Lightsaber battles are a vital component of Star Wars, and Hayden Christensen has given fans a tease of what can be expected from the duels in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The actor was asked directly if the fighting style of Darth Vader would be more similar to the fast-paced moves of the prequels or the slower pace of the original trilogy. "We're more in line with the prequels than we are with how the fights are in the original trilogy," Christensen told Total Film. "These characters have aged, but not that much yet."
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, the third and final movie in the prequel trilogy. Many fans praised the fight scenes of the prequels for their intense and complicated choreography. The action scenes included in the prequels were choreographed to show the expertise of experienced Jedi who had received years of training in lightsaber combat. In contrast, the lightsaber battles of the original trilogy were less complex and dynamic as they feature characters that were either older, such as Vader and Kenobi, or in the case of Luke Skywalker, hadn't received the same training in the lightsaber forms as the Jedi of the prequels.
Series writer Joby Harold discussed the importance of bridging the gap between the prequel trilogy and the original movies as it's not just the lightsaber battles that changed greatly between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The young Kenobi of the prequels was a far more emotional character than the calmer Jedi Master portrayed by Alec Guinness and Harold wanted to address this. "That was the story that I wanted to understand — what had happened to Obi-Wan between the guy that Ewan [McGregor] had brought to life and the guy that Sir Alec Guinness brought to life," Harold said.
As Obi-Wan Kenobi is only a six-episode series, the amount of story that can be told is limited. However, Ewan McGregor hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning as Obi-Wan in the future. "If we were to get an opportunity to do it again, I'd be totally up for that," McGregor said. When asked if there was a possibility for more Darth Vader beyond Obi-Wan Kenobi, Christensen hinted it was possible, but refused to say anything firm. "The extent of this journey, I think, remains to be seen," he replied. "But what a privilege to get to come back and do this, and to be a part of this project."
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27th.
Source: Total Film, via Naboo News