Darth Vader, the most iconic villain in the entire Star Wars universe, will return in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series on Disney Plus. And Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker, Disney announced. Yes, Obi-Wan, played by Ewan McGregor, will face off against his former Jedi apprentice in what Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy called "the rematch of the century."
Disney Plus is developing a number of Star Wars series. The Obi-Wan Kenobi show has been in the works for years by writer/director Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian. McGregor has been involved from the beginning, but Christensen's return is a big surprise.
Christensen was an unknown up-and-coming actor when George Lucas cast him in the "Star Wars" prequel film. After first playing Anakin Skywalker in "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," he transformed into Darth Vader in a brutal battle with Obi-Wan at the end of "Revenge of the Sith.
"Playing Anakin Skywalker has been quite a journey," Christensen said in a statement. Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren't on the best of terms when we last saw them: ...... It will be interesting to see what a great director like Deborah Chow has in store for us. I am excited to be working with Ewan again. It feels good to be back."
Not much else was revealed about the Obi-Wan Kenobi show at Disney Investor Day, but here's everything we know so far.
Disney Plus has not yet set a release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi; the six-episode limited series is scheduled to begin shooting in spring 2021.
The project has been in development for years. It was first announced at the 2019 D23 Expo. However, news broke that the show was in trouble; according to a January 2020 article in The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was not happy with the script and wanted to start over with a new writer.
These issues appear to have been resolved, as Obi-Wan Kenobi's show was a key part of the Disney Plus presentation to investors.
One can only speculate as to when the show will first air on streaming services. If filming begins this spring and the visual effects and post-production work takes as long as the Mandalorian, it is likely that the Obi-Wan Kenobi show will not debut until spring 2022 or later.
When the Obi-Wan Kenobi show was first announced in 2019, Disney also said Ewan McGregor would reprise his role as a middle-aged version of the iconic Jedi Master.
On December 10, Disney Plus revealed that Hayden Christensen will once again play Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader. He previously appeared as Anakin in the films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, as well as a voice cameo in 2019's Rise of Skywalker.
No other cast members for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series have been announced or even rumored.
As the above tweet indicates, the Obi-Wan Kenobi show will take place 10 years after "Revenge of the Sith."
In terms of the Star Wars timeline, the show falls about nine years before Episode IV: A New Hope and roughly before and after the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Is it possible that Darth Maul, played by Ray Park, will appear in the Obi-Wan series? It is possible - and I hope it will happen!
Speaking to Men's Journal in October 2019, McGregor revealed a bit about what to expect from the Kenobi show's storyline.
"It would be interesting to show him a character that we know, in a way - well, I think his arc will be pretty interesting, dealing with the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of Episode III," McGregor said. Said McGregor, "That's a tough thing to get over."
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