Stuart Beattie (born on August 4, 1971) is a filmmaker from Australia. He contributed as a writer to a planned Obi-Wan Kenobi trilogy, dedicating roughly a year and a half to crafting the screenplay for the initial movie. He is credited with the creation of the Inquisitor Reva character and gave a substantial part to clone trooper Cody. Following the disappointing box office results of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Beattie departed from the project, and Joby Harold adapted his screenplays into a six-episode television series. Despite his departure, Beattie received credit for the teleplay, story, and writing of four episodes of the series.
Stuart Beattie, when pitching his three Obi-Wan Kenobi narratives to Lucasfilm Ltd., outlined the character's progression from Obi-Wan to Ben through three distinct evolutions. The first story revolved around embracing the will of the Force, while the second explored Kenobi's acceptance of his own mortality. Ewan McGregor and Lucasfilm both supported the idea of a trilogy. In a subsequent meeting, Beattie highlighted his two primary concepts for the project, which involved Kenobi leaving Tatooine and confronting Darth Vader. He was informed that these ideas were not feasible. In response, he referenced the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, where Vader tells Luke Skywalker that Kenobi once believed there was still good in him. Beattie pointed out that this event was not depicted in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which persuaded them of his argument. He further emphasized the need for the audience to believe that Vader had extinguished Anakin Skywalker. This ultimately led to Beattie's hiring to write the script for the first of the three Kenobi films, a process that took approximately a year and a half. A key objective for the writer was to portray Kenobi's journey toward accepting Vader's destruction of Anakin Skywalker. Beattie portrayed Vader as consumed by obsession with Kenobi and driven by revenge. From the outset of Beattie's narrative, Emperor Palpatine repeatedly urged Vader to disregard Kenobi and concentrate on immediate concerns. The film was intended to open with Vader eliminating five Jedi, a scene designed to establish him as a formidable "Jedi killer." In one scene, Palpatine dispatched Vader to quell a rebel uprising, during which Vader struggled to suppress his thoughts of Kenobi. Vader asserted to Palpatine that Kenobi and Yoda posed the greatest threats, prompting Palpatine to reprimand Vader and remind him of his position.
Beattie envisioned a significant role for clone trooper Cody in the script, aiming to explore Cody's character development and his transformation from his portrayal in Revenge of the Sith to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The narrative would reveal that Cody had his inhibitor chip removed, enabling him to resist hunting Kenobi. Subsequently, Cody would become Kenobi's "secret buddy," with both characters grappling with profound guilt. Beattie's concept involved Kenobi entrusting Cody with the care of Luke Skywalker upon leaving Tatooine, a subplot intended for intermittent cutaways. Cody's character was conceived as a means of illustrating Kenobi's detachment from the Force, stemming from his imposition of his will on young Skywalker, akin to Superman's power loss in the 1980 film Superman II. Beattie depicted Cody as an engaging character tragically battling accelerated aging. The writer incorporated a humorous scene in which Kenobi and Cody visited the local sarlacc to dispose of deceased stormtroopers, only to find other locals arriving for the same purpose. Beattie sought to have Kenobi surrender to the will of the Force, leading to a resurgence of his powers in a pivotal moment reminiscent of Superman's power restoration in Superman II.
Beattie conceived the Inquisitor Reva to provide Kenobi with an adversary to defeat or rescue, given his inability to save Vader. He also desired the creative latitude afforded by introducing a new character. In developing Reva, Beattie considered having Vader leave her for dead during the Great Purge of the Jedi Temple, thereby setting her on the path to becoming an Inquisitor. This allowed the writer to craft a conflicted and blinded character consumed by hatred and rage. In the script, Reva was intended to be the sole Inquisitor. Beattie reasoned that it would be illogical for her to know Vader's true identity as Anakin Skywalker. Beattie excluded the Grand Inquisitor due to his later appearance in Star Wars Rebels, which precluded his death. The writer believed that the absence of character deaths would diminish the story's stakes. During the film, Kenobi would experience a vision of being on Mustafar, where he would be attacked by Luke Skywalker, portrayed by a de-aged Mark Hamill. Skywalker would nearly kill Kenobi, but the Jedi Master would break free from the vision and realize that projecting his guilt onto Skywalker would lead him to the dark side. Beattie expressed excitement about participating in the first Star Wars project to feature Skywalker's return. Beattie planned for Reva to be killed by Vader to end his obsession with Kenobi and because the writer felt that she could "only redeem so much."
Vader and Kenobi were to duel on a space station disintegrating within the atmosphere of a large planet. The narrative would culminate in Kenobi removing or slashing Vader's helmet, inflicting a scar. Vader would push Kenobi away, preventing him from finding Kenobi. Witnessing Skywalker's face would have convinced Kenobi that Vader had killed Skywalker. Beattie emphasized the importance of separating the two during the duel, believing that Kenobi would kill Vader if given the opportunity. By the story's conclusion, Vader would believe Kenobi to be dead, explaining why Vader ceased hunting Kenobi and justifying his surprise at discovering his master alive in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
Beattie was not asked to continue working on the rest of the trilogy due to his commitment to the first film. Following the underwhelming box office performance of the 2018 Star Wars Anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story, the decision was made to discontinue spin-off films. Consequently, Beattie left the project to pursue other endeavors. Writer Joby Harold then adapted Beattie's scripts into a six-episode Disney+ television series. Despite his departure, Beattie retained teleplay, story, and writing credits for four episodes of the series.