Here’s a bombshell for you: During today’s Disney Investor Day presentation, Lucasfilm presidentKathleen Kennedyannounced two key pieces of the puzzle regarding the forthcoming Disney+Obi-Wan Kenobispinoff series starringEwan McGregorreprising his role as the titular Jedi from the prequel trilogy. One: It will canonically take place 10 years afterStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. And two…Hayden Christensenis back as Darth Vader.
Whether you loved or hated him as Anakin Skywalker-turned-Darth Vader inAttack of the ClonesandRevenge of the Sith, there’s no denying that Christensen made an impact playing one of pop culture’s greatest, most tragic villains. And while I personally couldn’t help but find some of his acting choices wooden and some of the lines he had to sell pretty gnarly (“I hate sand, it’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere” is just a tough thing to say"), I’ve also loved Christensen in other films likeShattered Glass, and thought he rose to the occasion incredibly well in the darkly climactic moments ofRevenge of the Sith.
Placing this spinoff series directly after and in explicit dialogue with Kenobi and Christensen’s tete-a-tete inRevenge of the Sithimplies quite an interesting direction for the series, which has being shepherded by writerJoby Harold(Army of the Dead)afterthe original staffwas abruptly sent home by Kennedy due to unhappiness with the scripts. How will these two actors play off of each other after 10 years-in-universe and 15ish years-meta-universe of distance, of stewing, of regret? Will we finally get to see Christensen play Vader himself? Will the two come to blows again? Will there be a sense of reconciliation?
The Last Jedimight be my favorite recentStar Warsproperty because of its willingness to play with legacy, with destiny, and with rewriting new ones out of the bones of old ones. With this timeline and casting revelation, perhapsObi-Wan Kenobiis on a similar path.
Check out the official announcement aboutObi-Wan Kenobifrom the officialStar WarsTwitter account below.
