Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader’s final fight in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series perfectly ties into a small but important detail in Return of the Jedi.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader’s final fight in Obi-Wan Kenobi perfectly ties in to a small but significant detail in Return of the Jedi. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprise their respective Star Wars roles for the first time since the prequel trilogy ended for the Disney+ series. Obi-Wan Kenobi offers new details about the pair’s previously unknown encounters between their falling out in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Not long after the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ project was confirmed, Lucasfilm announced that Christensen will also return as Darth Vader, setting the stage for the Sith Lord and his ex-Jedi Master’s rematch. Instead of saving the much-anticipated reunion between the former allies at the end of the series, Obi-Wan and Darth Vader had their first encounter in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 where the villain clearly outpowered the Jedi Master. By the time they met for the last time, however, in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale, Obi-Wan had already regained his strength and reconnected with the Force, ultimately defeating his old Padawan.
At one point in the said fight, Obi-Wan slashed Darth Vader’s mask, cracking it and exposing half of Anakin’s burned face. Several years later, Luke (Mark Hamill) redeems Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, and in the 1983 film, the young Skywalker takes off his father’s helmet and exposes his face for the first time ever in Star Wars. Interestingly, Anakin has a prominent scar on the upper left of his head — exactly where Obi-Wan struck him in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Chances are that the mark was from Darth Vader’s hyped rematch against the Jedi Master in the Disney+ series, effectively tying its events to the Star Wars original trilogy capper. The fact that the aforementioned bruising is more pronounced than the Sith Lord’s other burn wounds further supports this idea.
Multiple times in its six-episode run, Obi-Wan Kenobi almost broke Star Wars continuity. While the Disney+ series created several inconsistencies, it has mostly stuck to the established canon which was tricky considering that many of the show’s core players already have pre-determined futures. Despite the risks, however, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series offers a brand new perspective when viewing A New Hope. Suddenly, Leia’s attempt to reach out to Obi-Wan in the original Star Wars film has more emotional weight now given the pair’s adventures in the Disney+ series. The same can be said in Darth Vader and Obi-Wan’s final duel in the Death Star. This specific link to Return of the Jedi is arguably more special, however since it’s both subtle and meaningful. Chances are that Obi-Wan was the last person to physically harm the Sith Lord as he only grew stronger from there.
Currently, the McGregor-led project is still deemed a limited series, meaning it ends with six episodes. Due to the show’s popularity, however, an Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2 isn’t completely off the table. In the event that Lucasfilm actually moves forward with a second year, it would be interesting how they can find ways to connect its events to the original trilogy the same way it did with this Return of the Jedi link.
Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 is now available to stream on Disney+.
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