Obi-Wan Kenobi director teases Star Wars cameos: "There are surprises to come"
Exclusive: Deborah Chow reveals to Total Film that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is "one big story" and that she hopes there will be a few surprises for Star Wars fans
Think back to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and recall the movie's final moments. No, not Darth Vader shouting "noooooooo" after learning about Padmé's death, but Yoda offering Obi-Wan Kenobi some guidance. "In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you," Yoda tells Obi-Wan. "An old friend has learned the path to immortality... Your old master."
Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn was an integral part to Obi-Wan’s journey through those prequels, and it’s no leap to expect a potential reappearance from the Jedi as a Force ghost. Total Film, in the new issue of the magazine, which features Obi-Wan Kenobi on the cover, put the question of Neeson's reappearance to director Deborah Chow – and, as you may expect, she remained tight-lipped, but did tease some surprises.
"Obi-Wan’s going on a journey," she says. "There’s going to be different people that come into his life. One of the things I was trying to do with this series was to have the legacy, and who is important in Obi-Wan’s life, and to also have some new characters. So it’s going to be a mixture of the two. But I do think there are some surprises to come. I hope."
The upcoming six-part series was envisioned as a limited series, with Chow confirming that a second season was not a priority.
"We really did conceive this like a beginning, middle, and end," she continues. "It is one big story, and it was always meant to be. You can never tell what happens in the future. But, if another series were to happen, it would be the same process of making sure that there was a real story to tell. Ours is obviously very connected to the prequels, but I love the idea that there can be more stories that are all over the timeline."
In the cover story of the new issue of Total Film magazine, Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, co-star Moses Ingram, and Chow talk in-depth about Obi-Wan and his new adventure. Elsewhere in the feature, McGregor spoke about being "shit scared" when it came to facing down Vader, and Chow revealed that Darth Maul was never going to be part of the series, despite reports.
The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi will premiere on Disney Plus on Friday, May 27, with subsequent episodes premiering on Wednesdays. For much more from McGregor and co, check out the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves on Thursday, April 28.
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Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.