The battle on Mapuzo was a skirmish fought on the mining world of Mapuzo in the Mid Rim Territories in 9 BBY as part of the Galactic Empire's hunt for Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who arrived on Mapuzo with Leia Organa, whom he had recently rescued from the planet Daiyu, on instructions about a contact from the criminal Haja Estree. Although Kenobi came to doubt Estree, he found the man had been telling the truth upon meeting Tala Durith, an Imperial officer who had defected from the Empire to join the Path that had helped other Jedi in the past. However, the Sith Lord Darth Vader himself arrived on Mapuzo with the aim of confronting his former master, defeating Kenobi in combat but staying back as he was saved by Durith and the loader droid NED-B.
Traveling to the Mid Rim planet Mapuzo via an automated transport ship, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Princess Leia Organa snuck off the starship and attempted to rendezvous with a contact from the Hidden Path operating there. Unable to locate them, Kenobi and Leia met Freck, an Imperial sympathizer who was traveling in his speeder truck. Developing a cover, Kenobi and Leia were able to convince Freck to take them to a spaceport. On the way, local stormtroopers were picked up by Freck and taken to an Imperial facility nearby, until they arrived at an Imperial checkpoint.
After questioning Kenobi and Leia's identities, Kenobi attacked the stormtroopers with his blaster, killing multiple stormtroopers. Imperial officer Tala Durith arrived with three other stormtroopers on an Imperial ground troop transport, forcing Kenobi to surrender. Durith, however, shot and killed the three troopers by firing into their backs. From there, the three escaped to a local village. The Inquisitorius received information that Kenobi was found on Mapuzo, and ordered the Imperial officers with them to mobilize their battalions and shut down every port.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader have their second duel after 10 years.
As Kenobi fled into a nearby quarry, he encountered Darth Vader, who followed him. After the Sith Lord ignites his lightsaber, Kenobi ran away immediately but was followed by Vader, who taunted the Jedi Master before he ignited his lightsaber as the two stood face to face. Kenobi asked his former apprentice what has he become only for Vader to respond that he became what Kenobi made him.
While Kenobi continued to try and avoid Vader by walking through the quarry, the Sith Lord emerged from the darkness and swung his lightsaber at Kenobi, who reflected it with his own lightsaber. A brief duel between the two former friends ensued, with Vader quickly overpowering his former Master, who had grown inept after years of not using the Force.
Obi-Wan Kenobi moments before being burned by Vader.
As the Sith Lord forced Kenobi to run away, Vader knocked down a storage container filled with flammable rocks while he seized Obi-Wan with the Force. After igniting the flammable rocks with his lightsaber, Vader forced Kenobi into the flames, severely burning him while claiming that his pain has only just begun. The Sith Lord then ordered his stormtroopers to seize Kenobi, but Durith arrived and re-ignited the rocks with a blaster bolt, cutting Kenobi off from Vader and his troops while she rescued the Jedi Master.
The Battle on Mapuzo was first pictured in the teaser trailer for the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series, which was released on March 9, 2022. It first appeared in the third episode of the series, which was directed by Deborah Chow and released on June 1, 2022.
Writer Joby Harold had Kenobi and Vader duel in the series because he found that there was no line in a Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope that said they could not duel. When Harold was writing fight scenes for the series, such as the duel on Mapuzo, he tried to find a way for character to come through action. He wrote the choreography from a character point of view, which got handed off to stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio who developed the fight sequence with Chow. Harold said the key to the sequence and Vader is feeling and articulating the range and anger under it all. He also wanted to find ways to feel the rivalry between the characters and to define the opportunities that are present in the fight.
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