It’s been months sinceStar Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobidebuted on Disney+, bringinga new tale of the lost Jedi. Two-time Academy Award winnerAndrew Stantonwrote the final two episodes ofObi-Wan Kenobi.These were the most enticing and highly applauded episodes, leadingto the epic showdownbetween Anakin and Obi-Wan on an unknown planet. The partwhere Anakin’s mask breaks in halfand we see this horrifyingly villainous turn of a brutally angry Darth Vader will stay with the fans forever. But it wasn’t exactly a treat for Andrew Stanton.
He had a wonderful time working on the fan-favorite series and has no regrets. But, given the series’ story restrictions, it was tricky to accomplish. Stanton had to ensure that the series fit the Star Wars Saga’s overall lore and appease the audience. And it was a process that was not always fun for Stanton.
Talking toGizmodo, Stanton described his experience working on the series as bittersweet. On the one hand, he was living the dream, bringingVader and Obi-Wan together on-screen. But on the other, he also had several limitations while giving thought to the story, as any event in the show must have fallen within a particular timeline order.
That was the blessing and the curse of it. It’s like one, you’re geeking out that you get to type ‘Vader says’ this and ‘Kenobi says’ that. You pause and say ‘I can’t believe I’m actually getting paid to type this. I can’t believe these words may be said.’ But then another part of you, it has to go through such a rigorous like ‘Does that fit the canon?’ And I feel like it’s bittersweet. [The reason that happens is] because people care, but it also kind of doesn’t allow, sometimes, things to venture beyond where maybe they should to tell a better story. So it can sometimes really handicap what I think are better narrative options.
Well, Stanton isn’t wrong as a writer. Writing is a job of creative liberty. Any writer must be free to shape the story in a certain way. But withStar Wars, things are different. Before the franchise expanded with Disney+, eleven movies were set within the saga, including two anthologies. So, any series has a tiny window to fall in there. Not that it has affected the quality of content inStar Wars, but one can’t imagine the amount of research, caution, and constant revision that must go into the penning of these series.
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Stanton Compares Obi-Wan Kenobi to Andor
Andrew Stanton further clarified how he thinks canon-related limitations were a bit of a hustle for him. The writer compared writingObi-Wanto thelatestStar WarsseriesAndor. Stanton said,
I was frustrated sometimes—not a lot— but I just felt it wasn’t as conducive to [the story]. I love it when something like Andor is in a safe spot. And it can just do whatever the heck it wants.
Andor is set before the events ofStar Wars: Rouge One, which is set before the original series and focuses on Andor’s rise in the rebellion. Andor, an unknown character featured only once in the series, has a lot of potential stories to be built around him. Hence,Andoris in a safe spotwhere the creatorscan give him any suitable backdrop without touching other significant events of the saga. It’s something thatthe series received critical acclaim for. However, forObi-Wan Kenobi, the writers would have had a vast chronology of events to look after before fitting the series in between.
Stanton, however, found help in the form of co-writer Joby Harold, who held the writing table and managed to create a rightful, flawless story that didn’t meddle with any limitations.
I felt, you know, Joby, to his credit, kept the torch alive and kept trying to thread the needle so that the story wouldn’t suffer but it would please all the people that were trying to keep it in the canon. But I got some moments in there that I’m very happy with.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobiwas widely applauded by fans who witnessed Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen together again. TheStar Wars Sagais further expanding with several other Disney+ originals, and until now, each story, all well-crafted, has managed to sustain the legacy of the movies.
