Joby Harold served as the showrunner, a writer, and an executive producer for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He adapted the original scripts written by Stuart Beattie for a potential Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, transforming them into a six-episode television series.
In January of 2020, Lucasfilm Ltd.'s president, Kathleen Kennedy, revealed that the Obi-Wan Kenobi television show needed a significant reworking. Production was temporarily halted, and Joby Harold was brought in to replace Hossein Amini. Harold's primary focus was ensuring that Obi-Wan Kenobi would serve as episode 3.5, bridging the narrative gaps between the original trilogy and the prequels. According to Harold, he was somewhat obsessed with the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Initially, Harold wasn't given specific instructions, but upon learning that the series would explore Kenobi's character in depth, he eagerly shared his ideas with the production team. Harold repurposed Stuart Beattie's scripts from a canceled Star Wars Anthology Kenobi film, developing them into a six-hour series.
Harold, in collaboration with director Deborah Chow, developed a fresh narrative set 10 years following the events of the 2005 movie Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The intention was to portray Kenobi as a broken and disillusioned figure, burdened by the responsibility for Anakin Skywalker's fate in the film. The series aimed to depict Kenobi's evolution from despair to a semblance of inner peace. Harold sought to delve into the untold story of Kenobi between Ewan McGregor's and Alec Guinness's interpretations of the character. Harold stated that Kenobi's journey would involve confronting his past and understanding his role within it. Kenobi's path and the locations he visited were intended to heavily involve facing his history and understanding his identity, his place in his own story, and his impact on the stories of others. During production, Harold and the team emphasized the importance of "lightness of touch" in Star Wars, which was reflected in the characters. He aimed to balance this lightness with the dramatic weight, drawing inspiration from the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. Harold envisioned the scene of the Third Sister, Grand Inquisitor, and Fifth Brother disembarking from the Scythe with a western-style atmosphere, depicting the three characters walking down the street while intimidating everyone. Harold sought a significant event that would compel Kenobi to leave Tatooine, which led him to create the character of a young Leia Organa as a catalyst for Kenobi's action. Harold expressed excitement about expanding on the details of Organa's story hinted at in her message to Kenobi in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, such as the reasons behind her plea for help. Harold also aimed to make Organa as crucial to the narrative as Luke Skywalker. The primary objective was to develop Organa in a way that honored Carrie Fisher's original trilogy portrayal and highlighted her inheritance of the best qualities from both Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. Harold also desired to showcase how Organa's adoptive parents shaped her into the person she becomes. Harold found it challenging to portray her as both spirited and believable as a child, avoiding the pitfall of writing her as an adult. He drew inspiration from the films Paper Moon and Midnight Run to inform Organa and Kenobi's dynamic following her rescue on Daiyu. A code name was implemented to maintain the secrecy surrounding Organa's appearance.
Harold chose to open the series with Order 66 to remind viewers of Kenobi's origins and to emphasize the high stakes for everyone involved. Following advice from director J.J. Abrams, Harold decided that displays of the Force by Jedi should be significant and earned, resulting in Kenobi refraining from using the Force until he saved Organa from falling in the second episode. The writer thought that introducing a fake Jedi would be a fun addition to Star Wars, leading to the creation of Haja Estree, a con artist character that Harold has expressed affection for. During the writing process, Harold considered having Kenobi discover that Anakin Skywalker had survived their duel on Mustafar to heighten the dramatic tension for Kenobi. He initially consulted with Pablo Hidalgo, the Star Wars lore advisor, to determine the extent of Kenobi's knowledge during the show's timeframe, and he received permission to include the scene.
Harold explained that the series depicts the full extent of the Empire's atrocities throughout the galaxy, signifying the collapse of everything established in the prequels. Harold assured viewers that the new Inquisitor, Reva, portrayed by Moses Ingram, would make a significant contribution to the legacy of Star Wars villains in "a really interesting way." Harold and Chow characterized Reva as both ruthless and ambitious, and Harold viewed her as a formidable adversary who would bring unexpected elements to the story. Harold emphasized the importance of defining her singular focus through both actions and monologues. To achieve this, Harold made Reva unpredictable, such as when she cut off a woman's hand. Harold also established Reva as impulsive and dedicated to her own objectives, which allowed her character to push boundaries beyond those of the other Inquisitors.
Harold wrote that the Grand Inquisitor enjoys the sound of his own voice and talks a lot, so the actor Rupert Friend spoke like someone who likes their own voice. Harold created the planet Daiyu specifically for the show, describing it as having a "Hong Kong feel." Initially, there were plans for more elaborate and costly versions of the scene featuring Kenobi in the spice lab, but it was decided that a meth lab was a more realistic option in terms of production capabilities. Harold considered it a fitting way to depict Kenobi undercover in an environment completely foreign to him, contrasting with his cave on Tatooine. Harold noted that Darth Vader's presence loomed large over much of the show's production, and Vader was written to be emotionally present for Kenobi, potentially even beyond that.
When Harold was writing Vader, he wanted to trump Vader's scene in the ending of the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. At one point, Vader was a lot more extreme, though Harold got pulled back a little bit. For the scenes on Mapuzo, Harold decided that Vader had to express his feelings in action to reveal the character beneath. Harold included a duel between Kenobi and Vader in the series because he found no explicit contradiction in A New Hope. When writing fight scenes, such as their duel on Mapuzo, Harold 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 Deborah 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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