As fans eagerly await the release of Disney Plus’ forthcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, curiosity has surged over just how Hayden Christensen is going to return as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Now, the series’ director is teasing that this version of Vader is one we might not have ever seen before.
The series is set between the events of the prequel trilogy, which concluded with Skywalker being dubbed Darth Vader and wearing the now-iconic headgear and the original trio of films. This means Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place many years before the pair meet for the final time on the first Death Star, where the fallen apprentice kills his master once and for all.
According to what director Deborah Chow has recently told Entertainment Weekly, this version of Vader will be different from what we’re used to seeing in the original trilogy or his brief appearance in Rogue One, for that matter.
“For us, it’s very similar [to Obi-Wan] in the sense that he’s in between these two trilogies. So, he isn’t the New Hope Vader quite yet, you know what I mean? So we are with the character sort of in the middle of this period. It is still Vader obviously, but it’s a Vader that isn’t quite as fully formed as A New Hope.”
Vader is the ultimate symbol of menacing villainy, but if this forthcoming version is something in between the prequels and the sinister big bad we know from the originals, then Hayden will be bringing some of Anakin’s well-known petulance and impatience to the role, despite the fact that it might seem like a far cry from the stoic and calculating Vader we’ve known so far.
Frankly, no one’s looking forward to seeing more of the same thing in Obi-Wan Kenobi, so these changes will hopefully end up making the show all the more compelling to watch when it premieres on May 25.