It’s not controversial to say that “Star Wars” is a family-friendly franchise. It’s not very vulgar, the most shown in terms of physical intimacy is hugs and kisses, and there isn’t an amount of bloodshed that would have most parents covering their children’s eyes. Every so often, however, the series will toss in a death that’s pretty graphic — so graphic that the initial concept for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” death suddenly doesn’t seem so out of place for the “Star Wars” brand.

One of the most infamous examples is the demise of Count Dooku (Sir Christopher Lee) in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” After a duel with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), the Sith’s hands are chopped off by his Jedi adversary’s blade. Skywalker then uses his and Dooku’s lightsabers to decapitate the Separatist leader. Just a film before in “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison, who has an interesting vision for his “Star Wars” future) is also decapitated by Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson). Let’s not forget that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is torn apart layer by layer by his own deflected lightning before dying in “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.”

One can list brutal “Star Wars” deaths for ages, as the list truly goes on and on. All of that is to say that had Kenobi’s “A New Hope” death gone down in the film like the novelization described, it would’ve been absolutely gross, but merely a sign of things to come in the franchise’s future.