Deborah Chow

For the Disney+ television show The Mandalorian, Deborah Chow directed "Chapter 3: The Sin" from the first season. She found inspiration in Akira Kurosawa's 1961 Japanese samurai film Yojimbo and John Woo's 1992 Hong Kong action film Hard Boiled, using these films to inform the dynamic between the main character, the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, and "the Child," Grogu. Chow especially aimed to capture the essence of Hong Kong action movies that her father enjoyed. Additionally, she directed "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" of The Mandalorian and had a cameo as the pilot Sash Ketter in "Chapter 6: The Prisoner." Later, Chow was invited to reprise her role as Ketter in the second season episode "Chapter 10: The Passenger," in a scene alongside Paul Sun-Hyung Lee's New Republic pilot Carson Teva. However, due to her commitment to Obi-Wan Kenobi, she was unable to return, and Dave Filoni took her place, reprising his role as Trapper Wolf. Chow eventually returned as Ketter in the third season episode "Chapter 21: The Pirate."

When the planned Obi-Wan Kenobi anthology film was reworked into a television series, Stephen Daldry, the original director, left the project. Deborah Chow was then brought on board to ensure the series maintained a cinematic quality. On September 27, 2019, StarWars.com announced Chow as the director of the Obi-Wan Kenobi television miniseries. Lucasfilm Ltd. president Kathleen Kennedy stated that she and the team sought a director capable of "exploring both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into the Star Wars saga." Kennedy expressed confidence in Chow's ability, citing her character development work in The Mandalorian. Hossein Amini was announced as the writer for the series. Chow, Amini, and Ewan McGregor were slated to serve as executive producers alongside Kennedy. Chow expressed her honor at being able to delve into the mythology and inherit the galaxy with returning characters.

Following Amini's replacement by writer Joby Harold, Chow and Harold collaborated to create a new narrative set 10 years after Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Chow's initial focus was on creating a character-based and character-driven story, leveraging the extended time afforded by a limited series to delve deeper into character development. She also aimed to depict Kenobi's transformation from his Revenge of the Sith persona into the peaceful figure seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. She found it challenging to balance her own narrative vision with George Lucas's work in the original trilogy. She was drawn to the father-daughter dynamic, as her own father had been a significant influence in her life. For inspiration, Chow looked at atmospheric and poetic films like The Proposition and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. She also felt influenced by the speed and imagination of Asian martial arts movies. Chow examined the fight sequences in the prequels, aiming to amplify them and incorporate modern elements. She sought a mix of characters both familiar and new to Kenobi's life. The goal was to create a complete story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Kenobi was intended to be portrayed as a lost and broken man, burdened by guilt over what happened to Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. The series was designed to center on Kenobi's journey from pain to a semblance of peace, emphasizing his identity as Ben Kenobi rather than solely as a Jedi. Chow noted that while they inherited some of the original plot, they made significant changes and additions.

Chow was careful to address gaps in the Star Wars timeline. She felt privileged to work with George Lucas's characters and craft a new story with them. Consequently, Chow aimed to be respectful of existing material and avoid altering Lucas's original intentions. Despite this, Chow believed the show allowed for some interpretation. Ewan McGregor, who played Kenobi, praised Chow's directing, noting her quiet authority, understanding of the world, and clear vision. During pre-production, Chow successfully integrated the new world of the show with elements established in previous trilogies, connecting set pieces from 1975 with dialogue from 2003.

Chow wanted Darth Vader to return because of his significance in Kenobi's life. She saw a "love-story dynamic" between Kenobi and Vader, making it difficult to exclude the person who had caused Kenobi so much anguish. Chow was intrigued by the idea that Kenobi might still care deeply about Vader despite his transformation. Ultimately, it was decided that Vader would appear, portrayed by Hayden Christensen, who played Skywalker in the prequel trilogy. Writer Joby Harold emphasized the importance of Christensen's involvement, citing his integral role in the character's history. Harold stated that the entire crew prioritized handling Vader with utmost care "to honor one of the greatest villains and antagonists in the history of entertainment." In the fall of 2019, Chow traveled to Christensen's farm to personally pitch the project, discussing her vision and promising that Vader's presence would add a new dimension, reframing fans' perspectives on Vader and Kenobi's lightsaber duel in A New Hope. Christensen expressed his enthusiasm and excitement to return to Star Wars.

Chow found it intense to direct new scenes with such an iconic character when Christensen first arrived on set. She also found it interesting to observe the different generations connecting to Star Wars. Chow enjoyed working with Christensen, describing him as wonderful. Many of their conversations revolved around Christensen's desire to "convey this feeling of strength, but also coupled with imprisonment," which he found to be an interesting concept to explore. When Chow became the showrunner, she championed a rematch between Kenobi and Vader as Lucasfilm considered that direction. In March 2020, Vader's return was finalized. Chow and the crew ensured that Vader was not overused to preserve the character's mystique.

Chow and Harold described Inquisitor Reva as ruthless and ambitious. Chow found it exciting to introduce a female villain and have a dark side woman in a significant role. Chow wanted Reva to be played by a young woman believable enough to challenge Darth Vader. Chow was drawn to Moses Ingram's strength, intelligence, and charisma, leading to her casting as Reva. After Ingram's week-long audition process, Chow informed her of the casting decision via a Zoom call. Chow appreciated that Reva was not from the animated series and praised Ingram's performance. Chow and Ingram had extensive discussions about Reva's hair. Ingram hoped that her hairstyle would allow Black children with kinky hair to wear their natural hair in Halloween costumes. Ingram noted Chow's skill in evolving from the initial vision to the final product. Chow clarified that Darth Maul was never considered for the series because Dave Filoni had concluded Maul's story in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twin Suns." She also felt that including both Maul and Vader would have been "a little bit much."

When costume director Suttirat Anne Larlarb first met Chow, the director expressed her appreciation for Larlarb's discussions of culture and history in relation to costume. She noted that Larlarb's approach to the show American Gods would be similar to Kenobi uncovering the necessary cultural elements to create the worlds seen in the series. Larlarb was subsequently hired as the series' costume designer. One day, the actor Kumail Nanjiani received a call from his agents and after waiting an hour, the callers told Nanjiani that he was wanted in the_Obi-Wan Kenobi_ television series. The callers told Nanjiani they could not tell him about his character or anything else, and they asked him to speak with Chow. In a Zoom meeting, Chow pitched the idea to Nanjiani to convinvce him to join the project. Nanjiani quickly agreed to joining and he said it was a very easy decison. Chow also spoke with actress Indira Varma about joining the show. Varma felt like she could trust Chow's sensibilities, both to value emotion over action and to uplift female voices. When they spoke, Varma liked how Chow wanted the show to be character driven and Chow asked for her input. Chow also offered the role of a young Leia Organa to the actress Vivien Lyra Blair. She loved that the series would acknowledge that Organa played a pivotal role in Star Wars.

Chow stated that the prequels served as the strongest connective tissue for the crew, as they provided the origin stories for the series' characters. Bonnie Piesse, who played Beru Lars in the prequels, received a message from Chow to chat, but she at first did not recognize it as having to do with work. She subsequently ignored the message for almost a week until realizing the message was for casting. Piesse then joined a call from Portugal and Chow convinced her to return to the role of Beru Lars. Chow was very excited to bring Joel Edgerton and Piesse back to play Owen and Beru Lars, respectively, and she said their return was part of what made the series special. She was also thankful that George Lucas casted Edgerton as Owen. In early June, actor Grant Feely had a director's callback with Chow. He later flew to Los Angeles to do an in-person audition with Chow. In early July, Chow called Feely to offer him the role of young Luke Skywalker in the series. Chow spoke with Liam Neeson, who played Qui-Gon Jinn in the prequels, informing him that McGregor would reprise his role as Kenobi in a series. She explained what Jinn would do in the series, and Leeson then said he was definitely onboard. Chow chose actress Ming Qiu to play Jedi Master Minas Velti in "Part I." Chow explained that a large chunk of the show took place on Tatooine because of the nature of where the starting place was for the story, but she promised the show would visit new worlds.

When Joby Harold was writing fight scenes, such as Kenobi and Vader's 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 Jojo Eusebio who developed the fight sequence with Chow. Chow wanted to make Vader's arrival in the Mapuzo mining village to be similar to a horror movie where the monster would appear and then disappear. Lucasfilm art director Doug Chiang, Chow, and other crew members met virtually to discuss what purpose KP-1, the astromech droid desgined by Camille Manet, could serve in the show. Chow suggested that the droid could be put in the "pseudo rebel base" and have some functionality. She told the builders to think of the droid's personality as "a scrappy little fighter." Chow and the crew looked at references of old whaling stations for the Sandwhale Farm, and it was her favorite set. Propmaster Brad Elliott and his team were led by Chow. She worried that the wupiupi props were too large for swift hand-to-hand transactions, so the coins were scaled down slightly with the same art as the first design in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. When director Chow visited the creature shop, she suggested that the Boosodian's head could belong to someone who would be amazing at stopping shoplifters. A crew member suggested that the character could own a store and would be able to watch everyone, which Chow agreed with.

Daiyu was one of Chow's favorite planets. Some of the earliest references were places like the Bangkok night market and the city Hong Kong at night; Chow took inspiration from the Hong Kong films of director Wong Kar-Wai and similar works. Chow told Feely to not watch any Star Wars movies so that he could act like a regular boy instead of Mark Hamill's portrayal of the character in the original trilogy. Chow wanted Palpatine to tell Vader that his obsession with Kenobi is a weakness. She told Ian McDiarmid to film his scene as Palpatine between being on an edge and having some lines be more casual. On the 125th day of shooting, filming ended and Chow thanked the cast and the crew for contributing to the series. After the show was finished, Chow wanted to take a vacation from directing. She was interviewed for Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return, a documentary about the making of Obi-Wan Kenobi. She was also an executive producer for the documentary.

• Deborah Chow on Wikipedia
• Deborah Chow at the Internet Movie Database