Could the re-match between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader be the biggest ripple in the Force since the death of Chewbacca?
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series premieres on May 25, 2022, and fans are salivating at the mouth in anticipation of the long-awaited “re-match” between Obi-Wan and his old student. Exciting as it is, many “gatekeepers” are skeptical of this decision because its existence can hurt pre-established continuity.
An excellent example is a dialogue between Dooku and Anakin in their “re-match” in Episode 3. “My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count,” Anakin says arrogantly “Good” Dooku quips. “Twice the pride. Double the fall”. This is a very GOOD piece of dialogue. And in 2005, for all we knew, Dooku had only dueled Anakin once before this, in Episode II. However, in 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was created to fill in the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. And due to needing plot points, writers had no choice but to match up Dooku and Anakin.
DOOKU VS ANAKIN
At the current count, Dooku and Anakin have met at least SEVEN times before ROTS. One was in the Ventress book and was an illusion. But FIVE meetings is kinda ridiculous and completely negates the dialogue in Episode III. You can just ignore it and many fans do, but sometimes, it bugs me. Now, this mistake could be made yet again, but luckily a vague reference may save the day. “Obi-Wan once thought as you do,” Vader says lost in memories while encountering his son on Endor. He is speaking of course, of letting go of the dark path and returning to the light. We see in this same movie, that Obi-Wan didn’t have much faith in that theory. But this comment from Vader implies that perhaps he DID believe it at one point, and we may get to see this in the Obi-Wan series.
POWER OF THE DARK SIDE
Perhaps, they will duel and Obi-Wan will try to appeal to the man buried deep within the machine. A man he loved as a brother and taught from childhood. Vader will inevitably refuse, and that will solidify in Obi-Wan’s mind that his former friend is gone forever. BUT Vader did listen and remember as he recounts it to his son a decade later. Since we know there is good in Vader, we may see a bit of conflict in Anakin’s heart during this series. Also, the very first Star Wars movie has Vader speak silently to himself “I sense a presence, I haven’t felt since…..” He then stops before giving a location and walks away bewildered that he is sensing his former master.
MUSTAFAR
In 2005, the place fans think Vader was seconds away from saying was “Mustafar” (the site of their fateful duel). But now, of course, that answer has changed. And the good thing is since it was a blank, you can change the fill-in at any time. Nice and neat. No retcon is necessary. Now the only mystery remains: Did Vader think he killed Obi-Wan at the end of this new duel? All will be revealed on Disney Plus on May 25th.
Author
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
Can’t you people ever learn how to make up your minds to keep Stars Wars storylines in alphabetical order from 1977-2022 without taken all each other’s places? Come on.