Obi-Wan Kenobi head writer Joby Harold explains the Star Wars series’ surprising choice to focus on Princess Leia and not Luke Skywalker.
The following article contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
Obi-Wan Kenobi head writer Joby Harold recently discussed the Star Wars show’s Luke/Leia narrative fake-out.
Harold explained the decision to focus on the young princess over her farmboy brother in an interview with IndieWire. “[Lucasfilm] hid the football on that and rightly so, that made it quite a fun thing to watch,” he said. “Leia was always a part of the conversation, I believe right from the beginning. What would be important enough to have Obi-Wan leave Luke? I couldn’t think of anything beyond her. I think that conversation had begun a long time ago, and rightly so because she and Luke have equal importance within the bigger conversation. Why not bring that conversation right up front into this show and challenge Obi-Wan with that reality? She’s important. She’s as important, so that makes it quite dramatic and interesting as a call to action.”
Harold also recently revealed Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s original plans for Darth Vader, confirming that the iconic villain was initially set to appear much earlier in the story. The scribe recalled how he was the one to insist that Vader’s introduction be delayed, on the grounds that it allowed the show to spend more time developing Obi-Wan’s character arc first. Harold added that this more patient approach made the Sith Lord’s debut at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2 more impactful than it otherwise would have been.
The head writer also spoke about the Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2 finale, in which the show’s titular Jedi Master discovers his former pupil survived their epic duel in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. “The great piece of storytelling you can use is getting [Obi-Wan actor] Ewan [McGregor] to play the moment of realization that that which haunts him is still alive,” Harald said. “And what does that mean for him? There were many avenues that I could take him down, all of which hopefully are good opportunities to tease out story as we continue.”
Harald also defended the revelation that Obi-Wan didn’t know Anakin was still alive, insisting that it fits within established Star Wars canon. He went on to say that this concept wasn’t in his original pitch and confirmed that he double-checked with Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo before including it in the script for Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes arriving Wednesdays.
Source: IndieWire