Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Director Details Honoring Franchise’s Canon and Using Dave Filoni as Resource

With the release of every new Star Wars story, the franchise’s canon gets more complex and, at times, more complicated, which can make navigating the series’ overall timeline somewhat daunting, with Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow recently noting that even she can get overwhelmed by the canon, at which times she would consult with filmmaker Dave Filoni. The filmmaker also detailed the inherent challenges of making the series in the first place, given that it takes place right in between the prequel and original trilogies of Star Wars films, forcing the project the forge a new path without betraying what came before it. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27th.

“It was interesting. And I think for me having gone through The Mandalorian — and thank goodness I did — that was really my introduction to the responsibility to this universe and how to tell stories in this galaxy,” Chow recalled to Entertainment Weekly. “So, it was so helpful having gone through that already before taking this one on. But there really is a responsibility to it. You want to respect the canon, but you also want to have your voice in the canon, and you don’t want to just retread or do the same thing again.”

She continued, “So there were definitely people that were extremely helpful. Lucasfilm has a great team that helps support that. But I would say Dave Filoni was very pivotal for me, both in terms of The Mandalorian and in terms of the Star Wars of it all, as well as Jon Favreau. But Dave also was a touchstone, and remains a touchstone for me for this series. Anytime I have a question about canon, I go to him.”

Potentially adding more complications to the series is that, as opposed to Ewan McGregor merely channeling his former take on Kenobi, the amount of time that has passed puts this version of the character closer to Star Wars: A New Hope, when he was played by Alec Guinness.

“So we are right between the prequels and the original trilogy. And really, it’s a character story about Obi-Wan,” Chow expressed. “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.”

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi lands in theaters on May 27th.

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