Road to Kenobi: Virginia and Blabbering Collector’s Take

Television

Virginia Kublawi: A recent video Jeremy did for the YouTube channel gave me an idea. Specifically, he talks about how he isn’t looking forward to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I thought it would be interesting to discuss some different perspectives on that. The first person that came to mind was our very own Blabbering Collector, a fellow Star Wars buff. I’ll let you start Blabbering Collector; what are your overall thoughts on Kenobi before it comes out? 

Blabbering Collector: At first, the trailer pulled me in, mostly because of the nostalgic music that was used. It was incredible seeing Obi-Wan again. But the trailer focused way too much on this inquisitor chick, more so than the titular character. Why is that? Is it a bait and switch? You start to listen to people who have become disinterested in Star Wars, and they all seem to have one common ideology: that she will be amazing, powerful, even better than Obi-Wan, and will actually end up saving Obi-Wan and probably Luke too, as she realizes the Empire is evil and she will ultimately sacrifice herself for the “greater good.”

That being said, I am excited for any live-action Clone Wars flashbacks with my boy Anakin. I love me some Ani. I reported that John Williams will be composing the music, or at the very least, the theme song for the show – I’m excited for that!

VK: I completely agree about the Clone Wars flashbacks. One of the main points of interest here is the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, and I expect them to be used to full effect. After all, I can only assume Obi-Wan would be ruminating on his time with his former friend during this period. I don’t know how to feel about Reva so far. Why is her name so similar to Revan? Why do they keep dancing around that name? Moses Ingram is good in The Queen’s Gambit, and I liked the Inquisitors in Rebels. However, I don’t know how I feel about adding a new one as opposed to just leaning on the pre-existing Fifth Brother and Grand Inquisitor. I don’t like how normal Reva looks. Her design doesn’t say “Star Wars villain” to me. 

BC: My friend and I were actually discussing the new name thing Disney is doing. Have you noticed that all the new female characters are either British and/or have a really short name? Rey. Jyn. Aphra. Qi’ra. Reva. Koska. Cara. I think it’s to do with marketing. Children can easily pronounce their names and point them out in stores/online. 

As for Reva’s look, I’m telling you, she isn’t going to be the villain in this story, and maybe her “look” is foreshadowing. 

VK: You may be onto something; maybe she’ll be redeemed at some point in the show. I don’t know how to feel about that since we know so little about her character. In a 6-episode miniseries, though, I’m not sure they should be all that concerned with redeeming a brand new villain character. I wish they would keep the focus on Obi-Wan and some important people in his life, like Anakin and maybe even Satine Kryze. I have noticed most of their female characters are white and brunette, and usually British, but I hadn’t noticed the simplicity of the names. 

BC: I feel this six-episode show needs to hit the ground running. You don’t really have time to build up new characters, a new plot, and explain (and with amazing and sound reasoning) why Space Jesus (Obi-Wan) is going off-world when it was ALWAYS implied that he stayed watching Luke for 20 years. I would love to see a flashback to Satine. I hope the voice actress comes back and does live-action, but I doubt it. I also hope James Arnold Taylor makes some sort of cameo. That would be amazing. I also hope there are some nods to Padmé. The sequel trilogy basically made her non-existent, never mentioning her, with the exception of Leia’s lightsaber reflecting her mother’s royalty. But that was an Easter egg.

VK: Yeah, I also have mixed feelings about Obi-Wan leaving Tatooine during this time. At the very least, it needs to be a great, airtight reason. James Arnold Taylor was amazing as Obi-Wan in the animated shows, at points marrying those of Ewan McGregor and Sir Alec Guinness. It would be fantastic if they included a flashback to his time with Satine. Their bond transcends medium, and she deserves to be introduced into live-action. I agree about Padmé, too; she and Anakin were ignored by the sequels almost entirely. I don’t think the voices at the end of The Rise of Skywalker count; all they did was imply my girl Ahsoka is dead! How dare they. 

BC: I think Lord Callous from the Dark Council says it best; if Obi-Wan is the reason Luke is in danger, someone is chasing after Obi-Wan, and Luke could end up in the crossfire, then MAYBE it would make sense. If protecting Luke means disappearing off-world, then perhaps. But again, it needs to make A LOT of sense. It can’t just be, “Oh no, I must go off-world; off I go!” 

Having Ashley Eckstein return as Ahsoka for the sequels and then NOT be cast in live-action makes ZERO sense. So what, is she young Ahsoka in live-action as well? I think that is the best way to go. If there are flashbacks to a young Ahsoka, Rosario will need to be CGI to look really young, but they might just go with another young actress. If there are hardly any scenes, it would be beneficial to bring Ashley in and dub the actress.

VK: I wasn’t pleased with Ahsoka being recast either. Ashley Eckstein IS this character and loves playing her. I will say Rosario Dawson did a much better job than I expected, and I was happy with her for the most part. But it will always sting that Ashley’s character was given to someone else in live-action, and the inconsistency in their voices drives me crazy.  

BC: I hated Rosario as Ahsoka in The Mandalorian. The ONLY time I thought, “Oh, there she is!” was when she whipped out her sabers and smirked into the camera. After that, it was wooden, bland, and her outfit was awful. Don’t get me started on those 90’s hip hop pants. What were they thinking?! And then her headpiece is too distracting. 100% could have been CGI’d to make it longer and more accurate. However, I did see her scenes on YouTube for the Book of Boba Fett, and she improved. Her mannerisms and tone mirror Ashley, but I would have rather had Ashley. I find that there are so many cosplayers on Instagram who were better suited as a live-action Ahsoka than Rosario could ever be. Also, Ashley finding out through the internet that Rosario was Ahsoka is the biggest slap in the face. Unsurprising from Disney, though. She should have been informed of this upfront. Have her sign an NDA. It makes Disney look unprofessional and just plain nasty. 

VK: I have to agree about her montrals. I thought they looked pretty bad, especially since their length is supposed to be indicative of her age at any given time. And I agree, it is crappy of them to recast her without even a warning. It reminds me of the unceremonious send-off Pierce Brosnan got from the James Bond films. 

BC: It is even foreshadowing the firing of Gina Carano. Here, look at the internet! You’ll find out if you’ve been sacked or replaced! Woo!

VK: No tact whatsoever. Not that it’s surprising, but disappointing nonetheless.

BC: Back to Kenobi, if people are excited, then great! However, I think everyone should go in with caution because even Deborah Chow has come out and said Darth Vader wasn’t as powerful as he is in A New Hope. That is just a load of waffles. Has she not seen or played Jedi: Fallen Order? Darth Vader is ravaging left and right, and that is only five years post Revenge of the Sith. 

People better not come crying to us about the bastardization of these characters when we warned them! I’m still unsure if I want to give Disney my money and renew my subscription to watch the show. I canceled it the day after Gina was fired, and it expired back in December. I watched the Bad Batch and thought it was great for the most part, but way too many fillers and very similar and repetitive to The Mandalorian. 

VK: I also found Chow’s comments on Vader strange, despite liking her work on The Mandalorian. She’s one of the people at Lucasfilm I still have some faith in, though I don’t think she’s proven herself to the same extent as someone like Dave Filoni. Rebels also takes place between the first two trilogies, and Darth Vader seemed pretty darn powerful there. I’m eager to see what she meant when we see him in action in Obi-Wan Kenobi. I share similar sentiments on The Bad Batch; I loved it, especially the premiere and finale. But some of those middle filler episodes tested my patience at times. 

BC: I like her work too. BDH directed some of my favorite episodes in The Mandalorian, though. Her first episode was the introduction to Cara Dune, and Cara and Din rolling on the floor being watched by Grogu drinking soup is a delight.

Vader was about ready to chop off Ahsoka’s head in Rebels, and that’s what, five years before A New Hope and five years after the events of this upcoming Kenobi show.

VK: Bryce Dallas Howard is a true talent. Some people have called for her to direct a Star Wars movie, but I wouldn’t wish the headache on anyone at this point. Forget the logistics of such a major production when handled well; she would have to contend with Kathleen. 

BC: I think BDH can thank her dad and growing up around her dad’s friends, like George Lucas. She’s a lucky one for sure. 

VK: Her small-screen efforts for Star Wars have outdone Ron Howard’s movie Solo by leaps and bounds. 

BC: For sure, but he wasn’t meant to direct Solo. By the time he got in, he couldn’t change how dark the lighting was. BDH is definitely worthy of directing; I’m not taking away her talent, but she for sure did get a foot in the door when others wouldn’t have.

VK: I’m not sure what the consensus is, but I would have preferred to see Lord and Miller’s version of Solo to the generic one we got. Every attempt to scrub jokes away falls flat, and the references to every aspect of the character we know in the original trilogy slow the whole thing down. 

BC: Solo was just unnecessary. Harrison Ford IS Han Solo. No one else. They should have just done an original film. It bombed at the box office because of The Last Jedi, but it still wasn’t a great film on its own.

VK: I can’t disagree. I don’t know anybody who wanted a backstory for the character, and Alden Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford. Speaking of actors, one aspect of Obi-Wan I can’t make up my mind about is the return of Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars. I don’t know what they expect to do with this character, for one thing. I also wonder what leads Reva to threaten him in the Entertainment Weekly images. 

BC: Yes, I’m wondering how big of a “plot involvement” Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen have in this story… or are they simply ‘member berries.

VK: That’s the problem with this urge they have to include every character in every show. Some people even want Mando or Ahsoka to be in this show. I really don’t mind some crossover; it’s supposed to be one galaxy, after all. But we don’t need to see what Max Rebo was up to during this time. 

BC: I’m very against this whole MCU crossover style of storytelling. This is a GALAXY. There are thousands of planets, and yet somehow we only know about one hundred characters, AND they all know each other? Nope. Hard pass.

VK: I have mixed feelings. I think it works really well sometimes, like Ahsoka in Mando. But did we need to see Jabba’s baby rancor in The Bad Batch or have Grogu’s dilemma solved in The Book of Boba Fett? Not so much. I also think they risk oversaturating the market with characters like Maul and Ahsoka. Ahsoka has appeared in every show so far except The Bad Batch. 

BC: Luke meeting Ahsoka makes perfect sense. But then you throw in Boba Fett, Cad Bane, Luke, and Ahsoka ALL in one episode; it just becomes way too much. Also, Grogu’s reunion with Din was incredibly underwhelming. It made the ending of season 2 meaningless. 

I guarantee you Ahsoka will be in the second season of The Bad Batch. I hope so, at least, give Ashley one more go. Maybe it will help build up to the live-action show.

I also think that Disney is spreading themselves way too thin now. I agree, there is just way too much Star Wars right now that will be coming out. They need to slow it down. They are already losing fans left and right.

VK: I was hoping for more of a meeting between Luke and Ahsoka. I liked their scene together a lot, but these two characters have a lot to discuss. I hope we get that story someday. I would be okay with Ahsoka in The Bad Batch. I just need them to use characters in a way that makes sense and not shoehorn them in. 

BC: Luke and Ahsoka’s meeting left me with just “whelmed.” I’m not overwhelmed, and I wasn’t underwhelmed. It was meh. Ahsoka teased Anakin with “So much like your father” and then “Adios, amigo!” And Luke kinda whined with, “Will I ever see you again?” That line could have been delivered better or with different wording. 

VK: I’m somewhat creeped out by how they generated Luke’s voice in Book of Boba Fett. I think that’s the problem with the line delivery. 

BC: That could be it. The technology isn’t there yet… give it another year or two! Did you see the “Lukesoka” meme? It’s disturbing. 

VK: Yikes; it’s a no for me. I’m not sure if this is better or worse than shipping her with Anakin, but I’m against both. Speaking of Luke, what do you think of Grant Feely as the young boy in Obi-Wan? I don’t know anything about him, but Mark Hamill gave him the seal of approval.  

BC: Both are bad! Ahsoka can be considered Luke’s sister or aunt! This isn’t Alabama!

Grant kinda looks like a baby Mark Hamill and a Sebastian Stan hybrid. He seems okay to me. I don’t really want a young Luke, so I hope he hardly has any lines or scenes. Mark Hamill is the only Luke, in my opinion.

VK: I hope they use him sparingly. He should only be there as a force of motivation for Obi-Wan, more of a plot device than a real character. I hope the rumors that Leia will appear are false. We don’t need to see her during this time period. How interesting can she be as a 10-year-old? 

BC: I agree, I do NOT want a ten-year-old Princess Leia in a white outfit and cinnamon bun hair. No thanks. It sounds cheap and lazy.

VK: Here, here. Anything else you want to discuss regarding the upcoming series? I’m feeling hopeful and nervous about some of the aspects we’ve brought up. 

BC: If it’s great, we will be congratulating Disney and Lucasfilm and shouting from the rooftops in glee. If it’s bad, they will hear it. Loud and clear! We need to be fair, but we need to be critical.

VK: What do you think? Are you going to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi when it airs? Let us know in the comments!