Haja Estree

During the Galactic Empire's imperial era, Haja Estree, a male human, made his home on the planet Daiyu, where he made a living as a con artist. His scheme involved masquerading as a Jedi, one of the Force-sensitive peacekeepers who were being hunted by the Empire after their Jedi Order was destroyed in 19 BBY. He knew this was a dangerous game. In exchange for credits, he would assist those in need, using remotes to close his building's shutters and magnets to summon his comlink, creating the illusion of using the Force. He also enlisted the help of Jayco, a young boy, and a contact at a spaceport on Daiyu. He would pretend to use a Jedi mind trick on this contact over his comlink, "convincing" him to grant safe passage through the port.

Estree also maintained connections with "the Path," an anti-Imperial network. The Path operated a network of safehouses to smuggle Force-sensitive individuals, who were fugitives of the Empire, to Jabiim in the Outer Rim Territories. There, they would receive new identities and go into hiding. He was in contact with Captain Tala Durith, an undercover Imperial officer on the Mid Rim mining planet Mapuzo who had become disillusioned with the Empire and joined the network.

In 9 BBY, Estree aided Corran, a Force-sensitive child, and his mother, Nyche, in escaping Daiyu. He pretended to use the Force to persuade his contact to allow them through to a transport to Corellia at Gate 3-C. Corran's mother praised Estree's apparent Force abilities and paid him all her credits for his services. Estree urged them to leave for their transport and then informed his contact that he would take a short break.

Unbeknownst to Estree, Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master in hiding, had been led to his lair by Jayco and was observing the encounter. Kenobi requested Estree to locate Leia Organa, the Alderaanian Princess who had been kidnapped by the Black Mask mercenary gang. Estree demanded 800 credits for the job. After Kenobi revealed Estree's magnetic devices, Estree was compelled to assist the Jedi, directing him to a nearby spice den. Using Estree's information, Kenobi infiltrated the spice den and rescued Organa. However, Third Sister, an Inquisitorius member, had also arrived to hunt Kenobi and placed a bounty on him across Daiyu city.

Estree then attempted to help Kenobi reach the anti-Imperial network on Mapuzo. He caught up with Kenobi and Organa in an alley near the spaceport, shooting down 1-JAC, the bounty hunter droid, before it could attack them. Kenobi initially believed Estree was after the bounty, but Estree instead gave him instructions to go to an automated cargo port and use a tracking fob to board the TR-286 transport eight to Mapuzo.

Shortly after, Estree confronted the Third Sister in an alley, maintaining his act as a Jedi. The Inquisitor quickly realized he was not a Jedi but knew where Kenobi was. She used the Force to probe his mind and discovered Kenobi's location, leaving Estree to pursue her target.

After 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's headquarters was a good business location. After the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator—the flagship of Darth Vader—arrived over Jabiim, Estree worked with the other refugees to secure the facility's entrances. At Kenobi's request, Estree watched over Organa as she worked to open the main hangar door.

While Estree watched Organa, the Third Sister and her forces attacked the facility, resulting in casualties on both sides. Tala Durith sacrificed herself by closing one of the blast doors to the main hangar with her blaster. After the attack subsided, Kenobi agreed to surrender to the Third Sister and Vader. Before leaving to fight Vader, Kenobi entrusted Estree with his lightsaber, blaster, and imagecaster. After Organa opened 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 escaped. Following the escape, the Third Sister found Kenobi's imagecaster that Estree had dropped.

As the transport fled Jabiim, its faulty hyperdrive caused it to be pursued by the Devastator. Kenobi decided to separate from the refugees to give Roken time to fix the ship and escape, which angered Organa. Estree advised Kenobi to give Organa space and promised to get her to Alderaan as soon as Kenobi was clear. Estree comforted Organa before Kenobi returned to say his farewells. Kenobi and Organa later regrouped on Alderaan.

Estree's motivation as a criminal and conman was to acquire more credits. He employed Jayco to find potential clients and lead them to his lair, using magnets and remotes to perpetuate his fake Jedi scam. While Estree prioritized profitability, he also ensured that the people he scammed would find safety with the Path. Estree carried a fake lightsaber on his hip, outside his robes, unlike most Jedi who concealed their lightsabers. He later helped Kenobi escape, claiming he wanted to make amends, and faced the Third Sister to buy Kenobi and Organa more time to flee.

Despite his criminal activities and lies, Estree's intentions were not malicious. He genuinely wanted to help Kenobi and developed a newfound respect for real Jedi after meeting him. He was also devoted to the Path, maintaining contact with Tala Durith on Jabiim, though he suggested that the Path's headquarters would be a good place 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 known as a master of illusion and possessed a blaster pistol. Although his scam revolved around him being a Jedi, Estree was not Force-sensitive.

Estree used a modified remote door opener to close shutters, creating the illusion of using the Force, and magnets to summon his comlink. He also carried a fake lightsaber on his hip and owned a blaster pistol. He wore brown trousers with an off-white undershirt, a dark green tunic, and a brown carbon-cotton belt.

Haja Estree, portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani, with Brennan Mejia as his stunt double, debuted in "Part II" of the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi on May 26, 2022. The character was teased beforehand in an interview with Nanjiani and in the series' teaser trailer released on March 9, 2022. Writer Joby Harold believed that including a fake Jedi would be a fun addition to Star Wars, leading to Estree's creation. Estree's use of trickery to close the shutters in the second episode was meant to emphasize his fraudulent nature. Harold included that scene because J.J. Abrams had told him that Jedi using the Force should be a significant, earned moment. Nanjiani was cast after Deborah Chow pitched the project to him.

To prepare for his role, Nanjiani re-watched all the Star Wars films and researched con-men techniques. He found it enjoyable to portray a con-man in the Star Wars universe and a fake Jedi in general. Nanjiani researched con men and magicians to learn how to play Estree. He considered working on a Star Wars project a "dream come true." He described Estree as a "street-level con-man guy who then gets embroiled in stuff that's way too big for him," using gadgets to deceive others. 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 his eventual choice much richer.

During production, propmaster Brad Elliott and other staff decided that Estree's lightsaber should look rudimentary and only passable as one from a distance, reflecting that he was not a true Jedi. He tasked several prop makers with creating a lightsaber for Estree with a budget of fifty dollars and a day and a half, instructing them to use hardware store materials and intentionally make it "bad." However, Elliott felt that each lightsaber turned out "too good" due to his team's talent. Eventually, the prop lightsabers were presented to Chow and designer Doug Chiang, alongside one Elliott had made for Halloween out of hardware store materials when he was in his twenties. Though Elliott considered his costume lightsaber to be of poor quality, Chiang and Chow chose it for Estree to use in the show. The propmaster was shocked but thrilled that a piece of his past had become canon, having only intended it for a costume party.