Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader are two of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars saga, but there are some blanks in nearly two decades of their history that could soon be filled in. The newest live-action show set in that galaxy far, far away will feature both Obi-Wan and Vader ten years after their confrontation on Mustafar in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and still several years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope. Some elements of the characters’ stories are set in stone by those movies, and Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow opened up about connecting the two films with the limited series.
Deborah Chow spoke with CinemaBlend about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and talked about how much freedom and blank canvas there was in the Star Wars timeline for the show when some things for Obi-Wan and Vader are predetermined by the original trilogy. She said:
That was the trickiest thing. You know, we're trying to tell a story that's in between two trilogies, where everybody knows what happened before and after to these characters. So in large part, we're trying to tell the second act for these characters. I think we tried to approach it with just as much respect as we could to the canon and we definitely felt the responsibility of that. But at the same time, we really did need to tell an original story and tell a new story. I think one of the most exciting things was within that framework, coming from a character perspective, this is a different point. They're not the exact character that they were at the end of Revenge of the Sith or in A New Hope. So it was really interesting to explore that at this point.
There are some stories that a Star Wars project set after Revenge of the Sith can’t do because of A New Hope canon, but there are plenty of chapters for the characters that haven’t been fully written just yet. Besides, what is Star Wars if not a saga that proves things can appear different when looked at from a certain point of view? Plot points can't contradict what happened in the movies, but there’s plenty of room for characterization. Ewan McGregor has already previewed why he thinks fans will find it satisfying.
Besides, projects like Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story proved that there are gaps in canon that can be filled with some truly excellent stories from the galaxy far, far away. In fact, Rebels is responsible for introducing the villains of Obi-Wan Kenobi on television, as all signs point toward the Inquisitors causing a lot of trouble for the Jedi in hiding. Going by “Ben” on Tatooine and switching from a lightsaber to a blaster (which Ewan McGregor and Deborah Chow both addressed) may not be enough for Obi-Wan to escape detection!
The good news is that the wait is over for fans to see the series that was first announced almost three years ago. The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are available streaming on Disney+ now, and new episodes will continue to release on Wednesdays. The Disney streamer is also the home of much more Star Wars content, ranging from the films to the animated series to the live-action shows.
The Lando Calrissian series may not be making much progress, according to Kathleen Kennedy, but another new series has been announced. There’s a lot to look forward to in the future of Star Wars, so stay tuned!
