Star Was: What We Know About Darth Vader’s Role in ‘Kenobi’
Darth Vader is back for the upcoming series Kenobi. Here’s what we know about the role the Sith Lord has to play.
The bits and pieces that we’ve seen have us looking forward to Kenobi when it comes to the Disney+ streaming service. Inquisitors, a new planet, and a cameo from a young Luke Skywalker all have us on board for the new show. But it would be impossible to ignore the Sith Lord in the room. Darth Vader will officially have a role to play in Kenobi. Here’s what we know about his addition to the cast so far.
Hayden Christensen Is Back Bay-Bee
We’ve known that Hayden would be in Kenobi for months and months longer than we knew what role he would be filling. But honestly, there are only two possible ways to have him on the scene and it’s either as Darth Vader or flashbacks to Anakin Skywalker. Fifty percent of guesses were probably going to be right. Regardless, we’re looking forward to seeing Hayden back in the galaxy far far away. His take on Anakin was iconic and it’s only right that he gets to continue the journey as the Sith who’s origin story he helped tell.
It Won’t Be the Vader We Know (Yet)
Nooooooo!
We’ve seen Anakin turning into Vader and donning the suit for the first time, and we’ve seen full blown New-Hope Darth Vader, but we haven’t spent a lot of time with the Vader in-between. If you’re a fan of the animated shows, you’ve seen bits of Vader in Star Wars Rebels, but Kenobi will take place even before that. Series Director Deborah Chow explains,
“For us, it’s very similar [to Obi-Wan Kenobi] in the sense that he’s in between these two trilogies. So he isn’t the ‘New Hope’ Vader quite yet, you know what I mean? So we are with the character sort of in the middle of this period. It is still Vader obviously, but it’s a Vader that isn’t quite as fully formed as ‘A New Hope.’”
This won’t be a fully cooked Darth Vader just yet, in fact, the version we see may be a little closer to Anakin than the Darth Vader we know from the original trilogy. But what that looks like exactly, we don’t know. The comics and animated series’ may offer some hint, but I have a feeling Kenobi is going to surprise us at least a little.
He’ll Be A Powerful Presence In The Show
As you can imagine, even when it comes to things we know, we don’t know much. Hayden Christensen keep his lips pretty tight in interviews, claiming that he’s been “sworn to secrecy.” In this case, I imagine this is cute Disney speak for “I signed a non-disclosure agreement and don’t feel like experiencing the entire wrath of Mickey.” So what we’re left with is pretty limited.
Through all of this though, Christensen promises that “We’re going to see a very powerful Vader.” And perhaps more to the point, series writer Joby Harold said to Entertainment Weekly,
“His shadow is cast across so much of what we do. And the degree of his proximity to that shadow is something that we’ll discover. But he is very much a part of the show emotionally for Obi-Wan, and possibly beyond that as well”
Vader isn’t going to be a cameo in Kenobi, he’s going to be a presence. He may be the major antagonist, or the initiating factor to set the contents of the series into play. But We know for sure that Darth Vader has a major role to play in this series.
Kenobi will premiere streaming on Disney+ on May 25th.
What do you think Vader’s part in upcoming streaming series, Kenobi, will be? Who else do you want to see cameos from in this show? Are you excited to see Hayden Christensen back in the role? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With You, Adventurers!
