After directing two episodes ofThe Mandalorian, directorDeborah Chowhas returned to the galaxy far, far away but is now the director forall six episodes ofObi-Wan Kenobi. The series has already garnered both critical praise and adoration from fans as the show takes audiences back to the years before the original series. Set ten years after the fall of the Jedi temple and Order 66,Obi-Wan Kenobirevisits the titular character played byEwan McGregor. The series also brings backHayden Christensenfor the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. And on top of all of that, we get a young Leia, played byVivien Lyra Blair.
Collider caught up with Chow atStar Wars Celebrationin Anaheim to talk a little about the burden and opportunity of working with beloved characters. Chow said:
“It was exciting, and it was also a huge responsibility. These are two of the most iconic characters not just in Star Wars, but I think in cinematic history. So there’s a responsibility that comes with them. We really wanted to respect that but, at the same time, it was incredibly exciting getting to tell a new story at a different point in their lives.”
Chow also mentioned that her time working onThe Mandalorianwas a vital lead-in to her work onKenobi:
“I don’t think I could have doneKenobiif I hadn’t doneMandalorianfirst. That was for a number of reasons – one, just coming in and really learning Star Wars under people like Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, and getting on a production level to understand how everything works. How do you do a Jawa? How did the creatures operate? That was tremendously helpful. And then the other big piece of it was StageCraft. This technology that obviously we started onThe Mandalorian, we also used inKenobi, so that was something I was incredibly excited to continue with.”
RELATED:‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Listen to John Williams' Full Theme Song for the JediThen, speaking to Chow as the first Asian female director forStar Wars, we spoke about what it was like to see more representation on screen. She said:
“I think from my experience because it came in onThe Mandalorian, we had such a diverse group of directors and it was so cool to be part of that. I think, to me, Star Wars has always felt like a very inclusive galaxy, because everybody should have a place in this galaxy, there are people from all over the place. There’s droids, there’s creatures. So it just seems like a very natural fit that that should also include in front of the camera and behind the camera.”
