Could Qui Gon have had a good role in the original trilogy in any way? Seen as a force ghost/ voiceover, or simply mentioned? Who knows? How could he have contributed?
I assume this is a "if the PT were made first" hypothetical To which I'd say he would almost certainly have a role, probably physically manifesting even though current canon says that he can't
Voiceover definitely, like in ANH when Vader is in the trench and Luke blows up the death star, it would have been awesome if Qui-gon had come in and said, "Stay in that cockpit!"
Yeah if this was a "PT made first" kind of thing, then Qui-Gon might have a role. He was kind of different and more unconventional than the other Jedi so I do think that he would have disagreed with Yoda & Obi-Wan's belief that Luke should kill Vader. Maybe he'd signal to Luke that he should try to find a better way. Although having said that, I don't think Qui-Gon should actually appear, since it might detract from where the story would be at that time by bringing in a character that is only tangentially related to the current events. Instead, he might use some primitive ghostly techniques...like maybe there could be a minor subplot where strange things happen to Luke throughout the OT, causing Luke to think that he's being haunted; but it turns out that this is actually Qui-Gon trying to point him in the right direction & not listen to Obi-Wan/Yoda. This "revelation" might even be more of a subtle implication, rather than an overt reveal, so as to not detract from the "here and now", where the audiences' minds belong.
Luke hears a disembodied voice... "If you are looking for a warrior I can tell you I don't have a lightsaber, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a Master for fringers like you. If you let your feelings go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will train you." If you want, you might be able to see him in it already, in Yoda's teachings. Yoda attempts to focus Luke on the here and now, which Qui-Gon called the Living Force in TPM. So in a way, Yoda learned his own lesson from Qui-Gon and passed it on down to Luke. I don't mind the thought experiment but I dread the idea of a newer special edition that actually tries to insert more crap into films that are fine just as they are, tyvm! Well, almost. That whole Greedo shooting thing is still a glaring problem. As is Oo-ni-tang.
His role would obviously be explaining how he found Anakin and took him in, and then had Obi-wan promise to train him. The thing is he becomes more of a third wheel in that scenario. Unless in said scenario, he tries to talk to Vader and get him to turn back, but fails.
If George were still the man with the reigns, I wouldn't have been surprised if we saw a Qui-Gon ghost standing next to Hayden Christensen in yet another Special Edition edit. Either that or Qui-Gon appears next to Obi-Wan after Yoda's famous "There is Another" line to affirm this.
Lucas had decided that Qui-gon wasn't capable of manifesting himself physically which is why he didn't insert him into ROTJ and why in his writing ROTS, Qui-gon was not seen, but only heard. This was later backed up by TCW. Lucas had plenty of opportunity to add him in, if he wanted to, but didn't.
I always imagined Qui-Gon's spirit/consciousness being present at the Endor celebration in RotJ, standing behind Ani, Obi and Yoda.
This interaction tho The image is pretty cool imo, and it's VERY good art, props to whomever made it, but as aforementioned impossible, given TCW reveals Qui-Gon can't visibly manifest
I wouldn't mind 'hearing' Qui-Gon in the OT at somepoint, but honestly I can't think of an instance where it would fit well-and not feel shoehorned in.
I am more of a fan of the PT than of the OT, but I also feel there wasn't really a role for Qui-Gon to play in the OT and find those films to be fine the way they are. That said, if he were somehow involved, I would imagine he'd just be a disembodied voice, probably trying to appeal to Vader's good side.
I noticed an inconsistency. When Obi-Wan is describing to Luke what actually happened to Anakin/Vader in the scene on Dagobah right after Yoda's death, Obi-Wan mentions that it was he who took it upon himself to train and look after Anakin. But wouldn't it have also been fitting for Obi-Want to start out by saying a great Jedi master named Qui Gon Jin had initially discovered Anakin and introduced him to the Jedi Order, who was then mortally wounded later on, and it was only after that that Obi-Wan took it upon himself to train Anakin? I know TPM hadn't even been conceived when ROTJ was made, and I'm not implying they should have altered the dialogue or anything in the special editions. Just now with it all considered it kind of seems like Obi-Wan is taking credit for Qui Gon's role in Anakin's rise as a Jedi.
Obi-Wan's likely simplifying for Luke's benefit. Luke has no knowledge or relation to Qui-Gon, so Obi-Wan just skips to the meat of the matter. And Obi-Wan does take it upon himself to train Anakin, but only due to folksinging Qui-Gon's dying words.
I would agree with that if this conversation took place early on in Luke's training, which it already had. But by ROTJ (I wrote ESB in my previous post, edited now) Luke has practically finished his training and is almost a full fledged Jedi and has gone through quite a bit to get there. So at that point, just in terms of appreciating the deep history behind the Jedi and behind Anakin, it would have been appropriate for Obi-Wan to mention that it was a great Jedi master named Qui Gon who had initially brought Anakin into the fold when Anakin was young. It wouldn't have required any bit of explanation beyond that. And then Obi-Wan could go on to describe his own involvement with Anakin.
