Haja Estree

During the reign of the Galactic Empire, the human male Haja Estree resided on the planet Daiyu, working as a con artist. In his scam, he posed as one of the Jedi, Force-sensitive peace-keepers who were hunted by the Empire after their Jedi Order was destroyed in 19 BBY, even though he knew it was dangerous. Helping those in need in return for a sum of credits, his performance as a Jedi included using remotes to close the shutters of his building and magnets to summon his comlink to create an illusion of using the Force. The con man also employed the help of the boy Jayco as well as a contact at a spaceport on Daiyu, whom he could pretend to use a Jedi mind trick on over his comlink and "convince" him to give individuals safe passage through the port.

In the meantime, Estree maintained ties with an anti-Imperial network known as "the Path." The Path used a series of safehouses to smuggle real Force-sensitives, who were thus fugitives of the Empire, to the Outer Rim Territories planet of Jabiim to receive new identities to go into hiding. He notably had contact with Captain Tala Durith, an undercover Imperial officer on the Mid Rim mining planet Mapuzo who had become disillusioned with the Empire and chose to help with the network.

In 9 BBY, Estree helped the Force-sensitive child Corran and his mother flee Daiyu, pretending to use the Force to trick his contact into letting the pair through to a transport to the planet Corellia at Gate 3-C. Corran's mother complimented Estree's apparent Force abilities and paid him all of her credits for his services. Estree then urged Corran and his mother away to their transport before informing his contact that he would take a quick break once the pair had left.

Unbeknownst to Estree, Jedi Master-in-hiding Obi-Wan Kenobi had been led to his lair by Jayco and was watching the encounter from the edge of the room. Kenobi asked Estree to locate the Alderaanian Princess Leia Organa, who had been kidnapped by the Black Mask mercenary gang, and Estree asked for a sum of 800 crdits for the job. After Kenobi revealed the con artist's magnetic devices, Estree was forced to help the Jedi, pointing him in the direction of a spice den was located. Using Estree's information, the Jedi infiltrated the spice den and extracted Organa. However, the Third Sister, a member of the Empire's Jedi-hunting organization of the Inquisitorius, had also arrived to hunt Kenobi and chose to send out a bounty on the Jedi across Daiyu's city to help find her target.

Estree then tried to help get Kenobi to the anti-Imperial network on Mapuzo. The con artist caught up with the Jedi Master and Organa at an alleyway near the spaceport, gunning down the bounty hunter droid 1-JAC before it could attack the pair. Kenobi believed Estree was coming for his bounty, but the con man instead gave him instructions to go to an automated cargo port and use a tracking fob to take the automated vessel transport eight to Mapuzo.

Shortly afterward, Estree cornered the Third Sister in an alley, continuing his act as a Jedi. The Inquisitor quickly figured out he was not one but still knew where Kenobi was. She probed his mind with the Force and found where he had sent Kenobi, leaving Estree in the alley to pursue her target.

Following his encounter with the Third Sister, Estree became wanted by the Empire and arrived on Jabiim. When Kenobi arrived with Kawlan Roken—a leader of the Path—from rescuing Organa from the Inquisitors' fortress, Kenobi greeted Estree, who joked that the Path headquarters was a good business place. After the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator—the flagship of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader—arrived over Jabiim, Estree worked with the other refugees locking down all the entrances of the facility. At Kenobi's request, Estree kept an eye on Organa while she delved into the vents trying to open the main hangar door.

While Estree watched Organa, the Third Sister and her forces attacked the facility in hopes of capturing Kenobi, which resulted in a number of deaths on both sides. Tala Durith used her blaster to close off one of the blast doors to the main hangar before she sacrificed herself. After the attack halted, Kenobi agreed to surrender to the Third Sister and Vader. Before he left to fight Vader, the Jedi handed Estree his lightsaber, blaster, and imagecaster. After Organa opened up the hangar bay doors, Estree dropped Kenobi's imagecaster while running to the transport. A decoy transport took off from the base, which Darth Vader pulled down with the Force before the true transport made its escape. Following the escape, the Third Sister found Kenobi's imagecaster that Estree had dropped.

Fleeing Jabiim, the transport possessed a faulty hyperdrive and was pursued by the Devastator. As a result, Kenobi decided he would part ways with the refugees as it would give Roken time to fix the ship and escape, much to Organa's anger. Estree advised Kenobi to give Organa some space and promised he would get Organa to her home planet of Alderaan as soon as Kenobi was clear. Estree also spoke to Organa, consoling her before Kenobi returned to speak to her and say his farewells. Kenobi and Organa later regrouped on Alderaan.

As a criminal and conman, Estree's motivation for his scam was to attain more credits. He enlisted the help of Jayco, who found potential clients and led them to his lair, using magnets and remotes to sell his fake Jedi scam. Though Estree cared about making his operations profitable, he also assured that the people he scammed would find safety among the Path. Estree carried a fake lightsaber at his hip on the outside of his robes, whereas most Jedi concealed their lightsabers underneath their robes. He later decided to help Kenobi escape, saying that he wanted to make amends, and faced the Third Sister to give him and Organa more time to flee.

Despite his criminal activities and lies, Estree's goals were not malicious. He genuinely wanted to help Kenobi and gained a newfound respect for real Jedi after meeting the man. He was also devoted to the Path, keeping in touch with Tala Durith on Jabiim, although he indicated that the Path's headquarters was a good location to conduct his scam. Estree later assisted The Path in escaping from Jabiim, finally earning Kenobi's trust. Estree had black hair, brown eyes, and light-colored skin.

Estree was regarded as master of illusion, and owned a blaster pistol with which he was capable. Although his scam was centered around him being a Jedi, Estree was not Force-sensitive.

Estree used a modified remote door opener to close the shutters of the building to make it look like he was using the Force, as well as magnets to summon his comlink. He also carried a fake lightsaber on his hip, and owned a blaster pistol. The con artist wore brown trousers with an off-white undershirt covered by a dark green tunic and a brown belt.

Portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani, whose stunt double was Brennan Mejia, Haja Estree first appeared in "Part II" of the live-action Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which aired on May 26, 2022. The character was teased beforehand as well, first being mentioned in an interview with Nanjiani and later being shown in the teaser trailer for the series, which was released on March 9, 2022.

Writer Joby Harold felt that having a fake Jedi would be a fun thing to add to Star Wars, leading to the creation of the con artist Haja Estree. Estree was shown pretending to use the Force to close the shutters in the second episode to make it clear that he's a fraud. Harold wanted that scene because director J.J. Abrams told him it should be a massive moment when Jedi use the Force, and it must be earned. Nanjiani landed the role after director Deborah Chow pitched the project to him and he agreed.

To prepare for his role, Nanjiani re-watched all the Star Wars films, as well as looked up different techniques that con-men used to scam their marks. The actor believed it was very fun to portray a con-man in the context of Star Wars, as well as playing a fake Jedi in general. Nanjiani did much research on con men and magicians to learn how to play a character like Estree.

The show's propmaster gave him the lightsaber hilt, which he had made when he was twenty years old, which Nanjiani used in Kenobi. The actor considered working on a Star Wars project a "dream come true." The actor described the character as a "street-level con-man guy who then gets embroiled in stuff that's way too big for him." Nanjiani elaborated that Estree had a complicated morality, with a "pull and push inside of him," choosing between doing the right thing and making money, which made the choice he eventually makes much richer.

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