Obi-Wan Kenobi Writer on Using Padmé and Darth Vader To Build Obi-Wan’s Character Arc

In a new interview with Nerdist, Obi-Wan Kenobi head writer Joby Harold went on to explain how the team behind the series used Padmé to build Obi-Wan's arc in the show. He also dove deep into the reasoning behind bringing Darth Vader into the series, and how that helped bridge Revenge of the Sith with A New Hope for both Obi-Wan and Vader.



WARNING: This story contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi



Director Deborah Chow has always described the series as a character study, and Joby Harold confirmed that this was his approach while writing it:

One of the big surprises the series managed to keep out of the promotional material was the fact that Leia is actually a big part of the story. Played by Vivien Lyra Blair, she is portrayed as the living incarnation of her mother, Padmé Amidala, and Obi-Wan realized that quickly after meeting her. As we saw in the prequels, Padmé is a big part of who Obi-Wan used to be, both because of his personal relationship with the Queen of Naboo, and of course because of her relationship with Anakin. For that reason, Leia was also a key character to bring into the series, as Joby Harold explained:

Harold and crew tried really hard for the Padmé nods to be relevant and not distracting from the story they were trying to tell. He said:

Leia also had to be included in the series as she was one of the few reasons Obi-Wan would even consider leaving Tatooine, even if it was for a small period of time. This also felt like a good way to contextualize some loose ends from the original trilogy, and reemphasize that Leia is actually as important as Luke is, even though the first three movies focused mainly on Mark Hamill's character:

As we saw in part III, it took a while for Obi-Wan to ignite his lightsaber. Harold explained that they really needed a good reason for this to happen:

Another key moment in Obi-Wan's life that Harold realized they could bring into the series is when he learns that Anakin not only alive, but has become Darth Vader. This is another great character moment that both the writers and the actor could play with to build a three-dimensional character in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Harold also revealed that they initially wanted to bring Vader in much earlier, but they realized they could have this moment in the series, and decided to slower the pace:

Harold also added that it was important for the team behind Obi-Wan Kenobi to also use this opportunity to bridge the gap between the Vader we saw at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and the Vader we first met in A New Hope. He wanted Obi-Wan Kenobi to be the connective tissue for both the main character and the main villain, and have Vader be a part of the story as much as Obi-Wan. He said:

We will get to see how this character study continues when the fourth episode airs next Wednesday on Disney Plus. For now, make sure to check out Fran's written review of Part III here and The Resistance Broadcast's complete discussion on the episode!



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