One thing many Star Wars fans have wondered in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series is whether we’ll see the Jedi Master actually learn that Darth Vader is still alive.
Some might think it’s obvious that Kenobi knows this, but remember that the last time he saw Anakin Skywalker he left him for dead, limbless and burning on the shores of Mustafar. It would be quite emotional if in this series, set ten years after those fateful events, Kenobi learned that his former apprentice actually survived.
And we now have confirmation that we will see that on-screen, which is really exciting.
“[Obi-Wan] believes he killed [Anakin] at the end of Revenge of the Sith,” showrunner Deborah Chow said in an interview with io9. “I think that’s something that’s sometimes a little bit overlooked, but it’s quite significant. So for us, on the show, he doesn’t know [Anakin is alive] yet.”
It’s not exactly surprising that word would spread slowly to the deserts of Tatooine, where Kenobi has been hiding out for a decade, so word of Darth Vader’s terrifying exploits wouldn’t have reached him. And presumably Kenobi can’t sense Anakin’s presence because, well, Anakin IS dead, from a certain point of view. “Anakin Skywalker was weak,” Vader says to Ahsoka Tano in Rebels, which takes place years after this series. “I destroyed him.”
So at some point in this series, we’ll actually get to see Obi-Wan’s reaction to the shocking discovery that Vader is still out there. Perhaps that’s even the serious looking gaze that we see him make at the end of the second trailer. I’m sure this will be an incredibly emotional moment, and I can’t wait to see Ewan McGregor bring it to life.
This statement from Deborah Chow makes abundantly clear what was seemingly hinted at by Lucasfilm President Kathy Kennedy in the Vanity Fair interview that was recently published.
“I think what Deborah’s done really effectively is she’s explored the interior life of Obi-Wan, because we find Obi-Wan at a point when he thinks he’s killed Anakin,” Kennedy said. “He is at a pretty low point when we find him. He’s questioning who he is. I think she does a really great job of having him find that humanity again.… There’s so much I can’t tell you!”
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