Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+ Series)

[Silver Nemesis]

Hayden Christensen is returning as Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi-Wan series.

I'm not sure how this is going to work. Presumably he'll be playing Anakin or burnt Vader in the form of visions/flashbacks.

While I'm glad to hear Hayden's getting another shot at the role, do we really need an Obi-Wan TV series in the first place? Wasn't Obi-Wan's story already told in Episodes I-IV? Do we need to see him fighting Tusken Raiders and brooding over flashbacks to Mustafar? Do we need to see adolescent Luke throwing out fan service references to power convertors and Tosche Station as he bullseyes womp rats in his T-16?

This sounds slightly more interesting than most of the other Star Wars shows that are currently in production, but still just as superfluous.

[thecolorsblend]

The trend with Disney seems to either be a boring retread of the familiar (TFA) or else a borderline iconoclastic dismantling of the familiar (TLJ). Mandalorian notwithstanding, Disney has shown no ability to expand the canvas in an engaging way.

Ultimately, Lucas did. The prequels were controversial to some fans back in the day but, largely, people are more likely today to praise the prequels instead of criticize them.

If anyone is anticipating this show, more power to you, I say. But I don't really see a whole lot of story potential here based on established canon. Spielberg's coffee secretary is promising another showdown between Obi-Wan and Vader and I just don't see how that could work.

Then again, Disney isn't overly concerned with canon.

[BatmanFurst]

The trend with Disney seems to either be a boring retread of the familiar (TFA) or else a borderline iconoclastic dismantling of the familiar (TLJ). Mandalorian notwithstanding, Disney has shown no ability to expand the canvas in an engaging way.

Ultimately, Lucas did. The prequels were controversial to some fans back in the day but, largely, people are more likely today to praise the prequels instead of criticize them.

If anyone is anticipating this show, more power to you, I say. But I don't really see a whole lot of story potential here based on established canon. Spielberg's coffee secretary is promising another showdown between Obi-Wan and Vader and I just don't see how that could work.

Then again, Disney isn't overly concerned with canon.

Just started watching Mandalorian, it really is the best thing to come out of the new regime. The sequel trilogy is one of the biggest missed opportunities.

[Silver Nemesis]

If anyone is anticipating this show, more power to you, I say. But I don't really see a whole lot of story potential here based on established canon. Spielberg's coffee secretary is promising another showdown between Obi-Wan and Vader and I just don't see how that could work.

Then again, Disney isn't overly concerned with canon.

I was going to say that they won't show Vader and Obi-Wan fighting again, since any further duels between them would only detract from their two iconic (and meaningful) clashes in the films.

However:

Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy promised that the pair will have the "rematch of the century" while writer Deborah Chow said: "We will definitely see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader get into it again."

https://www.gamesradar.com/darth-vader-and-obi-wan-kenobi-will-rematch-in-the-disney-plus-series/

The "rematch of the century" already occurred. It was depicted in a movie called Star Wars released in 1977.

At least Hayden sounds pleased to be reprising his role:

"It was such an incredible journey playing Anakin Skywalker. Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren't on the greatest of terms when we last saw them... It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah Chow has in store for us all. I'm excited to work with Ewan again. It feels good to be back."

Unfortunately the same tired memes and personal attacks are resurfacing across social media. I was as guilty as anyone of mocking Christensen after Attack of the Clones came out, but I think it's time to give the guy a break. He and the rest of the Prequel Trilogy cast have been putting up with this stuff for the best part of two decades. I'm not keen on the idea of this Obi-Wan series, but I do like the idea of Hayden getting the chance to redeem himself.

The performances of his that I've seen include In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Life as a House (2001), Attack of the Clones (2002), Shattered Glass (2003), Revenge of the Sith (2005), Awake (2007), Jumper (2008) and Vanishing on 7th Street (2010). I've also seen some of his early TV roles in shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. I would never claim that he was a great actor, since he clearly does have limitations. But with the right script and the right director, he's very capable.

His worst performance by far was in Attack of the Clones, and sadly that has come to define his abilities in many people's eyes. His best performances were in Life as a House (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination), Shattered Glass and Awake. He's good in all three of those films, but if I had to recommend just one to showcase his talents it would be Shattered Glass. It's a fascinating true story about fake news and journalistic integrity, but what really brings it to life are the superb central performances by Christensen and Peter Sarsgaard.

Attack of the Clones was excruciating for all the wrong reasons, but Shattered Glass is excruciating because of how effectively it depicts the exposure and humiliation of its central subject. It's both satisfying and painful to watch, and it shows what Christensen is capable of when he has a decent script and director at his disposal.

As far as Hayden reprising his role as Vader goes, I say good luck to him.

I hope they'll use digital technology to make McGregor look more like Alec Guinness this time, and adapt his movements and fighting style to match those of old Ben in A New Hope.

Just started watching Mandalorian, it really is the best thing to come out of the new regime. The sequel trilogy is one of the biggest missed opportunities.

Everyone I've spoken to about The Mandalorian, both online and in real life, has told me it's brilliant. The people I've discussed it with in real life are all fans who utterly despise the Sequel Trilogy and hate what Disney is doing with the franchise, and yet they all loved The Mandalorian. Even Red Letter Media gave it a rave review. I know I should watch it, but a part of me just wants to sever all ties to modern Star Wars and move on. I'm terrified that if I watch it I'll like it, and then I'll have to start caring about the future of the franchise again.

I've heard numerous reports of there being some sort of creative civil war going on at Lucasfilm right now. On one side there's Kathleen Kennedy and her team of loyalists that includes people like Rian Johnson and Leslye Headland. Supposedly KK wanted to make the Force female by producing a TV series starring Brie Larson that would've revealed the Force originated from a woman. Thankfully George Lucas torpedoed the idea as it directly contradicted his own non-gendered version of the Force's origin dating back to OT lore.

And on the other side there's Jon Favreau and his team of rebels that includes George Lucas and Dave Filoni. They're the people responsible for The Mandalorian, and supposedly they've been having creative meetings behind KK's back, ignoring all of her requests and suggestions (it's been reported that she wanted the Mandalorian to be female, baby Yoda to be female, and the first episode to be directed by a woman, but Favreau totally disregarded all of these requests) and have been going over her head to deal directly with Bob Iger. If The Mandalorian is as good as everyone says it is, then maybe fans should just support Favreau, Lucas and Filoni in their projects while disregarding everything else.

In addition to the Kenobi series, Lucasfilm and Disney have announced several more upcoming Star Wars TV shows. Here's a quick rundown.

Firstly there's Rangers of the New Republic and a separate spin-off series focussing on Ahsoka Tano. These might actually be good since they're both being helmed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni rather than KK's crew. I've always liked Ahsoka. She's a character who originated on television anyway, so it's not like they're just milking a minor character from the main films by giving her a new show. It sounds like a live action sequel to the old Clone Wars series, which was the last Star Wars production I genuinely liked.

Equally promising is The Bad Batch, another spinoff from the Clone Wars animated series. This will also focus on new characters rather than major players from the movies, so I'm willing to give it a chance. Here's the first trailer.

Moving on to the bad.

There's a spinoff series about Lando Calrissian, imaginatively titled Lando, from Dear White People creator Justin Simien. I like Lando in context of the OT, but I didn't need to see more of him in Solo or The Rise of Skywalker, and I don't need to see more of him in this. So it's a hard pass for me.

An even harder pass is The Acolyte from Leslye Headland. If the reports are to be believed, then this one's meant to feature lots of feminism and identity politics.

Finally there's a new anime anthology series titled Visions and another animated series about droids.

Right now I'm done with Star Wars and I haven't watched anything SW related since The Rise of Skywalker. However, if – if – The Mandalorian can win me back, then I might give Rangers of the New Republic, Ahsoka and The Bad Batch a chance.

[Kamdan]

I too will admit that I have given a lot of grief towards Hayden Christensen and hope this new series will be redemption from past deeds. It was such a disappointment to hear all of this build up of Anakin supposedly being this great man whose turn to the Dark Side was a tragedy. Now I can interpret it as another falsehood Luke was told so that he wouldn't grow up with a tainted view of his father that he wish he knew. We all shared Luke's enthusiasm and idealism and it was crushing to see it not fulfilled.

Supposedly, Christensen was hired based on the input of Lucas' daughters. There was many capable actors that could have done the role more justice, but Lucas went for looks instead of talent for this casting call. Lucas also appeased his daughters by having 'NSYNC (without Bass or Timberlake) film a cameo as Jedi for the Geonosis battle, but it got cut out. As you can tell, these were detriments to the saga.

Christensen's performance suffered under Lucas' direction (namely a lack there of). The reason why the three core actors of the original trilogy were so good was because their own personalities suited their characters. Their performances could be trusted and that's a big reason Lucas wanted them. For whatever reason when it came to the prequels, that sensibility was lost. For Christensen, it appeared his instinct was to show emotions in a scene that was reminisce of a whining child not getting what he wanted. It's a shame that Jake Lloyd showed more maturity than he did in the role.

This is a great case of when the director needs to tell the actor to try another way to convey the emotional depth of the scene, but Lucas isn't that type. James Dean is constantly brought up as the comparison, but that doesn't automatically end the conversation. Dean was a good looking actor that strives with his naturalistic acting style but is it only immortalized because he died so young, due to his youthful ignorance.

The romantic angle played came off extremely creepy and was quite unconvincing at how they ended up together. Natalie Portman couldn't help the manner to make even her character shine through because she doesn't quite have that same attitude Carrie Fisher brought to Princess Leia. Reportedly, Lucas wanted to recast Mark Hamill in Return of the Jedi to more effectively get the maturity of Luke down. I seriously think this is something he should have done to Christensen in Revenge of the Sith.

I've thought a lot about what I've would have liked to have seen in this prequel trilogy and a lot of the divergence from what had been come up in Episode II. They really should have followed though on the premonition Anakin had as a child that he freed all of the slaves of Tatooine. This would have made him a young legend in the galaxy of a slave child turned champion of the oppressed. This would create unease amongst the Jedi Council (who should be like a real council who don't always agree to a problem brought forth). Is this prophesied Chosen One doing his will or is he overstepping the boundaries that they've set?

It is also established that Anakin's mother is now free and is now married to a moisture farmer on the same planet that oppressed her. Anakin wishes she would be closer to him while he goes though his Jedi training but she wants to remain on the only home she's ever known. When he begins to feel that she's suffering, Anakin believes that her husband is causing this abuse and he wants to immediately see them, despite protests from Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When he arrives, he learns that she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders and is upset that no effort is being made to find her. He takes the task on himself and she dies in his arms after finding her. It would be here, for the first time, we would see Anakin filled with furious vengeance upon his mother's kidnappers. With his hood drawn upon his face (resembling Obi-Wan when he scared the Raiders away from Luke) as he completely slaughters the Raiders.

When Anakin returns his mother's body to the homestead, his guilt over his actions make him believe that had he not freed the slaves, maybe she could still be alive and well since his oppressor wasn't as malicious as he now believes his step-father was. This instills the idea in Anakin's mindset that an Empire can be good as long as someone he trusts in deeply, like Palpatine, is in charge of it.

Thus, the stage is set for his eventual turn to the Dark Side.

[thecolorsblend]

There's a good argument that Lucas miscast Anakin all through the prequel trilogy. That The Beginning documentary from the Episode I DVD showed a very young Mark Hamill-lookalike who did great in his audition with Portman. Why Jake Lloyd got the nod instead of that kid astounds me to this day. I was never down on Lloyd. Far from it, I thought he did just fine. But the Hamill-lookalike kid was GREAT.

Same with teenage/twenty-something Anakin. Christensen does okay with the material. But esp back in the late 90's, Hollywood was full of blonde haired/blue eyed twenty something actors ranging from absolute unknowns to well known stars. Most of them would've done far better than Christensen, esp that early in his career. Pre-Vader Anakin is an incredible pain in the pain to cast, obviously. But it's hard to convince myself that Christensen was the best guy for the job, esp when most actors would've played the part for free if they could've.

For me, one minor tragedy of Episode III is that Christensen played Vader in the armor near the end of the film... and it just about looks like some tall skinny guy in a Vader suit. Dave Prowse (RIP) was a legit bodybuilder and his Vader was a sinister, imposing presence. I understand if Lucas and Prowse weren't on the best speaking terms when ROTS was shot but surely it wouldn't have been too hard to find some other big tall guy built like a brick sh** house who could wear the Vader armor for a day.

[Kamdan]

There's a good argument that Lucas miscast Anakin all through the prequel trilogy. That The Beginning documentary from the Episode I DVD showed a very young Mark Hamill-lookalike who did great in his audition with Portman. Why Jake Lloyd got the nod instead of that kid astounds me to this day. I was never down on Lloyd. Far from it, I thought he did just fine. But the Hamill-lookalike kid was GREAT.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Lucas in the past liked to cast actors that could handle the material without him giving much direction than "faster and more intense." Again, he must have liked Lloyd's look more and figured it would be a challenge to get a good performance out of him like Spielberg did with his child actors. But I'm sure he quickly learned that it's easier said than done.

For me, one minor tragedy of Episode III is that Christensen played Vader in the armor near the end of the film... and it just about looks like some tall skinny guy in a Vader suit. Dave Prowse (RIP) was a legit bodybuilder and his Vader was a sinister, imposing presence. I understand if Lucas and Prowse weren't on the best speaking terms when ROTS was shot but surely it wouldn't have been too hard to find some other big tall guy built like a brick sh** house who could wear the Vader armor for a day.

This is something that I commend Christensen for. If I had to do all of those trite dialogue scenes, I'd want something in return for it. I just wish he had been told to put his hands on his belt than to uncharacteristically fold his arms like he did at the end of Episode III.

[thecolorsblend]

There's a good argument that Lucas miscast Anakin all through the prequel trilogy. That The Beginning documentary from the Episode I DVD showed a very young Mark Hamill-lookalike who did great in his audition with Portman. Why Jake Lloyd got the nod instead of that kid astounds me to this day. I was never down on Lloyd. Far from it, I thought he did just fine. But the Hamill-lookalike kid was GREAT.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Lucas in the past liked to cast actors that could handle the material without him giving much direction than "faster and more intense." Again, he must have liked Lloyd's look more and figured it would be a challenge to get a good performance out of him like Spielberg did with his child actors. But I'm sure he quickly learned that it's easier said than done.

For me, one minor tragedy of Episode III is that Christensen played Vader in the armor near the end of the film... and it just about looks like some tall skinny guy in a Vader suit. Dave Prowse (RIP) was a legit bodybuilder and his Vader was a sinister, imposing presence. I understand if Lucas and Prowse weren't on the best speaking terms when ROTS was shot but surely it wouldn't have been too hard to find some other big tall guy built like a brick sh** house who could wear the Vader armor for a day.

This is something that I commend Christensen for. If I had to do all of those trite dialogue scenes, I'd want something in return for it. I just wish he had been told to put his hands on his belt than to uncharacteristically fold his arms like he did at the end of Episode III.

Strangely enough, I have no particular criticism of Christensen in ROTS. Anakin broods a lot in that movie. Lots of brooding going on. But AOTC required him to smile, emote, run game on Padme, laugh and do other stuff that apparently Christensen isn't very good at. It's weird since you'd think that stuff is any actor's stock-in-trade. If you can't do that, I have no idea how you think you'll make it work in that industry. Christensen's other films show him exhibiting similar weaknesses (Jumper, for example) so I'm not prepared to blame all of this on Lucas (aside from casting him as Anakin in the first place, that is).

If you were active in the fandom back in those days, you probably remember the rat race that casting Anakin was. I'm sure basically everybody in the entire business who even vaguely resembled Anakin's type got nominated on some fan website or another. Jonathan Jackson, Jesse Spencer, Jeff Garner, Jonathan Brandis, Josh Jackson and other probably tons of others with J's in their names. Paul Walker (who actually auditioned for the part) was one that I was always curious about. But honestly, any of those guys probably would've done better.

[Silver Nemesis]

I remember there being a bunch of new Vader posters when Episode III came out, and it was always easy to tell which images depicted Christensen in the suit rather than Prowse. This one, for example, is clearly Christensen. Note how baggy the trousers look on his legs and how ill-fitting the shoulder armour is.

Now compare that with the way Prowse filled out the suit in the Original Trilogy.

It's only recently that I've come to appreciate how Prowse's body language helped characterise Vader in the OT. I've seen several comments on articles reporting his death where fans have pointed out examples of how the actors (there were more than one) who portrayed Vader in Rogue One didn't quite match his way of moving. There are little details that you wouldn't notice at first, but when you look more closely you can tell it isn't Prowse in the suit. Note how the shoulder armour shifts awkwardly in the following gif, either because the suit didn't fit the actor properly or because the actor himself moved incorrectly. There's also too much motion at the hips. It looks too organic.

Compare that with this.

There's a particular pose Prowse would often adopt – with his shoulders back, neck straight, chest forward and his hands resting on his belt with his elbows projecting slightly out and forwards – that was derivative of the lat spread pose in bodybuilding. During walk-and-talk scenes he said he would utilise his height by taking long strides that would force the other actors to hurry and keep pace with him. The only time he doesn't do this is when he's walking alongside the Emperor and Luke in Return of the Jedi, and his measured pace in those scenes conveys Vader's respect for the person he's talking to. Subtle little touches like that helped characterise Vader in visual and physical terms. It wasn't just a case of sticking any old stuntman in a suit; it was a full physical performance.

We didn't really get to see enough of Vader in Revenge of the Sith to judge Christensen's body language. The scene where he first walks on his cyborg limbs was clearly meant to look awkward, so that's not much use for a comparison. There's a very fake looking CG shot of Vader from behind as he walks towards the Emperor. Then there's the shot of him folding his arms as they look out of the window. I like that one. I could buy that as the OT Vader.

Even though his chest and arms are clearly not as big as Prowse's.

The only other performer who I thought convincingly matched Prowse was his fight double, Bob Anderson. Anderson was a former Royal Marine and swordsman who represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games and had fenced against some of the world's top-tier duellists. He served as sword master on Barry Lyndon (1975), The Princess Bride (1987), The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and he doubled for Sean Connery in the Highlander movies. He also doubled for Prowse during the fight scenes in Episodes V and VI. At 6'1, Anderson was not as tall as Prowse and he certainly wasn't anywhere near as muscular, but through a combination of platform shoes, camera trickery and padding the filmmakers managed to make him look almost indistinguishable in the costume.

Anderson was fairly lean, but they did a better job padding his suit to make his appearance match Prowse's than they did with Christensen on Episode III.

Prowse performed the duel in Episode IV himself. As far as I'm aware every single shot of Vader in A New Hope is Prowse, and there are pictures that show him and Guinness rehearsing the fight.

His duelling style in that film is a basic and rather clunky form of Kendo. In fairness to Prowse, he was a weightlifter, not a martial artist, and he did the entire fight scene himself. I know it gets a lot of criticism these days, but I like the Death Star duel. It has a strong emotional dynamic, the choreography is serviceable, and Prowse and Guinness get the job done.

However there is an obvious progression from Vader's skills in Episode IV to what we see in Episode V. Now Anderson takes over the duelling, and Vader's Kendo clearly improves while being supplemented with elegant one-handed techniques derived from European fencing. He now moves with more speed, grace and precision and is more convincing as a master of the blade.

Prowse did all the fighting in Episode IV, and I think the duel in Episode VI was all Anderson. But the duel in Episode V is meant to be a mixture of the two and it's practically impossible to tell which shots are Prowse and which Anderson. Prowse claimed that he did a lot of the fighting himself in Empire, while other sources say it was all Anderson. I think Anderson certainly did most of it, but it really is difficult to tell. The bit at the top of the staircase is definitely Anderson. Prowse himself confirmed this and there's photographic evidence to back it up.

Also notice how they use low-angle shots throughout that sequence to make Vader look larger and conceal the platform shoes Anderson was wearing. However, there are also pictures that show Hamill rehearsing the fight with Prowse.

These might have been staged for promotional purposes, but I believe Prowse did do at least some of the Bespin duel scenes himself. I'd guess the bit where they're fighting next to the window might have been Prowse, as well as the bits where they're talking in between blade strokes. Certainly the whole "I am your father" conversation was performed by Prowse.

If anyone knows exactly which parts of the Bespin duel were Anderson and which Prowse, I'd be interested to know.

Getting back to the subject of Christensen, I thought he was really scrawny in Episode II (kind of like Hamill in Episode IV) and I hated that whole pretty boy James Dean take on the character. For someone of Lucas' generation, I guess James Dean was the epitome of a cool troubled youth, but it just didn't fit my vision of what Anakin should have been like. I preferred the way Anakin looked in Episode III, where he was paler and had facial scars, and it seemed as though Christensen had been hitting the gym to make himself look a bit tougher.

But at slightly over 6'0, he was still clearly nowhere near as big as Prowse. Based on recent pictures I've seen of him, Hayden is looking a lot thinner these days.

I can't see him playing the suited Vader again. Not unless he can massively bulk up or the wardrobe department can fashion a better padded suit like the one Bob Anderson wore. Otherwise my guess is they'll hire a wrestler or bodybuilder to play Vader and just have Christensen play Anakin when his mask is removed or during flashback scenes.

Strangely enough, I have no particular criticism of Christensen in ROTS. Anakin broods a lot in that movie. Lots of brooding going on. But AOTC required him to smile, emote, run game on Padme, laugh and do other stuff that apparently Christensen isn't very good at. It's weird since you'd think that stuff is any actor's stock-in-trade. If you can't do that, I have no idea how you think you'll make it work in that industry. Christensen's other films show him exhibiting similar weaknesses (Jumper, for example) so I'm not prepared to blame all of this on Lucas (aside from casting him as Anakin in the first place, that is).

I thought Christensen's acting was fine in Revenge of the Sith. Fans lump his performances in Episodes II and III together, but there is a difference in quality. Just like there's a difference between Hamill and Fisher's performances in Episodes IV and V. In Episode IV Hamill delivers almost every line of dialogue as a whine, and Fisher inexplicably slips into a British accent during a couple of scenes. These are points a more astute director might have offered the young actors guidance on, but alas they were stuck with Lucas' faster-and-more intense style of direction. We know from her other projects that Natalie Portman can act, but even she was terrible in the PT. Christensen's acting was certainly no worse than hers in Episode III. I'm not saying it was a great performance, but I found it perfectly adequate and a big improvement over his acting in Episode II.

[Silver Nemesis]

The concept art looks pretty, but this entire project still strikes me as redundant.