There's a lot to look forward to with the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming up. Despite the Star Wars series being a continuation of the much-maligned prequel trilogy, according to Hayden Christensen, it will still be incorporating some elements of the prequels beyond re-introducing characters that we last saw 17 years ago. Most notably, the action.
Fans are definitely looking forward to the return of Ewan McGregor and Christensen in their respected roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Recently, Christensen said that the action in the upcoming Star Wars series will be reminiscent of the prequel trilogy.
Even though this series will take place ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Christensen tolf that the time jump reflects that because not much time has passed since everything unfolded in the prequels, the characters will still be able to fight in the same capacity as they did back then. "We’re more in line with the prequels than we are with how the fights are in the original trilogy," Christensen said. "These characters have aged, but not that much yet.” Christensen then went on to praise the fun experience he had while working on the prequels back in the 2000s and how meaningful it was to play Anakin Skywalker again. “The experience of making the prequels was phenomenal. I mean, getting to work with George Lucas, and getting to play this character, I couldn’t have dreamed it up any better. I didn’t want it to end. It was a sad thing when it concluded. At the time, I thought that was that. I thought George had told his story, and my journey with the character was complete. After all of these years, to get to come back and to continue my journey is extremely meaningful to me.”
Given that back in the late 1970s, the action genre didn't have the proper special effects or stunts it would eventually have in the 2000s, it's a given that the action would be an improvement, so that should be expected in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. In fact, because action has gotten even better since the prequel trilogy came out, fans should expect it to be so much better now in 2022 than it was back in 2005. No matter what anyone thinks of the modern trilogy, the action in those movies was even better in those films.
All in all, better action is a standard request at this point given how long it's been since we last saw characters from the prequel trilogy. Nonetheless, it's good to see that Christensen appears happy to have played his most well-known character again and that the showrunners clearly cared about making the series as fun as possible action-wise. At this point, those running Star Wars have to show their fans that they're exploring every avenue to keep the material fresh.
They pretty much have to because where they're at right now as a franchise, Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the few properties Star Wars has left to excite fans. A good portion of the fanbase has ignored the spinoffs they've come out with after the new trilogy turned out to be an overall disappointment. Bringing back two of the series' most iconic characters will garner interest, but if they blow this, it's going to be tough for the Star Wars franchise to recover from it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will begin streaming on Disney Plus on May 22nd, 2022.
Source: Total Film (via Naboo News)