Rescue of Princess Leia

"This is some rescue!"

- Princess Leia

Following the battle on Tatooine, the Millennium Falcon made its way to Alderaan so Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2 could deliver stolen Death Star plans to the Alliance to Restore the Republic. En route to Alderaan, however, the Galactic Empire destroyed the planet. The Millennium Falcon was captured by the Death Star while in the remains of Alderaan, leading the ship's crew, Han Solo and Chewbacca, to hide with their passengers.

In order to escape, Solo and Skywalker posed as stormtroopers, allowing the group to make their way to a hiding place within the Death Star. After Kenobi left the group to shut down the station's tractor beam, R2-D2 discovered that Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, who had provided the droid with the Death Star plans, was onboard the station, being held within Cell 2187 of Detention Block AA-23. The group decided to rescue the princess and made their way to the detention center. They rescued Organa and fought their way throughout the station and back to the Millennium Falcon, while Kenobi successfully disabled the tractor beam.

Kenobi soon came face to face with Darth Vader, who had been his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, before falling to the dark side and becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith. The two faced off in one final lightsaber duel, their first encounter since their duel on Mustafar nineteen years prior. Kenobi sacrificed himself to give Skywalker and the others a chance to escape, and achieved eternal consciousness after his death. The Millennium Falcon was able to flee the station and was pursued by a group of TIE fighters, which the crew managed to destroy. The Empire was tracking the Falcon, however, and followed it to Yavin 4, leading to the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star.

Behind the scenes
Originally, Obi-Wan survived the duel against Darth Vader and fled aboard the Falcon. But the character had little to do for the rest of the movie, so director George Lucas decided he should be killed off. Actor Alec Guinness threatened to quit over the change, but Lucas convinced him that the change was better for the overall story.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * Star Wars: A New Hope Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * A New Hope Illustrated Novel
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part II
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 1