15 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About the Obi-Wan Kenobi Series

Obi-Wan Kenobi was the long-awaited return of Ewan McGregor to Star Wars. The limited series had a roller coaster ride of pre-production.

The series saw not only McGregor’s return but also Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. It blended the Prequels with the Original Trilogy, animated series, and video games. The emotional journey for the titular character was stunning, and despite the ups and downs, it was worth the wait. Here are 15 behind-the-scenes facts that you may not know about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

1 – Almost a Movie

Obi-Wan Kenobi was initially developed to be a film, following in the footsteps of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Stephen Daldry was set up to direct with scripts written by Hossein Amini. Ewan McGregor oversaw the project from the beginning as a producer.

2 – Move to The Small Screen

After Solo struggled at the box office, all plans for Star Wars spinoff films were scrapped. The Kenobi dream didn’t die, as there was still interest from fans, McGregor, and Lucasfilm.

In 2019, talks changed the Kenobi movie into a limited series with Joby Harold stepping in as head writer, though Amini still had his writing credits. Stuart Beattie developed some of the scripts with Hannah Friedman and Andrew Stanton finishing the show.

3 – The Showrunner

After impressing with her work on The Mandalorian, Deborah Chow was named the director for the Kenobi series. Her vision gave the show its shape to have a very defined beginning, middle, and end. That hasn’t stopped rumors of a second season in the future.

4 – The Child

The original scripts for Kenobi had the titular character protecting Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. When Chow showed the ideas to her bosses on The Mandalorian, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, they expressed concern over the similarities with their show with Din Djarin protecting Grogu. The series hit a stumbling block.

5 – Little Leia

It would be writer Joby Harold who came up with the idea of Kenobi meeting Leia, which would get the Jedi master off of Tatooine and offer a new dynamic with the other Skywalker twin. He also wanted to add more context to why Leia would reach out to Obi-Wan in A New Hope.

6 – Vader or Maul?

There was a heavy debate over the villain of the show. From the beginning, Chow wanted to have Darth Vader to be the main antagonist, but the higher-ups at Lucasfilm were unsure. Early scripts had Darth Maul with Ray Park cast to reprise his role from The Phantom Menace. Chow ended up scrapping Maul as she felt Filoni had already covered that story on Star Wars Rebels, and she shifted to focus on Vader.

7 – The Farm

Once it was decided to use Darth Vader, the crew took on a momentous task: Getting Hayden Christensen on the project with Ewan McGregor. It was a priority to have an emotional reunion between the two Prequel actors. Though, the scrutiny Christensen faced from fans and critics during the Prequels has been well documented.

Deborah Chow personally went to Christensen’s farm in Canada to pitch him the idea in person. In an interview with EW, Christensen said, “Deborah came up, and we spent the day chatting. She told me a little bit about the project and her vision for it, and I just thought that it sounded wonderful. I was very excited to come back.”

8 – The Inquisitorius

Vader wouldn’t be the only villain of the series. The Jedi-hunting Inquisitors were added, with Rupert Friend cast to play the Grand Inquisitor. The idea to include them was a suggestion from Dave Filoni.

Friend wanted to be loyal to Jason Isaacs' portrayal of the Grand Inquisitor, but Filoni and Chow advised him not to watch Star Wars Rebels so he could make the character his own.

9 – Reva

Bringing the Inquisitors into live-action was an exciting step with an opportunity to make a new character. The Third Sister, also known as Reva Sevander, was crafted to join the ranks of the few female villains in the franchise. Shakespearean trained from the Yale School of Drama, actor Moses Ingram was chosen to portray the role.

10 – Representation Matters

As Reva’s character went through the design phase, Chow and Ingram long discussed her hair. As there hadn’t been many characters of color in the franchise, Ingram wanted to keep her natural hair.

Ingram told EW, “I wanted kids to have their own hair at Halloween. And that's huge if you look at all the Black kids with kinky hair. When they want to be Elsa, they must put on a blond wig. [Now] there are so many kids that'll be able to wear their hair at Halloween. That's going to be really exciting.”

11 – Familiar Faces

With so many callbacks to the Original Trilogy and the Prequels, Obi-Wan Kenobi excited fans by bringing back some familiar faces to the franchise. Along with McGregor and Christensen, reprising their roles were Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars, Bonnie Piesse as Beru Lars, Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa, Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Temuera Morrison as a veteran clone, and Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn.

12 – Newcomers

Along with many fan-favorite characters returning, the series would introduce many new characters to Star Wars. These included Kumail Nanjiani as Haja Estree, Indira Varma as Tala Durith, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Kawlan Roken. Sung Kang took up the mantle of the Fifth Brother from Philip Anthony-Rodriguez in Star Wars Rebels.

13 – The Little Princess

By far, the most challenging task was casting Leia. The creators wanted someone who could portray the spirit of Carrie Fisher while still making the role their own. Vivien Lyra Blair impressed everyone, capturing the part of the young princess. It was a serendipitous moment, as Blair was a massive fan of the franchise, and she had learned to read from Star Wars books.

14 – The Theme

While he wouldn’t score the entire series, legendary composer John Williams did contribute to the series in a big way. He never got to write a theme for Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Original or Prequel Trilogy. Williams seized the opportunity to craft the character's theme music finally.

15 – History Maker

After her work on the Disney+ series Loki, it was announced that Natalie Holt would be the composer for Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was a milestone moment making her the first woman to compose for live-action Star Wars.