Media for Obi-Wan Kenobi

[Starfish35]

20 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

The exchange with Owen was very intriguing. So am I right in assuming that the Skywalkers didn’t know Anakin joined the dark side? Obi-Wan just told them he was killed in the Clone Wars like he told Luke later on?

I assumed that meant Owen was blaming Obi-Wan for Anakin’s Fall.   

[absnow54]

I'm curious about what Owen knows too. I think they did a poor job establishing Owen's ties to Anakin in the prequel trilogy, and they missed the opportunity to build a relationship during the Clone Wars cartoon. Owen met Anakin once, while he was grieving the death of his mother, so it's not like he lost a brother. A virtual stranger died, and he ended up being an uncle. So the question is, does Owen know he's protecting Luke from Vader? Or does he think he's protecting him against Order 66, since he's force sensitive, and therefore vulnerable to the crusade? In A New Hope, I don't think it was ever hinted that Owen knew Vader's true identity. The implication was that he didn't want Luke joining the Imperial Academy because he might be killed in battle like Anakin was, but now that the established canon is "Anakin was just some moody teen that showed up for 3 days, and then 3 years later you were left on my doorstep," I'm wondering if they're going to flesh out what Owen knows.

It certainly explains his animosity towards Obi Wan, since Owen was completely uninvolved with the Skywalker drama, and the Clone Wars until Obi Wan dragged him into it for no reason (of all the people Obi Wan met, and allies he made along the way, he could only think of Anakin's step brother he met for 5 minutes?)

[tv echo]

Obi-Wan Kenobi director explains why it's 'a very dark time to be a Jedi'
By Dalton Ross and Dalton Ross   May 10, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-director-deboarh-chow-interview/ 

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How would you describe the story that people are going to see unfold on the screen in these six episodes?
DEBORAH CHOW: The story for us, it takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. So we are right between the prequels and the original trilogy. And really, it's a character story about Obi-Wan. And, in large part, the story that we've been trying to tell is his journey of how he went from the end of Revenge of the Sith, with all the pain and the tragedy that happened in that ending, to become the calm and the peaceful Alec Guinness that walked into A New Hope. So we're trying to tell that moment of transition of how did he get from here to here.

How is the Obi-Wan we're going to be seeing here dealing with the pain of losing Anakin to the dark side and everything that followed that? What sort of state is he in?
At this point, both for him and for the galaxy, it's quite a dark period. And that actually made it really interesting to be telling a story in this period. It's a time when the Empire's ascending, it's post Order 66. So most of the Jedi have been killed. A lot of them are being hunted by the Inquisitors. So it's a very dark time to be a Jedi and most of them are hiding or dead. So for him at this point 10 years later, we're dealing with post Order 66 after Anakin, who he believes he killed, and then all his friends — everybody sort of gone or hiding. So it's a tough period for Obi-Wan.

What can you say about giving us our first live action look at the Inquisitors?
Obviously, they're from Rebels, and it was really exciting to get to do them for the first time in live action. They're established characters and whatnot, so we brought them into the show and it's largely because they were out there. They're Jedi hunters, so they're under Vader and Palpatine, and they're basically dark side wielders that their primary purpose is to hunt down Jedi.

Edited May 11, 2022 by tv echo

[Starfish35]

10 hours ago, tv echo said:

So for him at this point 10 years later, we're dealing with post Order 66 after Anakin, who he believes he killed

Oh now that’s very interesting.  So he doesn’t know that Anakin is Vader at this point.  

[raven]

Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Honors Alec Guinness

Now I'm going to be watching for the beard-stroking, heh.

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Alec did these little eye rolls," McGregor continued about how he learned to align the two versions of the character for the upcoming show. "'Oh, he's not dead. It's me.' Every now and again, I tried to throw in a little eye roll. And things like, he would play with his beard.

 

[tv echo]

Hayden Christensen: "'It's been so heartwarming for Star Wars fans to finally embrace me'
The Cutaway with William Mullally    May 14, 2022

Edited May 16, 2022 by tv echo

[absnow54]

On 5/11/2022 at 7:33 PM, Starfish35 said:

Oh now that’s very interesting.  So he doesn’t know that Anakin is Vader at this point.

Oh wow! I never thought of that angle, but that makes a lot of sense. Anakin was "knighted" Darth Vader before Mustafar, but I'm not sure that anyone knew. I'm not sure if R2-D2 even knew, even though he was still ride or dying with Anakin at that point. And while we immediately saw Vader as the Emperor's right hand man, there's no telling when he started receiving notoriety across the galaxy, especially since it seems like there are many Jedi hunters wielding red lightsabers around, so it wasn't a simple process of elimination on who Vader could be. 

[tv echo]

Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised
BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN    MAY 17, 2022
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/star-wars-cover-the-rebellion-will-be-televised 

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First up is Ewan McGregor’s return to his role as a weary Jedi master in exile. Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts May 27, tracking the character 10 years into his time on the desert world of Tatooine, where he serves as a distant guardian to young Luke Skywalker and is hunted by a dark side “Inquisitor” named Reva (played by The Queen’s Gambit’s Moses Ingram). ....
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Star Wars actors tend to become Star Wars actors for life. In the late ’90s, this led McGregor to agonize over playing the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel movies. “I really questioned it a lot,” he says. “I felt like I was part of this new wave of British cinema, really, and that Star Wars wasn’t me, that’s not what I stood for. I was this sort of urban, grungy, independent film actor.” The late Sir Alec Guinness notoriously looked down on the space saga when he played the wise old man in the original films. McGregor says he did too, especially after his first installment, 1999’s The Phantom Menace, suffered punishing reviews: “It was hard because it was such a huge decision to do them, such a big event. It was quite difficult for all of us to deal with that, also knowing you’ve got a couple more to do.”

McGregor was relieved to put the franchise behind him. But in 2017, he was invited to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood for a marathon screening of every Star Wars film. “They asked me if I would want to introduce one, and I’ve never done anything like that, but suddenly, it just struck me that I really did want to,” McGregor recalls. Why had his feelings changed? “I don’t know,” he says, scratching a scruffy cheek. “I really do think it has to do with growing up.” He enjoyed seeing people in sleeping bags, pulling an all-nighter with his movies. Kids who’d grown up with the prequels weren’t as cynical as the critics. A few reviewers had even begun to reappraise them. People loved him as Obi-Wan, which made McGregor realize that he did too.

After the screening, McGregor started to get asked The Question nearly every time he gave an interview: Would he ever consider playing Obi-Wan Kenobi again? McGregor always answered in the affirmative, which is good politics but not a contractual obligation. The only time the question really mattered was when McGregor was asked by Lucasfilm’s then head of story Kiri Hart about four years ago. “She just said, ‘We just wanted to know if it’s true. You’ve said you’d do it again. We want to know if you mean it,’ ” McGregor recalls. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I do mean it. I would be happy to do it again.’ ”

Lucasfilm intended to make Obi-Wan Kenobi as a movie, to be directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Daldry. McGregor would be a producer this time, giving him more say over the story. “I just said, ‘I think that it should be a story about a broken man, a man who’s lost his faith,’ ” he says. “He always has a funny line to say or always seems to be calm and is a good warrior or soldier or whatever, but to see that man come apart, and see what gets him back together again—that’s where we started.”

When the Obi-Wan film later evolved into an Obi-Wan TV series as part of Lucasfilm’s new yearning for Disney+ content, Daldry departed and Deborah Chow, a director from The Mandalorian, came aboard with the goal to keep the series cinematic in scope. There remained one missing component. McGregor’s prequel costar, Hayden Christensen, had been Anakin Skywalker to his Obi-Wan, brothers-in-arms until their brutal battle on a lava flow in Revenge of the Sith. Still, in the early iterations of the Obi-Wan–in–exile story, Vader wasn’t included.
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It’s an ongoing conundrum at Lucasfilm: How much should they showcase legacy characters and how much should they keep them in reserve? Would introducing Vader to a story about Obi-Wan’s exile detract from their fateful meeting on the Death Star in 1977’s Star Wars, when Vader strikes down his old friend? Or could a previously unknown encounter actually enhance that moment? “We have these what-if conversations 24/7,” says Michelle Rejwan, an executive producer of Obi-Wan and one of the company’s lead development chiefs. “It’s fun to, in your head, peruse the Star Wars toy store. ‘Oh, we could have this character, or feature that ship.’ But at the end of the day, we really need to keep it pure about why.”

In the fall of 2019, Chow sat in Christensen’s living room, asking him to return as the most fearsome tyrant in the galaxy. Logs crackled in the fireplace. A cup of herb, lemon, and ginger tea steamed in Chow’s cup. Vader, she told Christensen, would add a new dimension that could ultimately reframe the way fans look at their classic duel in the original movie.

At the time of the meeting, it had been 14 years since Revenge of the Sith, and the actor assumed his galactic glory days were done. He was happy to be wrong. “This is a character that has come to define my life in so many ways,” he says. “I was originally hired to play a very specific portion of this person’s life. Most of my work was with Anakin. And now I get to come back and explore the character of Darth Vader.”

Technically, you don’t need Christensen for Vader—all you need is the mask, a hulking figure in the suit, and, if you’re lucky, James Earl Jones’s imperious voice. But you do need Christensen to show the audience the hotheaded but compassionate man who was lost when Anakin Skywalker became Vader. “A lot of my conversations with Deborah were about wanting to convey this feeling of strength, but also coupled with imprisonment,” Christensen says. “There is this power and vulnerability, and I think that’s an interesting space to explore.”

When Chow became the showrunner, she championed a rematch between Vader and Kenobi as the Lucasfilm brain trust mulled whether to go that route. Meanwhile, soundstages had been booked in England and then canceled as the story underwent more internal scrutiny, sparking fears from fans that the show itself might go away too. In March 2020, shortly before lockdown began, the decision was finalized: Vader would return.

Part of Chow’s successful perspective on “why” Vader and Kenobi should face each other again may surprise even the most ardent Star Wars fans, especially those who think of the two as harboring an epic contempt for one another. “For me, across the prequels, through the original trilogy, there’s a love-story dynamic with these two that goes through the whole thing,” Chow says. “I felt like it was quite hard to not [include] the person who left Kenobi in such anguish in the series.” What intrigued her was the idea that despite what Vader had become, Kenobi might still care deeply about him. “I don’t know how you could not,” she says. “I don’t think he ever will not care about him. What’s special about that relationship is that they loved each other.”

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Star Wars Forever: How Kathleen Kennedy Is Expanding the Galaxy
BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN    MAY 18, 2022
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/05/star-wars-kathleen-kennedy

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Obi-Wan Kenobi is about to premiere. Can you talk to me a little about Deborah Chow and where she’s taking the story?

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. 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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I’d heard that Obi-Wan was possibly one of the resolutions—that Rey could have been a descendant of his. I’ve heard this idea was carried along for a while, then it was put aside partly because Rian [Johnson] had a different approach, but also because Lucasfilm didn’t want to tie up Obi-Wan for a different story down the line. Is that about right?

The bigger issue is talking about Obi-Wan as a Master Jedi, and the issue of attachment and selflessness. In order for Obi-Wan to have a child, you are really, really impacting the rules around the Jedi. What does that mean? If that were explored—and certainly there were a lot of ideas being thrown around—but anything to do with Obi-Wan in that regard was pretty much off the table because it flies in the face of everything George created in the mythology. We’re not rigid about it. It’s certainly open for discussion all the time. But that’s a pretty significant tenet in the mythology of the Jedi that we’d be reluctant to mess with.

A Series of Firsts | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+
Star Wars   May 18, 2022

Edited May 19, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Stars & Director Preview the Show’s Dark and Edgy Tone
Meaghan Darwish    May 19, 2022
https://www.tvinsider.com/1045280/obi-wan-kenobi-ewan-mcgregor-moses-ingram-deborah-chow-story-tone/ 

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Sitting down for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Virtual Press Conference, Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, and director Deborah Chow got candid about what’s on the horizon for the beloved titular character, and some new additions like Ingram’s Inquisitor Reva and TV Insider was in attendance.

Described by Ingram as “dangerous” and “edgy,” she was immediately attracted to the project from the early scripts she received. But how is her character bringing that to the series? “I don’t even know if it’s just Reva,” Ingram, who made her breakthrough performance in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, tells TV Insider.
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“The cat and mouse of it all and so many moving parts in it and the places that we are and the people that are involved,” she says, add to the overall tone. “Even the text, it just felt very muddy in a way that I really enjoyed.”

Adding some context to what Ingram is teasing, Chow paints a more elaborate picture, explaining it “was quite interesting not only to start with Obi-Wan’s character… but also starting in a period in a timeline that’s quite dark. [It] actually gave us a very interesting starting place for the series.”

The show, set about 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, finds Obi-Wan on the run as he evades capture. Jedi are being hunted and Obi-Wan’s at the top of the list. “I think with the character of Kenobi, for me, he’s always felt like there’s so much warmth, there’s so much compassion, humor, that it is kind of a character of light and hope,” Chow notes. “It was interesting for us to try to keep the balance of that, of the darkness but also still maintaining the hope coming from the character.”

Just as there’s a dark side and a light side, McGregor agrees with Chow’s estimation, noting, “it all comes from Alec Guinness.” The actor explains that the performer who played Obi-Wan in the original trilogy “had this wit behind his eyes all the time. He had a twinkle, I think, in his eyes. That’s in the writing, but also… I always try and think of him and… hear him saying the lines.”

That’s part of what pleases McGregor about the series as he continues, “that’s why I think the writing was so, so good in this because right from the word go, all of his dialogue felt to me like it could have been Alec Guinness saying it and then I knew we were on the right path, at least with him. I think he’s got a wit to him.”

Edited May 20, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

"The U.K. talk show Lorraine, via Lord Tucker, shared an exclusive, extended clip of Obi-Wan and Owen Lars' confrontation from Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+." (source)...

ESCENA EXCLUSIVA OBI WAN KENOBI - Star Wars Obi Wan Kenobi
Lord Tucker   May 20, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi's Grand Inquisitor speaks!
By Dalton Ross   May 19, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-grand-inquisitor-rupert-friend-interview/ 

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Let's start broad and then dive in a little more specific, but what can you tell us about the Grand Inquisitor, especially for people that maybe aren't familiar with his history from the animated series?
Okay, so basically the Grand Inquisitor is the chief of the Inquisitors, and he reports directly to Darth Vader. He's a pretty powerful member of the dark side. And some people who aren't familiar with Star Wars may or may not know this, but he used to be a Jedi. He used to fight for the forces of good as a temple guard. And he also is one of the people who trained Jedi in fighting styles, so he knows all the things that they know about fighting, and that makes him a pretty fearsome opponent.
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Is his Jedi background something he's going to talk openly about using to hunt these Jedi down?
All will be revealed in a couple of weeks, but I can say it really helped me to have as my backstory this sense of awesome power and knowledge where he's effectively hunting the folks he once was. So he has all this insider information on them, and on the way that they might fight or evade capture, and that just brought an enormous kind of feeling of power beneath the performance.

Talk a little bit about his techniques. This guy's obviously very effective at what he does. How does he achieve his results?
Obviously, he's the master of the Force. But to me, it's that economy of power that demonstrates a truly powerful figure. As in, he's not running around like a headless chicken chasing after people left, right, and center. There are plenty of lower minions who can do that. He's the one who's trusting the Force, trusting his gut. And he honestly, like a kind of expert rat catcher, just really feels he can sniff out any Jedi hiding anywhere, anytime. So if I were a Jedi and I were being hunted by this guy, I'd be pretty afraid.
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What was it like working with Moses Ingram and Sung Kang on team Inquisitors?
Oh, it was great. What a fearsome trio. When you see them in that second trailer coming off their jump ship, you can just feel the whole of Tatooine kind of cowering. But I also loved how the three Inquisitors are so distinct. Their weapons are different from each other. Sung has that incredible kind of helmet thing. And then Moses brought such an original take to her character. So we were a happy, bad gang.

What is the Grand Inquisitor's relationship like with Darth Vader? In terms of, he's sort of the Grand Inquisitor and leading these Inquisitors, but if there's, like, the HR chart, you have Vader above him. So what's their relationship like?
Well, obviously with the rule of two, in the HR chart, you've got the Emperor first, then you've got Vader. And I'd say [The Grand Inquisitor] is right there, I wouldn't even say below. In his mind, he's on a par with Vader. He's not. Obviously, Vader would probably kill him. But I think it would be quite an interesting fight. Because you've got this idea of a fearsome guy, this Grand Inquisitor, who yes, reports to Vader. And I do think he respects the hierarchy and the order of command. But I think if there were ever a slip-up, he would be waiting in the wings.

We know the Grand Inquisitor is out there up until the time of Star Wars Rebels so has there been any talk about you potentially showing up elsewhere in the franchise beyond this series at some point? Is that something that's been discussed or you've thought about?
Well, it's a really good point because one of the things I'm loving about seeing the Star Wars universe unfold and expand is that crossover thing. It's seeing characters who are in a limited world, are crossing over into a movie or back into a game, even. And I think that the characters are so thoroughly created and so exciting to watch that the world lends itself to that sort of crossover.

So I would be completely open to it. I loved playing the part and would love to see what happened if he were to interact. Or, if you read his kind of timeline, there are some really fascinating things where he is turned into a hologram, and he decides to jump to his own death because he says that there's some things that are worse than death, referencing Vader's punishment. And obviously our period doesn't cover that. So if they decide to explore that, I would think that would be pretty thrilling.

Kumail Nanjiani shares first details of Obi-Wan Kenobi con-man character Haja
By Dalton Ross   May 20, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-kumail-nanjiani-haja-star-wars/ 

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So who is this mystery man Nanjiani will be playing?

"His name is Haja," says the actor. "And he's this guy who works on the streets of Daiyu, which is this new Star Wars location that we haven't seen before that's absolutely gorgeous. And he's the guy who's worked really hard to stay out of the bigger conflicts at play. He just kind of wants to be his own guy. Survival for him is all that matters."
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"He's this sort of con-man guy who cons people for money," explains Nanjiani. "That's what's important to him. And then he has a run-in with Obi-Wan and suddenly he sort of gets stuck in the bigger conflicts at play, which is the thing that he really tries to avoid. So he is this street-level con-man guy who then gets embroiled in stuff that's way too big for him. And he has to make a choice."
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So whatever happens to your character of Haja, whether you live or die by the end of the show, once a character is introduced in this franchise they do tend to pop up elsewhere. Even ones that have been killed off somehow manage to find their way back onscreen. So have you thought about that? Has there been any talk about potentially showing up beyond this series at some point?
It's all I've thought about. I don't know what that does, but yeah, I would love to play this character again. Not just because of Star Wars, but it's a really, really, really fun character to play. I've never gotten to play a character like this before. I think it's a type of character that we haven't exactly seen in Star Wars either — with a con man, you know?

He can talk people into stuff, so that's a really fun character to play. And I actually did a lot of research online on con men, and on magicians too. Because magicians, let's face it, they're kind of like a con man, right? They're tricking people. So I really looked up a lot of stuff about that to learn how to really play a character like this. And I love this character so much. It would be genuinely a dream come true to play him again. Can we get Kathleen Kennedy on here?

Edited May 21, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Director Deborah Chow Talks Disney+’s ‘Obi Wan Kenobi’
by Jami Philbrick    May 23, 2022
https://www.moviefone.com/2022/05/23/deborah-chow-talks-obi-wan-kenobi/

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MF: What can you tease fans about the journey that Obi-Wan will take throughout this series?
DC: I think one of the biggest questions that we were looking at when we were developing this series was how did Kenobi go from the end of ‘Revenge of the Sith,’ standing on the banks of Mustafar, screaming and thinking he killed Anakin, to the calm peace of Sir Alec Guinness in ‘A New Hope,’ and obviously, something did happen in the character’s arc. So really for us, that was largely why we felt we had a story to tell.
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MF: Finally, with a character as iconic as Darth Vader, as a director, how do you do something fresh and new with a character that we all grew up with?
DC: Well, I think one of the most interesting things for us was that this is Darth Vader, but this is a Darth Vader at a different point in his life. That's something that's very interesting because he's not the exact same character that he was in the prequels nor in the original trilogy. So, we're doing him in midlife when he's between these two trilogies. So, that was something that was really, really interesting to explore.

Ewan McGregor on ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi,’ How It Feels Like One Long Movie, and the Possibility of More Seasons
BY STEVE WEINTRAUB  MAY 23, 2022
https://collider.com/ewan-mcgregor-obi-wan-kenobi-interview-more-seasons/ 

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Oh, it was everywhere. It was one of those interviews where I was, oh, this went really well for both me and the possibility of you coming back. So, it's being billed as a six-episode limited series. And I'm asking this question of you as the executive producer. If it is a hit, people love it, is there a possibility for more? Or is it we're just going to do the six episodes?
MCGREGOR: Well, at the moment, we're just doing the six episodes. It was very much set up and made to be a limited series. So, that's how it stands at the moment. Listen, if it does very well and Disney are excited about the prospect of doing another one…I loved doing it. I loved working with Deborah Chow. I loved working with the new technology. And I thought our scripts were really good. And I feel like the experience of doing it with the crew who were so passionate about it. So many Star Wars fans in the crew of Star Wars projects nowadays that it makes the experience really exciting. So, I'd be totally up for doing more. But I can guarantee, at the moment, it's just a standalone thing.

Of the six episodes, do you have a favorite?
MCGREGOR: Yeah, I've got some favorite moments.

So, there's not one full episode. It's more like moments?
MCGREGOR: Yeah. They're really strong. I've seen them all, and I really like them all. I'm pretty blown away by Deborah Chow, to be honest. I knew she was great from The Mandalorian, but you imagine tackling, directing every episode of this and with the weight of the fandom on your shoulders. She's done an amazing job. Really an amazing job. And I can't pick one. The beautiful thing about it is that, because we have Deborah as our director for all of them, it just felt like we were shooting a movie. If we'd had different directors for each episode, then it would've felt more episodic. Because Deb's singular voice goes through them all, it did feel like just one long movie. And the episodes fall naturally within the story, but it is one driving narrative from start to finish. So therefore, there isn't really a favorite episode.

The Wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi
Disney Plus   May 23, 2022

Edited May 23, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

FYI: Ewan McGregor is one of the scheduled guests for Star Wars Celebration, May 26-29, 2022, in Anaheim, CA...
https://www.starwarscelebration.com/en-us/guests.html

Ewan McGregor Struggled to Relearn Obi-Wan Kenobi's Accent | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon    May 25, 2022

Ewan McGregor Responds to Obi-Wan Kenobi Fan Theories | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon    May 25, 2022

Hayden Christensen & Ewan McGregor Open Up On Returning To Star Wars In Obi-Wan Kenobi | MTV Movies
MTV UK     May 24, 2022

Ewan McGregor: "The Prequels were underrated" | Agree to Disagree | @LADbible TV
LADbible TV   May 24, 2022

Edited May 25, 2022 by tv echo

[paulvdb]

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Will Air A Few Hours Earlier On Disney+ Than Originally Planned

[katie9918]

Up now.

No spoilers, but a bit of it hit me in the unexpected feels. And the starting off point  for the actual action of the series is unexpected, at least to me.

[tv echo]

Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen Take The Stage At SWCA 2022 | Star Wars Celebration Live!
Star Wars    May 26, 2022

Deborah Chow Discusses Obi-Wan Kenobi and More at SWCA 2022 | Star Wars Celebration LIVE!
Star Wars    May 26, 2022

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Star Ewan McGregor Explains Why He Sounds So ‘Alec Guinness-y’ | Rotten Tomatoes TV
Rotten Tomatoes TV   May 26, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi TV Reviews: What Are Critics' First Reactions?
By Richard Nebens   May 27, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/obi-wan-kenobi-reviews-critics-first-reactions 

Edited May 30, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

This article also includes a video of the full interview...

The Obi-Wan Kenobi cast on telling a new chapter in the Star Wars saga
By Devan Coggan    May 27, 2022 
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-cast-interview-star-wars-celebration/ 

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"We're obviously in between two trilogies, where everybody knows what happened before and after," Chow explains. "That's been the biggest challenge, just trying to find the balance of telling a new story but respecting that legacy."
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"He's a more broken character than we've ever seen before," McGregor says of Obi-Wan Kenobi's exiled hero. "We see at the end of Revenge of the Sith, everything he's known and worked for and worked toward is destroyed. His Jedi order that he loves and believes in is torn apart. All his friends are either killed or gone into hiding, so he's very much alone and lost. Also, he's carrying this amazing guilt because he feels that he lost his brother to the dark side, and he should've been able to see that was going to happen and stop that from happening. So, he's not only grieving, but he's also feeling responsible for losing his brother. It's a much darker, more broken place than we've ever seen the character before, either with me or with Alec Guinness."
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"Obviously, when we did the prequels, my work was as Anakin, and I got to get my feet wet a little bit as Darth Vader," Christensen says. "But getting to come back and put a little bit more of my fingerprint on the character at this point in the timeline was just an incredible opportunity."

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi Has Cut Himself Off From The Force
IGN   May 27, 2022

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Inside the Rip-Roaring Fan Screening at Star Wars Celebration
BY SYDNEY ODMAN  MAY 27, 2022 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/obi-wan-kenobi-fan-screening-star-wars-celebration-1235155406/

[Cirien]

On 5/12/2022 at 12:33 AM, Starfish35 said:

Oh now that’s very interesting.  So he doesn’t know that Anakin is Vader at this point.  

I think he does. Didn't he watch the footage of Anakin being anointed Vader by Palatine in his chambers? And

Spoiler

in episode 2 he clearly recognised the name. I just think he assumes Anakin died on Mustafar 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Cirien

[tv echo]

'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' 'Andor' & 'Willow' Interviews | Star Wars Celebration 2022
CinemaBlend    May 27, 2022

Moses Ingram & Rupert Friend Take the Stage at SWCA 2022 | Star Wars Celebration LIVE!
Star Wars    May 28, 2022

Ewan McGregor's Daughter Has A Cameo In Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2
BY JEFF EWING  MAY 27, 2022
https://www.slashfilm.com/877523/ewan-mcgregors-daughter-has-a-cameo-in-obi-wan-kenobi-episode-2/ 

Quote

One of his earliest encounters is with a bright-pink-haired human named Tetha Grig, a friendly drug peddler who approaches the Jedi to ask if he wants some "spice." What's interesting is that said drug pusher is none other than Ewan McGregor's own real-life daughter, Esther Rose McGregor. The scene is a well-constructed little interlude that showcases the hopelessness of living in a hub for galactic human trafficking, but it also adds layers of irony for reasons we're about to explore.
*  *  *
In the scene, Obi-Wan is looking for a foothold in Daiyu to begin his search for young Leia. Tetha slides in and asks if he'd be interested in her supply of spice (she's got Kessel Pure, Glitterstim, and Felucian ... these "Star Wars" series are really building up our knowledge of galactic drugs). Obi-Wan replies, "How about some information? I'm looking for my daughter, she was taken, and she's on this planet." Tetha replies that if she's at Daiyu he's never going to see her again and "nobody leaves this place. I was someone's daughter once too." She gives him a free sample of her illicit wares that comes in handy in his Leia rescue, and he moves on to find new leads.

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by tv echo

[andromeda331]

16 hours ago, tv echo said:

'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' 'Andor' & 'Willow' Interviews | Star Wars Celebration 2022
CinemaBlend    May 27, 2022

Moses Ingram & Rupert Friend Take the Stage at SWCA 2022 | Star Wars Celebration LIVE!
Star Wars    May 28, 2022

Ewan McGregor's Daughter Has A Cameo In Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2
BY JEFF EWING  MAY 27, 2022
https://www.slashfilm.com/877523/ewan-mcgregors-daughter-has-a-cameo-in-obi-wan-kenobi-episode-2/ 

 

Oh, that's cool!

[tv echo]

All the Revelations from the Star Wars Celebration Convention — Including Info on New Series
By Scott Huver    May 29, 2022
https://people.com/tv/star-wars-celebration-convention-new-series/

Quote

Obi-Wan Kenobi

After a decidedly dramatic opening with a live choral performance of Williams' "Duel of the Fates" on Thursday, McGregor and Christensen joined panel host Yvette Nicole Brown onstage, with McGregor offering a cheery "Hello there!" — a catchphrase long associated with his character — to send fans into ecstatic cheers. 

On the eve of the debut of their new series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which reunites the duo 20 years after playing the titular Jedi Master and his fallen apprentice Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, McGregor and Christensen were joined by their series costars Moses Ingram and Rupert Friend, along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and series director Deborah Chow.

"In the last five or six years, we've started to feel all of your love for the prequels that we made," McGregor told the crowd, noting that the follow-up trilogy to filmmaker George Lucas' pop culture phenomenon was not nearly as critically hailed as the original when those films were released. "The truth is that's meant an enormous amount to us, and to me personally. It didn't feel that way necessarily when they came out at first, so to feel the warmth that you all have for them has made the whole experience just the most amazing thing."
*  *  *
"To pick up the lightsaber again, there's just nothing like it," said Christensen, otherwise mum on spoilers about the return of Vader, before McGregor invited the entire audience to return in the evening for a screening of the first two episodes of Kenobi alongside the cast and creators "before anybody else has seen it in the world."

Later that evening after the screening, the audience enthusiastically received the cast as they took the stage for a curtain call, with an especially warm reception for Jimmy Smits, reprising his prequels role as Bail Organa, the king of Alderaan, and a wild response for the Star Wars family's latest addition, nine-year-old Bird Box actress Vivien Lyra Blair, who plays the young Princess Leia.

[woodstock]

Sigh…this again

Criticize Moses Ingram’s acting all you want but some of the messages she has received have nothing to do with her acting and are vile.

[Spartan Girl]

23 minutes ago, woodstock said:

Sigh…this again

Criticize Moses Ingram’s acting all you want but some of the messages she has received have nothing to do with her acting and are vile.

I fucking hate the toxic Star Wars fandom.

[tv echo]

 
(source)

[Wynterwolf]

At least it looks like Disney is allowing some proactive statements, instead of pretending the racist attacks don't exist. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Wynterwolf

[andromeda331]

11 hours ago, woodstock said:

Sigh…this again

Criticize Moses Ingram’s acting all you want but some of the messages she has received have nothing to do with her acting and are vile.

Yes, criticizing her acting or the character she plays is fine. There's no excuse for those vile messages. That is such crap.

11 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I fucking hate the toxic Star Wars fandom.

So do I.

[readster]

20 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Yes, criticizing her acting or the character she plays is fine. There's no excuse for those vile messages. That is such crap.

So do I.

Star Trek is just as bad, but man times like this. I almost feel ashamed to be a Star Wars Fan. I just try to enjoy it. 

[tv echo]

Fight | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+
Star Wars   Jun 1, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi: James Earl Jones Confirmed as Voice of Darth Vader
By Matt Webb Mitovich and Keisha Hatchett / June 1 2022
https://tvline.com/2022/06/01/obi-wan-kenobi-james-earl-jones-voice-darth-vader/ 

Quote

The Force is especially strong with Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Darth Vader, now that franchise icon James Earl Jones is confirmed to be voicing the Sith Lord on the Disney+ series.

Jones made his Obi-Wan debut in this week’s third episode, uttering his first ominous words during a holo-conference with Reva the Inquisitor (played by Moses Ingram), who is hot on his longtime rival’s trail.
*  *  *
Jones’ involvement in the Disney+ series was not to be taken for granted, as his casting had not been announced up to or on last month’s Star Wars Celebration Day, he has only acted intermittently in recent years (most recently reprising his role as King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America), he is 91 years old, and both Matt Sloan and Scott Lawrence have been known to lend their pipes to Lord Vader in occasional Star Wars projects.

[voiceover]

Oh Disney.  Bite me.  You’re deflecting any criticism of your new series by pushing your star to give air to some trolls.  That’s what trolls need to survive: attention!  Most of the Lando- and Mace-and James Earl Jones-worshipping fan base couldn’t care less about the color of the actress playing Reva.  It’s the character she’s playing, what’s getting savaged — but not as much as the show itself.

See to your own wounds, you gutless corporate goons.  Explain away what happened to John Boyega on the posters in China.  Defend your lack of defense of Gina Carano, who had all that hate and all those death threats leveled against her.  Maybe listen to what diehard longtime ride-or-die fans want (hey, it worked for Sonic the Hedgehog), and pay a little respect?

Orrrr watch your stock price continue to plummet.  That’s fun too.

[tv echo]

Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets Review-Bombed on Rotten Tomatoes
By David Thompson   June 2, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/obi-wan-kenobi-review-bombed-rotten-tomatoes 

Quote

Last week, Obi-Wan Kenobi opened at a 71% audience score via Rotten Tomatoes. Those numbers have swiftly sank over the past week to a 57% following racism-centered controversy over Star Wars' official response to social media sent towards Moses Ingram. Meanwhile, the critic score for the series has maintained a fresh rating with little fluctuation, currently sitting at an 87% approval rating.

This is not the first time a Disney project has been subject to review-bombing. Moon Knight was met with negative 1-star reviews on IMDB due to the premiere's acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide. Eternals was hit by review bombs due to its inclusion of a gay kiss and LGBTQIA+ representation in the film.

Contains spoilers for the third episode that's now out...

Indira Varma reveals Tala was originally conceived as a love interest for Obi-Wan Kenobi
By Dalton Ross   June 02, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-indira-varma-love-interest/ 

Quote

There were a few incarnations of Obi-Wan Kenobi before becoming the final product that is now unfurling on screens on Disney+. Originally, the story was conceived as a standalone film in the same vein as Solo: A Star Wars Story, to be directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Hossein Amini. But after Disney+ was launched, the plan shifted in 2019 toward making a series for the new streaming platform, with Deborah Chow announced as the new director.

However, the production was shut down at the start of 2020 as a new writer, Joby Harold, was brought in to help overhaul the story. (Hello, Darth Vader!) While the inclusion of the Dark Lord of the Sith was the biggest change from the original vision, plenty of other alterations were made along the way as well, even extending to the character of Tala, introduced on this week's episode.

Played by Game of Thrones' Indira Varma, Tala was first shown in the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer as a very intense looking Imperial officer. PSYCH! Because we learned mere seconds into her actual introduction on the show that she was not an Imperial officer at all, but rather a double agent working undercover, and a contact of Kumail Nanjiani's conman, Haja Estree, whom Obi-Wan met on Daiyu.

Tala turned out to be a key character, as it was she at the end of the episode that saved Obi-Wan after the Jedi Master got his butt kicked — and dragged, and Force pushed, and burned — by his former apprentice. (Then again, she also got Leia captured, but you win some, you lose some.) As Varma tells EW, Tala also experienced a metamorphosis of sorts during the production process and at one point may have even been… Obi-Wan's girlfriend?!?

"There had already been different incarnations of the script and the story line," explains Varma. "And I think, originally, she was going to be a love interest."

While the thought of Obi-Wan settling down with a significant other after renouncing his Jedi ways (or at least burying them with his lightsaber in the sands of Tatooine) is certainly intriguing, Chow and Harold ultimately went in another direction. "They felt that it was maybe a bit clichéd where always the woman turns up and they fall in love or whatever," says Varma. "And it's more interesting that this is a woman with agency who is not just going to fall at the feet of Obi-Wan."

But just because Tala and Obi-Wan may not pull a Padmé and Anakin or Leia and Han, that doesn't mean the undercover code switcher doesn't feel a spark for the tormented Jedi. At least that is the way that Varma sees it in her portrayal. "I do think in my heart that she's in love with him," says the actress. "Because she's prepared to give up everything to further his quest and to help him out. So that's my little secret thing that's going on inside."

While producers mulled over different visions for the character, they also discussed various back stories for how Tala came to her current position as an Imperial infiltrator. "We talked about several different versions of what her back story could be," reveals Varma. "They would talk about maybe she'd lost a child in a war and that she had therefore become disillusioned. She'd become an Imperial officer because she thought they were going to do good. There were all these storylines that were being bandied around."

However, as Varma notes, "If not much of it's going to be seen on screen, there's a limit to how much you want to share what your inner life is."

[andromeda331]

2 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Contains spoilers for the third episode that's now out...

Indira Varma reveals Tala was originally conceived as a love interest for Obi-Wan Kenobi
By Dalton Ross   June 02, 2022
https://ew.com/tv/obi-wan-kenobi-indira-varma-love-interest/ 

Obi Wan already had a love interest who died. He doesn't need anymore. 

[Macbeth1966]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:37 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I fucking hate the toxic Star Wars fandom.

I do too.  It really puts me off.  It's not like Star Wars has been that successful story-wise this past decade.  To have a show that is really popular and as good as The Mandalorian, possibly better.  Is a great achievement.  They are not doing movies right now given how the movies have fared.

And then some of the fans then let their racist, misogynist hate go wild.  It just sucks and it's so heartbreaking to see.  

Well something uplifting.  I came here to see if the video of Ewan playing with puppies had been  posted.

The cuteness if off the chart.  💗

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, Macbeth1966 said:

Well something uplifting.  I came here to see if the video of Ewan playing with puppies had been  posted.

The cuteness if off the chart.  💗

He just gets cuter.

[katie9918]

I don’t buy the racist thing. James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams have been worshipped by the fandom for 40+ years. Samuel L. Jackson would be welcomed back with the flimsiest of hand-waves.

Moses Ingram’s character is a black woman, different in a major way from all of the above. But that doesn’t put her character above criticism. I’m enjoying what she’s brought to the table, but I have to admit that her seeming omniknowledge in Part 3 did annoy me and I hope Leia just gets away from Reva with no explanation in Part 4 with everything else that needs to be unpacked.

While I do appreciate that the toxicity needs to be addressed, I think Disney also shou d have addressed the vast majority of the fandom celebrating this series, including the constructive criticism that is unavoidable when talking about something that was so anticipated.

Focus on the positive and support Moses Ingram’s decision while giving as little air as possible to assholes who constitute a small minority and above all, stop calling out the majority for the actions of the minority! Stop giving social media and the trolls the power and it will die like it should!

[Macbeth1966]

17 hours ago, katie9918 said:

I don’t buy the racist thing. James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams have been worshipped by the fandom for 40+ years. Samuel L. Jackson would be welcomed back with the flimsiest of hand-waves.

Moses Ingram’s character is a black woman, different in a major way from all of the above. But that doesn’t put her character above criticism. I’m enjoying what she’s brought to the table, but I have to admit that her seeming omniknowledge in Part 3 did annoy me and I hope Leia just gets away from Reva with no explanation in Part 4 with everything else that needs to be unpacked.

While I do appreciate that the toxicity needs to be addressed, I think Disney also shou d have addressed the vast majority of the fandom celebrating this series, including the constructive criticism that is unavoidable when talking about something that was so anticipated.

Focus on the positive and support Moses Ingram’s decision while giving as little air as possible to assholes who constitute a small minority and above all, stop calling out the majority for the actions of the minority! Stop giving social media and the trolls the power and it will die like it should!

To be repeated - James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, and Samuel L. Jackson (all men) - were well established stars before this toxic form of social media took hold.

Do you know anything about bullying at all?  I have been bullied.  And upper management ignoring bullying basically encourages the bullying.  People in power, and Ewan being an executive-producer and star of the show is one, needed to address the issue.  People, in actual power, need to address the issue as they can not leave it to the victim to deal with it on her own.  By not saying anything at all - they are basically complicit.

[tv echo]

Star Wars TV Status Report: The Latest on Lando, Mando, Ahsoka and 5 Others
By Matt Webb Mitovich / June 5 2022
https://tvline.com/lists/every-star-wars-tv-series-release-date-casting-news/ 

Quote

OBI-WAN KENOBI
...
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: After spending a decade keeping a very low profile on Tatooine while covertly checking in on wee Luke Skywalker, the former Jedi master (played by the prequel trilogy’s Ewan McGregor) must risk exposure/execution in order to rescue a kidnapped, pint-sized Leia Organa (Waco‘s Vivien Lyra Blair).

WHEN IS IT SET?: Ten years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.

CONFIRMED CAST: McGregor, Blair, Hayden Christensen (as Darth Vader), Moses Ingram (Reva/Third Sister), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja), Indira Varma (Tala), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (TBD), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Simone Kessell (Breha Organa) and Benny Safdie (Nari)

NUMBER OF EPISODES: 6

PREMIERE DATE: May 27, 2022

COULD THERE BE A SEASON 2?: Nothing has been officially announced. McGregor has repeatedly said he is open to it, while chief creatives as well as Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy have said there would need to be a compelling reason/story.

John Williams - Obi-Wan (From "Obi-Wan Kenobi"/Official Audio)
DisneyMusicVEVO    May 27, 2022

(source)

Edited June 8, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

You may wish to read the entire interview...

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Writer Joby Harold Relieved Leia Was Kept Secret
BY BRIAN DAVIDS    JUNE 7, 2022 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/obi-wan-kenobi-leia-disney-1235160356/ 

Quote

Leia is the Grogu-type surprise of this series, and Vivien Lyra Blair is dazzling in the role. Was Leia already involved to this degree when you joined the series?
To this degree, I can’t remember. The notion of Leia on the board was always the most interesting way of getting Obi-Wan out of hiding. If you think about it, there’s nothing else that could bring him out. He’s not going to leave Luke for anybody except Leia. Why else would he abandon that post? The notion of him looking over Luke and not looking over Leia was always a question for everybody once you realize the importance of those two characters side by side. So we had that be a question we confronted head on. Bail [Jimmy Smits] says to Obi-Wan in the cave, “Why him and not her?” So she’s the only thing that I believe he would leave Luke for. There’s nothing else he would be called to do where he wouldn’t stay by Luke’s side. I’m so glad that we were able to keep it a surprise for as long as we were and that I no longer have to use her code name. It’s nice to be able to say Leia out loud. Leia.
*  *  *
When you invent the past, you also recontextualize the future. So how did you reconcile Obi-Wan and Leia’s relationship to each other in A New Hope?
It was very helpful to know where they were going because it answers the question of, “Why him?” So, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” feels less arbitrary as a choice and a decision now that we know the depth of the history they have together. The context within which Leia says that in A New Hope is now canon, and it’s clear. So it will be articulated as the show continues, but I liked the fact that it helped reinforce and better articulate a little piece of the jigsaw that is already in place. If you watch all of the Star Wars stories in a row right now, you’d be like, “Of course, she’s going to go to Obi-Wan.” She also ends up naming her son, Ben [Adam Driver]. So I liked the fact that he was a big component in her life, as much as he was in Luke’s life up until now. It felt right after everything that happened with Anakin and those two children that he would be there for both children, to the degree he now has been in canon.
*  *  *
Are you able to confirm that Reva (Moses Ingram) was one of the younglings in the series’ opening scene? 
I won’t speak to that, but I will say that Reva is a character that I find to be fascinating. Moses [Ingram] has done amazing things with her.
*  *  *
I’ve always believed that A New Hope was Vader and Obi-Wan’s first and only reunion since their fateful duel in Revenge of the Sith, but that’s no longer the case, obviously. Was there a line in A New Hope that you gave some wiggle room with regard to them having more encounters?
It was much the opposite. There was no line in A New Hope that said we couldn’t. One could argue that Obi-Wan’s “from a certain point of view” thing is obviously revisionist storytelling in regard to the original trilogy, or it’s another way of saying there are gray areas and things we don’t know. There’s nothing wrong with uncovering the past and its truths in storytelling, so it never felt wrong to me. There’s nothing that I feel like we’ve violated at all. If anything, we’ve informed those scenes so that some of the choices that we’ve taken for granted in the [original trilogy] actually make more sense now. If you came to the entire Star Wars storytelling world fresh and watched it all the way through from Episode I, this would feel like a natural link between those two trilogies.

I’ve got Top Gun on my mind currently, so Obi-Wan, in “Part I,” reminded me a lot of Maverick toward the end of Top Gun. They’re both detached and disengaged because of their roles in the deaths, or presumed deaths, of their fraternal figures, and they both struggled when called to arms again. So was there a lot of discussion on when Obi-Wan should get his mojo back? As we’ve seen elsewhere, some of the audience can grow frustrated if it takes too long for their beloved hero to pick up their sword again.
Yeah, I’m very aware of how potent the imagery can be in Star Wars, and slowing everything down so that that imagery can have as much weight as possible was the goal throughout, especially when it was going to help articulate his arc. So that’s why the lightsaber on his hip was the closing image of the first episode. When you see him unpack his lightsabers in the desert and you see his two lightsabers side by side, it’s a very potent image. That’s why he holds the lightsaber at the end of episode two and doesn’t use it. That’s why when he does use it, it means something, because he hasn’t used it in a long time. That’s also why he uses the Force for the first time in a long time when he saves Leia. All of those choices are very deliberate architecturally so that they’re hand in hand with the lead character as he’s arcing, rhythmically. You’re weaponizing the moment. It’s essential to take advantage of the amount of time we have from a character point of view to tell this  story. It’s a privilege to be able to tell it in six chapters, so slowing it down and embracing that opportunity was really important.

Edited June 8, 2022 by tv echo

[AnimeMania]

Previously used to promote The Book Of Boba Fett, the 3D Billboard has been turned towards the Obi-Wan Kenobi Series to menacing effect.

[tv echo]

Hunt | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+
Star Wars    Jun 9, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi Leaves Tatooine, Deborah Chow and Moses Ingram Talk Reva, and More!
Star Wars    Jun 9, 2022

[tv echo]

Cineplex, a Canadian movie theatre chain, is advertising a limited theatrical release for Obi Wan Kenobi on June 22...

https://www.cineplex.com/movie/obiwan-kenobi-entire-season-and-qa

Quote

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Entire Season and Q&A
June 22, 2022
...
LENGTH
5h 20min

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” begins 10 years after the dramatic events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. This event will feature a live Q&A.

Edited June 13, 2022 by tv echo

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, tv echo said:

Cineplex, a Canadian movie theatre chain, is advertising a limited theatrical release for Obi Wan Kenobi on June 22...

https://www.cineplex.com/movie/obiwan-kenobi-entire-season-and-qa

It would be fun to see it on the big screen.

[tv echo]

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Star Hayden Christensen Explores His Latest Darth Vader Incarnation and Talks Anakin’s (Much-Memed) Sand Feelings
BY RYAN PARKER   JUNE 13, 2022
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/obi-wan-kenobi-hayden-christensen-darth-vader-anakin-sand-feelings-1235162358/ 

Quote

Vader’s introduction at the end of “Part II” was perfect. What was going through his mind when he finally sensed Kenobi through the Force? 
There’s just so much history to that relationship. There is obviously a great bond that was broken, and I think Vader is still very much affected by that. That first shot in the bacta tank when you see Vader opening his eyes, the idea is that Obi-Wan is connecting with him and coming to his attention again.
*  *  *
In the series, 10 years have passed since Revenge, so what is your process for this iteration of the character? Do you still consider some vestiges from Anakin in him at this time that you wanted to make sure shined through? 
Yes, I always see Anakin as a throughline and an undercurrent to this character. Vader is trying his best to kill off that side of him, but there always has to be a little bit of Anakin in there. And that presents itself, and that’s a part of the fun. I’m always thinking about the Anakin aspect of this character.
*  *  *
I loved the Mapuzo fight because it reminded me of the duel in A New Hope. The confrontation was more about the meaning of the fight, rather than the battle itself. When your characters fought in Revenge, it was this eye-popping spectacle, but this was slow and deliberate. Can you expand on this from your mind’s eye? 
Well, I think that came as a shock to Vader to see how disconnected from the Force Obi-Wan is at this point. I think Vader wants Obi-Wan to be able to put up more of a fight. I don’t want to say too much [about what’s to come].
*  *  *
I’m curious if you looked back at the work in the prequels to prepare for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and is there a moment that you are particularly proud of?
I certainly went back and watched all the films again and studied Anakin as much as I could. There is just a lot going on with the character. He’s always sort of processing and trying to figure out what’s going on around him.

I don’t know that I have a scene that I was most proud of, but there’s a scene where Anakin goes back to Tatooine in Episode II [Attack of the Clones] and speaks to Watto. The script had the dialogue written in English and then, in parentheses, it said: “in Wattanese.” It wasn’t until the day before we started filming that I went to George, and I was like, “What should Wattanese sound like?” And he was like, “Well, you know, so long as it doesn’t sound like English or any other language that might sound familiar. You can just make it up.” (Laughs.) So, I was rushing the night before to try to figure out how to make up Wattanese, and every time I see that scene, I get a bit of a kick out of it.

Edited June 13, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Memory Lane | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+
Star Wars   Jun 15, 2022

The Cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi Talk Darth Vader, Obi-Wan's Daring Mission, and More!
Star Wars   Jun 16, 2022

[tv echo]

Is Obi-Wan Finale About to Give Added Oomph to a Return of the Jedi Reveal?
By Matt Webb Mitovich / June 19 2022
https://tvline.com/2022/06/19/will-obi-wan-finale-erase-leia-memory-luke-brother/ 

Quote

“General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars…” is not how a young woman who shared such an intense, post-Revenge of the Sith adventure with Obi-Wan would address the Jedi master. And though some fans have hand-waved it as Leia showing a certain decorum, or keeping their past exploits in confidence, Obi-Wan Kenobi writer/executive producer Joby Harold has indicated that the apparent hiccup in continuity will be addressed before the season is over, this Wednesday.

“We talked about it a lot,” Harold told EW.com, speaking about Leia’s New Hope hologram. “And we’re looking forward to the show airing in its entirety so that hopefully all questions are answered fully. So it’s tricky to field some of those questions mid-process. But yes, all I can say is we’re very cognizant of that, and of canon.”
*  *  *
Leia in that moment is caught a bit off guard, but then responds, “I know. Somehow… I’ve always known.”

Until this point, we assumed that Leia’s intuition about Luke was solely Force-based. But if Obi-Wan Kenobi with its finale reveals to pint-sized Leia that Tatooine’s Luke Skywalker is her brother, and then rubs that memory away, the ROTJ reveal and her response will be given a wonderful new weight, for those who tuned into the Disney+ series.

[tv echo]

'Star Wars’ Favorite Discusses Surprise Return for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
BY RYAN PARKER   JUNE 23, 2022 7
The Hollywood Reporter article link 

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[This story contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi.]

Spoiler

In the closing moments of the Star Wars miniseries, Neeson returned to the franchise for the first time since Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) as Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (in live-action form; he also voiced the character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars). It had been teased since the premiere episode that Qui-Gon might make an appearance, but there was never any guarantee. And given how much time has passed since Neeson last played the character, it was hard to determine his interest in donning his Jedi robes one more time.
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“I certainly didn’t want anyone else playing Qui-Gon Jinn, and I wanted to show my respect for George [Lucas] and that mythical world that he created,” Neeson told THR. “Plus, Ewan [McGregor] is a pal, and I loved working with him during The Phantom Menace 25 years ago.”

Edited June 24, 2022 by tv echo

[Llywela]

Everyone is calling it a 'surprise' that Liam Neeson made a cameo appearance as Qui Gonn in the finale. But it wasn't a surprise. We were told ages ago that he would be making an appearance in the show. I definitely knew well in advance and I wasn't even following the pre-season press all that closely.

[BetterButter]

[tv echo]

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Finale Audience 20% Higher Than ‘Book Of Boba Fett’; ‘Dr. Strange 2’ Ahead Of ‘Eternals’ In Disney+ Viewership
By Anthony D'Alessandro    June 27, 2022 
https://deadline.com/2022/06/obi-wan-kenobi-finale-doctor-strange-in-the-multiverse-of-madness-disney-viewership-1235052985/ 

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The season one finale of Disney+/Lucasfilm’s Obi-Wan Kenobi drew a five-day Wednesday through Sunday audience of 1.8 million U.S. households, which is 20% higher than the Wednesday through Sunday five-day pull for The Book of Boba Fett finale, which clocked 1.5M U.S. households.

The data comes from Samba TV, which measures streaming viewership in 3 million U.S. terrestrial TV households for those who’ve watched a show for at least five minutes.

Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s premiere dropped on the Friday of the four-day Memorial Day weekend in May, and during that time brought in 2.14M, besting the L+3D numbers of The Mandalorian Season 2 premiere (2.08M), The Book of Boba Fett premiere (1.5M), and Marvel’s Moon Knight (1.6M). Typically there’s a dip in viewership between the first episode of a Disney+/Marvel or Lucasfilm series and its finale — roughly a shed of 200,000 households. Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier had one of the best five-day viewership holds between its premiere and finale, going from 1.8M to 1.7M U.S. households, a 6% dip.

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Killed Off Reva In Original Script (Exclusive)
By Nathan Johnson   Jun 28, 2022
https://thedirect.com/article/obi-wan-kenobi-reva-killed-script-exclusive 

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In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Nathan Johnson, Obi-Wan Kenobi writer Stuart Beattie discussed the original plans for Reva's character arc in the draft for his Obi-Wan Kenobi film.

When asked if Reva was in the early drafts of the movie script, Beattie said "She was my creation... I created Reva all the way through." He continued by discussing Reva's view on the Jedi as villains and how the character originally had no knowledge of Anakin being Darth Vader:

"Yeah, except the only little difference in mine was she didn't know Darth Vader was Anakin. Cause I was like, 'How'd she know that?' All she saw was Anakin as Anakin because he hadn't changed in the suit yet, right? So Anakin killed her friends, put the scar on her, almost killed her, left her for dead, basically. So, in her mind, the Jedi Council were the biggest villains in the galaxy. She believed the lies that they were plotting a coup to overtake and get power and all that, but they were stopped by the Clones. So she believed that's why she's hunting Jedi, because she believed the Jedi are the worst, basically."

Beattie went on to talk about Reva's original fate, with the story ending with her dying at the hands of Vader in order to save Obi-Wan:

"Because I figured, 'How would she know that this thing in a mechanical suit that everyone calls Darth Vader is the guy who killed her, or tried to kill her?' So, it was Obi-Wan kind of letting her in on that secret and that revelation that makes her kind of go, 'Oh my god, I've been wrong this whole time.' And so she goes and basically saved Kenobi by sacrificing herself, telling Vader, 'I killed Kenobi.' And then Vader killed her, [with her] knowing that Vader would kill her. So, that kind of completed her arc. So just a little bit different that she was, yeah, absolutely, the Inquisitor hunting Kenobi all the way through and driven by her own personal demons."

Beattie also mentioned that while he thought the Third Sister had a vital role to play in the story, he "felt she had to die:"

"Yeah, killed by Vader at the end of it. Yeah, I wanted this story, I wanted her story to end. I wanted Reva to play her part in the Kenobi-Vader story, which was, essentially, at the end, she was the one that allowed Vader, basically told Vader to stop hunting Kenobi. You know, she ended the obsession Vader had with Kenobi. She claimed it was over, it's done. So that was, that was her role to play. And she'd done so many terrible things, I felt she had to die [laughs]. You can only redeem so much."
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Beattie continued by describing how exploring the fallout of Order 66 helped to inform Reva's character and "take her to a place of understanding:"

"And, of course, there are so many great characters from The Purge, the Great Purge of the Temple and everything, it just was like, 'Okay, let's see what she was doing at the Purge. What if she saw everything that went down? What if... Anakin/Vader killed her, left her for dead and sent her on this path? So all that kind of stuff just kind of made sense and allowed me to create a very confused, conflicted, blinded character filled with hate and rage and all the stuff that makes people want to be Sith and Sith Acolytes. And take her to a place of understanding. Understanding truth, understanding who Obi-Wan is, who Vader really is, and what her path is in the galaxy."
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"... We were always faced with the fact that Obi-Wan could never kill Darth Vader. So he needed to defeat someone. And so Reva was my attempt to give him someone to defeat or someone to save, because he's not going to save Darth. The Darth Vader storyline is going to end in a downer, so I wanted to save someone, and that's why I created Reva."

[ProudMary]

Oh, this makes me sad. Variety reports we could have had a trilogy of films on Obi-Wan Kenobi's life journey from ROTS to ANH, but poor box office for "Solo" put them off doing it. Awful decision. Did they not understand that fans WOULD have come to see Ewan McGregor as OWK as opposed to a relative unknown playing Han Solo? (I liked "Solo", but I'm in the minority.) Read here:     ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Film Trilogy Plan Got Derailed by Bad ‘Solo’ Box Office, Says ‘Devastated’ Screenwriter

[jennifer6973]

My nephew told me that.  I mean I lost a little bit of interest after episode 7, and the fact Disney made my favorite character in the OG EU null and void, but I would have gone and seen OWK at the theater.