Welcome, readers, to another week of me letting you know what I’d like to see as a fan from something in the pipeline. This week I am going to tackle Disney+ upcoming Obi-Wan Star Wars show. We fans know very little about what the Obi-Wan show might be about, or even when we are likely to see it. Therefore, this week I am going to focus on one specific aspect of the Obi-Wan show. The possible return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker!
If you hadn’t heard, LRM had a big exclusive piece of news regarding the Obi-Wan Star Wars show this week. LRM‘s trusted source at Lucasfilm has given us very accurate information in the past. This week, we were told that talks are underway for Hayden Christensen to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker. Specifically, for the upcoming Obi-Wan Star Wars show. Our source has proved themselves to us in the past, hence we were confident enough to publish the story. You can find the details of that exclusive report HERE!
However, this is about what I would hope to see from an Anakin Skywalker cameo in the Obi-Wan show. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Anakin And Obi-Wan – A Lost Opportunity
I am no fan of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but the overall idea behind that trilogy worked for me. My issues with the prequels come from poor script, poor direction, overreliance on CGI, incorrect tone, slapstick humor, and poor performances. I guess that means I don’t think they have much going for them as movies, doesn’t it? Still, the very ideas at the core of this trilogy, do speak to me. A Jedi Order slipping away, a Sith Lord creating an Empire in front of their noses, and the slow manipulation of Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. One of the aspects aimed for in that overall vision, but badly mismanaged, is the friendship of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The biggest reason Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship didn’t work in the movies, was the way those movies were structured. The Phantom Menace had the mistake of making Anakin too young, and Obi Wan too much in the background. When we next see this pair, they are firmly in Master/apprentice mode and therefore not really friends. In Episode 3, we are supposed to believe Anakin and Obi-Wan are now friends. The audience is then supposed to be horrified as that relationship breaks down, resulting in a climactic battle between the pair. But, it really didn’t work out.
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Most Star Wars fans will actually point the animated series The Clone Wars as the best of the prequel content. Therefore, the best representation of the friendship between Anakin and Obi Wan. I agree with that to some extent, although, I also think The Clone Wars had some story arcs every bit as rough as the movies. There were some nuggets of gold in The Clone Wars though, and you realize that the Star Wars prequel trilogy would have faired much better by starting at Episode 2. For me, we perhaps have a chance here in the Obi-Wan Star Wars show to redress that failing. Can we actually get some good, live-action scenes between Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen?
Anakin Skywalker – Flammable, You Know?
The obvious question here, would be how the heck can Anakin be in the Obi-Wan show? Anakin at the time Obi-Wan must be set, is not exactly Obi-Wan’s friend. In fact, Anakin is currently cutting about the Galaxy in a rebreather suit because his old Master chopped him to bits. I, therefore, find it highly unlikely that we are talking about anything else other than a flashback device here.
Honestly, when it comes to an Obi-Wan show, I am looking for something closer to Breaking Bad than The Mandalorian. I use the Breaking Bad reference loosely because I do not want to see a down on his luck Obi-Wan resort to dealing Meth. Instead, I mean the tone of a show like Breaking Bad, steady, tense, and filled with real character moments. I want to see Obi-Wan haunted by his past, and horrified at the Galaxy that now exists without a Jedi influence. I’m not looking for six-hours of Obi-Wan sitting in his hut crying, there has to be a plot in there. However, I don’t want to see a show built around action set-pieces and spectacular visuals. There will surely be a time and a place for spectacle in the Obi-Wan show, but I’m more interested in his character.
So, for me, the Obi-Wan show would be the perfect place to have Kenobi occasionally flashing back to his time with Anakin in The Clone Wars. To be honest, I’d even love them to incorporate some of the places and situations from The Clone Wars animated show, and show them in the armor used within that show. However, this isn’t necessarily about what I think they may do, it’s about what I’d do if it were me. So…
The Obi-Wan And Anakin Redemption
What would I do with this show? I’m going to turn this bitch on its head a little! Based on redressing some of the problems fans have with those prequels, this is an opportunity which I wouldn’t waste. I’m honestly not that bothered if Obi-Wan saves some farmers from a few Tusken Raiders, and then watched Luke in the background.
Hayden Christiansen is probably only being brought back for a scene or two. However, I’d go one step further and sign him up for the full season or two. I’d have a very small story for Obi-Wan happening in real-time, and making sure that somehow Owen Lars was involved. Then, I’d spend a lot of the time having Obi-Wan flashback to moments between him and Anakin in The Clone Wars, as they near their conclusion. It would be like Obi-Wan narrating stories of his old friend to his step-brother. So the real-time aspect of the show would be a relatively low-key affair between Owen Lars and old Obi-Wan. However, the action moments would come from flashbacks featuring a younger Obi-Wan and a pre-Vader Anakin.
I think it’s possible to even go beyond the initial six-hours into a Season 2 of Obi-Wan. It would be telling two stories, one the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan in the past, and how it fell apart. The second story would be the relationship between Owen and Obi-Wan in the present. I always felt that there was more between Owen and Obi-Wan than what we saw in A New Hope. Perhaps after Obi-Wan aids Owen, and tells the story of Anakin, Owen pushes Obi-Wan away to protect Luke? It could be a redemption for the characters of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Owen Lars, not to mention the actors themselves. If Lucasfilm doesn’t make the most of this, the actors will become too old to ever do it again.
Wrap It Up, Fanboy
Look, I don’t seriously think any of this will happen. More than likely Obi-Wan will be a story about Obi-Wan having one last adventure. At most, we’ll get one flashback scene of Anakin, and perhaps one or two scenes with Owen Lars. That’s at least, sadly what I think will happen.
However, what if? What kind of show could they pull off if Lucasfilm had the ambition and imagination to do so? I just don’t see anyone having the guts to pull off something like I described. There also remains a lot of hate for Hayden Christensen and his performance as Anakin. I think when you have actors say those words to a director who doesn’t care how they are delivered, then one can’t really blame Christensen fully. The prequel Star Wars trilogy wasn’t awful because of Hayden Christensen’s performance. Everyone was bad in those movies, even Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan McGregor. The Star Wars prequel trilogy was doomed by poor decisions from franchise creator George Lucas. So let’s give Christensen a chance to prove himself under better circumstances.
What do you think of my ideas for the Obi-Wan Star Wars show? How do you think Anakin Skywalker could be used to best effect? Leave your thoughts below as always, and thanks for reading.
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