There have been rumblings for quite some time, but now, and according to Corey and Noah over at the Kessel Run Transmissions, Hayden Christensen is indeed returning to the Star Wars universe to play Anakin Skywalker in the yet-untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Christensen has been very involved in Star Wars fan events in the past few years, so it comes as no surprise that the next step would be to bring him back to the iconic role that he first played almost 20 years ago. And even though this piece of news alone allows for a lot of speculation on what the plot of the series is concerned, it’s the confirmation that Clone Commander Cody (and his 212th) is also set to come back to live-action that seems to bring it all together.
Even since the series was officially confirmed back in August 2019 (and even before that) that fans have been wondering what could an Obi-Wan centered production, set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, as this one is, be about. The last time we saw the character in Episode III he was delivering baby Luke to his uncles on Tatooine, and at the beginning of Episode IV he was still there, having spent almost two full (earth) decades looking out for young Luke, making sure the wrong people didn’t get to him. So would a Kenobi series have to be set in Tatooine since it’s plausible Obi-Wan didn’t leave the planet during that extended period? Yes and no.
Having Anakin Skywalker in the series will mean that the show, while set between the previously mentioned theatrical releases, will likely feature several flashbacks to a time before Obi-Wan settled down in Tatooine, before Luke was born and before Anakin turned into Darth Vader. Events in the series’ present-day may serve as the catalyst to these flashbacks, mirroring past events and allowing us to go deeper into Obi-Wan’s memories. But for those events to trigger Kenobi’s memories they would have to be pretty meaningful. And this is where someone familiar to him, from his past, would come into play.
Anakin, now Darth Vader, would probably be choice number one. But even though Vader is also set to show up in the series (and there’s ‘probably a 50/50 chance of having Christensen in the role – either he will or he won’t), them coming together probably wouldn’t fit into the overarching storyline. When they both met in A New Hope, Vader said “When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master.” And it’s doubtful Anakin doesn’t see his transformation into Darth Vader as the moment he finally became more than Kenobi was.
Darth Maul would also be an interesting choice. Since we found out he didn’t die in Episode I, we’ve learned of his obsession with Kenobi, and how he sees as his destiny to finally overcome him in battle. But his appearance would undermine everything Star Wars Rebels achieved when addressing their conflict. And, as Vader, we have already seen the way he dies. This could remove most of the tension that should be integral to such confrontations.
But Commander Cody could be it. We last saw him turning against the Jedi in the final act of Episode III, when Cody was Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi’s subordinate. They lead the 212th Legion, a military battalion of the Grand Army of the Republic, during the Clone Wars, having developed a friendly relationship being the implementation of Order 66 (that commanded all clone troopers to kill their Jedi officers) what turned them into enemies. This means that there would be some personal feelings involved if these two would even come face to face in the series, making it all the more meaningful.
The plot for the series, as the guys at Kessel Run Transmissions confirmed, seems to focus on a hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi. If making Darth Vader lead such an endeavor would probably feel like overkill, having someone that fought alongside Kenobi, that earned his confidence and respect, that probably knows him better than most, makes the most sense. So being, we will probably witness a search for the former Jedi Knight, orchestrated by Vader but led by Commander Cody. And having to face such an old ally may lead Obi-Wan to relive some moments from The Clone Wars where both Anakin and Cody were beside him, and this is where he might end up finding the answers he needs to overcome the ordeal facing him in the present.
