Ewen McGregor’ has always been a fan favorite, but for some, the real star of Obi-Wan Kenobi is Vivian Lyra Blair as a 10-year-old Princess Leia. Blair’s role remained a tightly-guarded secret until the show finally premiered almost two weeks ago. However, not all fans were happy about the reveal. Several viewers felt Leia’s pre-New Hope encounter with Obi-Wan messed with established Star Wars canon. But head writer Joby Harold has a few good reasons for why he doesn’t share this perspective. Princess Leia’s role.
Harold discussed Leia’s Obi-Wan appearance in a new wide-ranging conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. In his view, putting the other Skywalker twin in danger was the only thing that could bring the Jedi Master out of his self-imposed exile on Tattooine. It also bolsters Leia’s reason for reaching out to him several years later in A New Hope.
“The notion of Leia on the board was always the most interesting way of getting Obi-Wan out of hiding,” said Harold. “If you think about it, there’s nothing else that could bring him out. He’s not going to leave Luke for anybody except Leia. Why else would he abandon that post? The notion of him looking over Luke and not looking over Leia was always a question for everybody once you realize the importance of those two characters side by side.”
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“It answers the question of ‘why him?’” added Harold. “So, ‘Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,’ feels less arbitrary as a choice and a decision now that we know the depth of the history they have together.”
Harold also pointed out that Leia’s journey with Obi-Wan gives her another reason to name her son “Ben” (a.k.a. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren) in the future. But as for the fans who say the original Star Wars films precluded such an adventure from happening, Harold strongly advises them to watch the movies again.
“There was no line in A New Hope that said we couldn’t,” said Harold. “There’s nothing that I feel like we’ve violated at all. If anything, we’ve informed those scenes so that some of the choices that we’ve taken for granted in the [original trilogy] actually make more sense now.”.
The next episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi hits Disney+ tonight at midnight.
Are you excited to see more of Leia in the series? Let us know in the comments down below!
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