Obi-Wan Kenobi Kicks Off With "Traumatic Moment," Always Included Darth Vader

Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series will kick-off with a "traumatic moment" for the Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan, according to producer Michelle Rejwan. Speaking in a new interview, Rejwan revealed that as Obi-Wan Kenobi's story begins, "[We find him in] a pretty traumatic moment, where he's lost so much, where he's been hiding, where his apprentice and brother, Anakin, has gone to the Dark Side, and he's been living with that for a decade. We're really finding him in a place where he's quite lost, and Ewan was a major part of that conversation."

In her further statement to SFX Magazine, Rejwan confirmed that having Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader return for Obi-Wan Kenobi was "always part of this story." 

As she explains, Vader is such a crucial element "Because he and Anakin Skywalker are such important characters to Obi-Wan, in the shadow of the events of Revenge Of The Sith.  He's living with how things were left with Anakin on Mustafar, leaving him to die in an incredibly tragic way, because he had no choice. He's been living with quite a bit of guilt and reflection over this period."

Those statements pretty much check all the boxes for the sort of story arc that Star Wars fans overwhelmingly want to see from Obi-Wan Kenobi's Disney+ series. The entire appeal of this story was getting the deeper moral and mental struggles that Obi-Wan went through while hidden out on Tatooine as "Ben Kenobi," watching and waiting for Luke Skywalker to come of age and offer the galaxy A New Hope. 

Yes, seeing Obi-Wan on the run from Jedi-hunting Inquisitors – possibly running into characters like Cal Kestis – is going to be awesome, but the real power of Obi-Wan will be nailing that emotional rumination about how the Jedi Master kept the faith in such dark times. In that thematic framework, the reunion between Obi-Wan and Vader is more than just a main event duel: it's going to be an emotional trauma for Obi-Wan, as much as it will be a test of skills and Force powers. As Rejwan states, Obi-Wan has lived with guilt over leaving Anakin to his "death" during Revenge of the Sith ten years before. How will he react when he finds out that Anakin has really become Vader? 

For our dollar, that scene will be the emotional pay dirt of the series. And hopefully, we'll get to see Vader actually unmask to face Obi-Wan, driving home the true horror of Anakin's Sith transformation. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi will premiere on Disney+ on May 26th.