behind the scenes shots.

 

I've only seen the stills of him. To be honest he would probably have been a better Bail than Jimmy "Where am I?" Smitts.

 

I think it was actually a retcon in terms of making Adrian Dunbar's character Bail Antilles for EU purposes - they were originally meant to be two separate characters in TPM. I might be wrong, though.

And yes, the deleted scene of Dunbar as Bail Organa in the Senate is in the Blu-Ray box set, but the effects aren't completed.

 

Probably. Panaka does mention the name Bail Antilles, therefore it wasn't an EU change.

 

According to the Wook:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bail_Antilles

So the official story is that he was changed to another character during production, despite originally being Bail Organa.

However, according to T-bone's SW universe, SW.com issued an earlier explanation:

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This actually makes more sense - Bail Organa was the viceroy of Alderaan, not necessarily Alderaan's representative in the Senate (much as Padme was the Queen of Naboo, while Palps was the Naboo Senator). He mightn't have been in a position to become Chancellor.

According to Dunbar himself, he was only ever referred to as Organa while he was actually playing the character - http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/theforgottenbail.html
I can't recall if the footage in the deleted scene on the Blu-Ray mentions his name.

I'm guessing Leeland Chee got confused as hell and contradicted himself.

Interestingly enough, Bail Organa's name was originally Bail Antilles to begin within earlier drafts, and was even mistakenly referred to as such in the Marvel adaptation of SW/ANH (I think reprints may have corrected the error).

 

It's obscure enough to be papered over pretty easily, and given that no evidence of 'Bail Organa' remains in TPM, doesn't affect continuity. At least Adrian Dunbar made his way into SW somehow.

 

No, but the name of the deleted scene is "Bail Organa of Alderaan".

 

Why didn't they have this actor appear in AOTC & ROTS?

 

Interesting

 

Thanks for the links, Darth_Nub. Though the point at which the character was changed to Antilles is still unclear. The article states that it was after shooting, but before the movie was finished. Though if that's the case, why bother re-assigning the character if the footage was already cut?

 

I'm finding it pretty confusing myself, particularly considering the contradictory 'official' explanations.

At a guess, I imagine the renaming was to remove Bail Organa from TPM altogether, in order to avoid any potential plot tangles once this important character was introduced properly in Episode II. He probably hadn't been completely developed - GL may have been considering making him a military leader, rather than a politician, and just wanted to leave his options open.
It also meant that there wouldn't be uncomfortable questions from us fanboys about why we didn't get to actually see this character we'd been aware of since the 1970s, and who we were expecting to be somwhat prominent in the PT.

It could also have been done in order to accommodate the possibility of including the scene in a future Special Edition.

It was just a smart way of immediately tying up a potential loose end (or plot hole). Which would lead me to believe that Bail Organa isn't meant to be present in TPM in any capacity, canon- or story-wise. (Now, anyway)

 

This is exactly why I keep the standard that only what actually makes it into the movie is of use

 

Found it.

It's a short clip, and he's never refered to by name. I guess George just wasn't ready to introduce the character. Though I wonder if he's still visible in other senate scenes.