Obi-Wan Kenobi | The bridge between two trilogies

In Obi-Wan Kenobithe title character watches over a young Luke Skywalker while being haunted by memories of his friend turned enemy, Darth Vader. The Press spoke with the director of the series, the Canadian Deborah Chow.

Pascal LeBlanc
The Press

“This is a dark time for him,” Deborah Chow said in a virtual interview. We’re not used to seeing this character like this, so it was a good start for the show. »

Indeed, the Obi-Wan Kenobi we saw in the prequels of the 2000s was funny, mischievous, and generally optimistic in the face of danger. In a press conference, Ewan McGregor, who returns to the role in the series, mentions as inspiration the “spark in the eyes” of Alec Guinness, which gave birth to the role in the first Star Wars, in 1977.

But, following the events ofEpisode III—Revenge of the Sith, the spark flickers. The trilogy concludes with a duel between Obi-Wan and his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker, which leaves the latter dismembered and disfigured. He will be reborn in the armor of Darth Vader and bring the Empire’s reign of terror to the entire galaxy.

Between the time Anakin was left for dead and his first artificial breath, Obi-Wan was able to witness the tragic birth of his former friend’s twins. He inherited the task of protecting the boy by going to live in exile on the planet Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place about 10 years after this series of horrifying moments and just under 10 years before Princess Leia called for help.

“In developing the script, we wanted to show how Obi-Wan went from the pain and horror of Revenge of the Sith, as he shouts “You were my brother, Anakin,” to the calm and inner peace of Alec Guinness in A New Hope “, reveals Deborah Chow.

The Canadian director was also motivated by the possibility of a narrative led by a single character. “The tone is different, but the idea is similar to Joker or at Logan, since we take a character from a vast universe and we take the time to tell his story in depth. Moreover, she feels that “Obi-Wan is a particularly interesting character, because he is mythical and adored by so many people, but deep down, we know very little about him”.

An unsuspected love for anteepisodes

When it was released in 1999, Episode I – The Phantom Menace was torn down by critics and, above all, disappointed many Star Wars fans who had been waiting for a new film in the galaxy far, far away for more than 15 years. The next two chapters weren’t really convincing either.

However, as Ewan McGregor illustrated in a press conference, many children grew up watching these films. “I will never forget the first time I saw A New Hope and the love I had for the early Star Wars when I was younger, recalls the Scottish actor. Later, when the children of the pre-episode era grew up and started telling me that they liked these films, it did me a lot of good. It really helped me and that’s definitely one of the reasons we’re here today. »

Deborah Chow also realized how popular the prequels are, especially since the start of the show’s promotional cycle.

“An entire generation has grown up with these films and to feel the love they have for them is touching. The director, who obviously watched the prequels many times, considers Ewan McGregor’s performance to be one of the best aspects of this trilogy. “He’s such a warm character. Ewan gives it a great humanity, thanks among other things to his humor, ”underlines the one who shot two episodes of the first season of The Mandalorian.

The Inquisitors

Obi-Wan, Luke, Vader — Hayden Christensen also reprises his role — are all well known, but The Inquisitors, seen in the trailer, a little less so. Their leader, The Grand Inquisitor, was created in 2013 for the animated series The Clone Warsthen was the main antagonist in the first season of Rebels. He is played by Rubert Friend (The Young Victoria) in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He and the other members of his team master the Force and hunt down the last Jedi on behalf of Darth Vader.

“I was very happy to adapt these characters in live action, and more particularly that of Reva, who is played by Moses Ingram. She’s a young woman who works on the dark side of the Force and it’s interesting because there are few women on the dark side, especially in live action,” says Deborah Chow.

Moses Ingram admitted at a press conference that “it’s really fun to be mean”. The actress we saw in the series The Queen’s Gambit was also happy to be able to appropriate the character, right down to her hairstyle, in order to “allow children who want to dress up to have characters that look like them”.

The first two episodes will be broadcast on Disney+ on Friday, May 27 and the following ones, one per week, will be on Wednesdays, until June 22.