Was LEGO Star Wars’ Jedi Bob almost in a second set?

The now-legendary LEGO Star Wars minifigure Jedi Bob may have once been lined up to appear in another LEGO set – at least according to a classic instruction manual.

Despite being very firmly non-canon – he was essentially an invention of the LEGO Group’s in 7163 Republic Gunship – Jedi Bob has been sorely missed in the newly-announced 75309 Republic Gunship, to the point that Brick Fanatics has stepped in to offer building instructions for an updated version.

Originally dubbed ‘Bob’ by the fan community, the generic Jedi minifigure has now entered into Star Wars folklore, to the point that he even has his own Wookieepedia page. (The archive notes that Jedi Bob is strictly ‘Legends’ material, though, filing him among the rest of the excised Expanded Universe.)

It now appears the LEGO Group may have once had further (or perhaps alternative) plans for the galaxy’s jolliest Jedi, because an instruction manual for the original Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones wave (h/t Ashnflash) shows him fighting not alongside 7163 Republic Gunship, but the Clone Troopers in 4482 AT-TE.

What’s more, Bob’s wielding a blue lightsaber instead of the green weapon included in 2002’s 7163 Republic Gunship, suggesting this isn’t just a simple stitching together of existing sets and images. Could the LEGO Group have once intended to include Jedi Bob in two Geonosis-themed sets? Or was he originally planned for 4482 AT-TE, before being bumped up to the bigger Attack of the Clones model?

Either way, it’s proof that Jedi Bob’s legacy goes even further than most of us thought. And that’s even more reason to piece together a modern homage to him using our guide, then pop him on the stand for 75309 Republic Gunship (move over, Mace Windu) when it launches on August 1.

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