Up until last year, there were only two times that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader battled each other in the Star Wars timeline: on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, and then aboard the first Death Star in A New Hope. Then the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries arrived, and Disney+ subscribers got to see them lock lightsabers two more times in the ‘present day’ storyline. Additionally, “Part V” showed a flashback of Anakin and Obi-Wan sparring prior to Attack of the Clones, and Hayden Christensen recalled the sweet and unexpected his daughter had to watching his character and his former Jedi Master take each other on.
Outside of a vocal cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi marked Christensen’s first time reprising Anakin since Revenge of the Sith was released in 2005. The actor reflected on his return to a galaxy far, far away while chatting with fellow Star Wars actor Diego Luna, who appeared in Rogue One and currently leads the prequel series Andor, for Variety. After the former informed the latter that his eight-year-old daughter not only hasn’t seen him in the Darth Vader suit yet, she hasn’t even properly delved into the Star Wars franchise, he said this:
But it was really nice getting to do the Obi-Wan show and actually bring her to set. Not when I was in the Darth Vader outfit, but we did the flashback sequence and I got to play Anakin. She got to see me swing a lightsaber with Ewan. She was very concerned for my wellbeing. She was afraid that one of us were going to get hurt.
Since Hayden Christensen’s daughter hasn’t gone through the Star Wars movies in order, let alone seen any of the TV shows, needless to say she didn’t have the proper context for seeing him and Ewan McGregor act out a lightsaber practice session. Still, one can’t fault her for being concerned about her dad, because even if she’s old enough to realize that her dad is acting something out rather than actually fighting, there’s still the chance someone could get hurt. Kyber crystal-powered blades are VFX-creations, but those practical on-set lightsabers can still pack quite a wallop if something goes wrong while choreographing.
While Obi-Wan Kenobi’s flashback duel was just practice between the title character and Anakin Skywalker back when they still had the Master/Padawan dynamic, it did show how Anakin’s need to prove himself and be victorious blinds him. This portion of “Part V” also gave us a welcome glimpse back to a time when Anakin and Obi-Wan were still on good terms one another, which would change in just a few short years with the conclusion of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s main story took place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, and when Obi-Wan and Darth Vader finally crossed paths in the series, it’s clear the latter still held quite the grudge against the former for defeating him on Mustafar. While the fight in “Part III” nearly resulted in Obi-Wan’s death, their rematch in “Part VI” ended with him incapacitating and realizing that the man he once knew as his apprentice and friend was truly gone. We know how their story together ultimately ends, but it still remains to be seen if Obi-Wan Kenobi will remain a one-and-done affair, or if it could return for a second season someday. For his part, Ewan McGregor has said he’d be “happy” if he “could do one of these every now and again.”
We’ll soon see Hayden Christensen back in the Star Wars universe, as Anakin Skywalker is expected to appear in Ahsoka, which we now know will premiere August 23 on Disney+. As always, keep visiting CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
