On the desolate world of Tatooine, former Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi spends his years watching after his charge, the young Luke Skywalker. Broken down and haunted by his failure as a Jedi Knight and his failings as a master to his former student and friend, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan has become distracted and complacent to his mission and responsibilities.

After helping the militia of Anchorhead protect the city from a night raid by Tusken Raider’s, Obi-wan recklessly reveals himself as a Jedi Knight during the struggle. Although once a beacon of hope and justice, the Jedi are not seen as the heroes they once were. Imperial propaganda has spent years characterizing the Jedi as a dangerous cult that tried to destroy the government and attempted to assassinate the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

Now feared by the public, the Jedi sighting is reported to an Imperial military group that specializes in hunting down the remaining elements of the traitorous Jedi Order, the feared 501st Legion – Vader’s Fist…

When Disney announced they were making a slew of Star Wars themed character movies I was instantly drawn to the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I really wanted to see what happened in the years following up to A New Hope. I immediately focused on who Obi-Wan had become after the war. Seeing the Republic crumble in light of the Jedi’s failure, the trauma suffered during the war, and the loss of his friend and former padawan Anakin Skywalker was going to be a source of constant pain for Obi-Wan. I wanted him to have some major PTSD.

After establishing all the character’s arcs, I set out watching Star Wars to bridge Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope. There is one scene in particular, the breakfast scene between Owen, Beru, and Luke talking about Luke leaving the farm for the academy. There are so many subtle cues in that conversation when they talk about “Old Ben”, so much world building that I was able to surmise virtually the entire backstory. I even went back and read some Lucas interviews from late 70s and early 80s. I created a comprehensive list of do and don’ts for myself.

The movie has a lot of layers and callbacks to A New Hope and I spent a lot of my time trying to make those things as subtle and real as possible without drawing attention to them. I wanted to integrate Luke into the plot as well, but you can’t go too far. But, there were two paramount rules above all: 1.) Obi-Wan cannot leave the planet. 2.) Darth Vader and Obi-Wan cannot, under any circumstances, meet face to face.

Written by Paul Pratt
Logo Poster Image Created by Paul Pratt with Obi-Wan Mythos Figure Images from Sideshow Toys
Inquisitor Galen Marek (AKA Starkiller) Images Created by N7Tali
Based on Star Wars created by George Lucas.
Star Wars is ™ and © of Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.