Why Darth Vader Is In The New Obi-Wan TV Series

The iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader is returning in the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Hayden Christensen reprising his role as the bad guy alongside Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Deborah Chow explained why Lucasfilm wanted to bring back the famous foe and what it was like having him on set.

These quotes come in the backdrop of a report that said Darth Maul was originally intended to appear in the series and that Darth Vader was only added after Maul didn't work out. Lucasfilm has denied that Maul was ever in the mix. With that said, Chow explained that Lucasfilm wanted Vader because he's so intertwined with Obi-Wan from a character development standpoint.

"Honestly, for me the starting place was that I really wanted to do something that was character-based and character-driven, because that is the benefit of the limited series, is that you have more time to sort of tell a real character story. And so for me, the starting place of character is you just start and you look at who has been important to him in his life. And it's quite hard to avoid Anakin/Vader in that scenario, especially coming out of Revenge of the Sith," Chow said.

Chow went on to say that the Obi-Wan set was buzzing when Christensen was there, in part because of how fun it was to see the different generations of Star Wars media mix together in this way.

"It was a really interesting moment for me because you really started to see the different generations and how they connect to Star Wars and the franchise, where you have a generation that grew up with the prequels first and with Hayden," Chow said. "It's a totally different thing for them than a generation that grew up with the originals. And then there's younger generations with the new ones."

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy spoke about Vader's return as well, saying the creative team debated whether or not to have Vader return "for quite some time."

The Obi-Wan TV series releases May 25 on Disney+. The limited series also brings back Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars, while Grant Feely plays the young Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill recently gave his approval for Feely to play the role that he made famous in the original films.

Disney employees walked out this week in protest of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, while Hulu, Disney+, FX, ESPN, and Walt Disney World have released statements that denounce the bill.