Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: Deborah Chow, disney plus, kenobi, lucasfilm, obi-wan, star wars

Obi-Wan Kenobi Director Deborah Chow on Expanding Star Wars Universe

With Disney+ and Lucasfilm debuting the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, series director & EP Deborah Chow (The Mandolorian, Better Call Saul) shared some of the secrets behind the production. Starring Ewan McGregor as the titular Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader, the "Star Wars" series is set ten years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Kenobi (McGregor) faced his greatest defeat: the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) turned evil Sith Lord, Darth Vader.  Chow, no stranger to the galaxy far, far away, told journalists she was excited at the idea of Obi-Wan Kenobi filming as a limited series with the opportunity to tell a bigger story and get into the character. "I was the most excited about doing a character-driven story and really kind of having the opportunity to get more depth and have more time to really get to know the character," with the Canadian filmmaker later adding, "It's a different tone, but something like 'Joker' or 'Logan' where you take one character out of a big franchise, you really have the time and you go a lot deeper with the character. That to me seemed really exciting to get to do in 'Star Wars.'"

The Mandolorian director also commented on Christensen returning to the "Star Wars" universe as Anikin/ Darth Vader, and what it meant to have Kenobi and Skywalker together again. "We were developing the material and really looking at the character of Obi-Wan and looking (at) what was important in his life. What are the relationships that were meaningful?  Obviously, the history coming out of The Revenge of the Sith is so strong and it's so powerful that it really felt like there'd be so much weight coming into this story that was connected to Anakin/ Vader. I think it just felt natural that, obviously, it would be Hayden and we would continue this relationship in the series."

Chow continued, "One of the biggest challenges with this series is that we have these huge legacies, iconic characters and we're in between two trilogies (The Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope).  In large part, we're telling the second act of a story which is often challenging enough. The biggest thing we were looking for is to respect the canon and respect what's been done, but we also needed to have an original story and, have an original vision for it. At the same time, it was very exciting that we were bringing back two of these huge iconic characters and telling a new story with them."

Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered its first two episodes on Friday, May 27, on Disney +. In addition to McGregor & Christensen, the series stars Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Maya Erskine, and Grant Feely. Legendary composer and "Star Wars" franchise Hall-of-Famer John Williams is set to compose the theme for the series.

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