Including Darth Vader in Kenobi Could be a Mistake

Plenty of fans are ready and willing to see Kenobi hit Disney+, but it’s going to be a little while before it would appear. But one element of the show that’s been broadcast is already making some folks wonder at the wisdom of it, and others salivate in excitement. The appearance of Darth Vader in the Kenobi show isn’t the biggest sticking point that has ever been devised, but it’s a big hope that the two won’t end up meeting up with each other during the series. The reason for this is pretty simple since the retconning that would be needed for this would be kind of a serious matter given that A New Hope saw Vader and Kenobi act as though they hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. It’s easy to think that placing Vader in this show would be a good idea just to give a bit of backstory on what the Sith lord has been doing since he ceased being Anakin Skywalker. Bringing these two together in the show might be interesting to see as a quick flash at the end of the series, but up until then it feels as though allowing Kenobi to remain independent 

The arguments that might be made to counter this idea are understandable since many people would likely retcon the entire franchise if they could to settle things the way they think they should be. Trying to convince anyone that things are fine the way they are is exceedingly difficult since the Star Wars fanbase is one of the most fractured and toxic among the many that exist. Why that is the case is up for debate since one would think that people would be able to agree on more, but for years now, there’s been more than one group of fans that think they have the overall story pegged and know what should be happening. 

Planning a meeting between Kenobi and Vader, bringing them closer to one another throughout the series, feels like it would have been a great idea, but it sounds as though Vader will be arriving by the third episode. How he’ll be presented and what he’ll be doing is interesting to think about since at this time it feels as though keeping Vader in the background, doing his own thing, would be the wisest move since in the comics and the books, Vader was a busy man for much of the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. One has to remember that several years passed between the two movies, a time in which Kenobi and Vader would be off doing their own thing and having adventures that would come to define who they would be once the original trilogy came around. It would appear that Darth Maul won’t be making an appearance, perhaps because the rematch with Kenobi happened in the animated series, Rebels, or maybe because of another factor. But the omission is going to hopefully be covered over by another aspect of Kenobi’s life that people are anticipating at this time. 

There’s reason to wonder what will happen to Obi-Wan in this series since the period that passed between the birth of Anakin and Padme’s children and A New Hope leaves a lot of room for a lot of things to occur. Given that this happens on the heels of Order 66 and the purge of the Jedi from the galaxy it’s fair to say that seeing other Force users pop up here and there would be nice since there are plenty of stories that could easily be made canon if Lucasfilm is willing to follow them. As of now it’s obvious that things have already been set in motion, and we’ll have to wait and see what’s going to happen, but the fact is that Obi-Wan spent a great deal of time on Tatooine, since he does have a home there and wandering out into the galaxy would have been too risky. Bringing Darth Vader back to Tatooine doesn’t feel as though it would be wise, but it would be a tense moment without any doubt. 

Focusing too much on Vader feels as though it would be a double-edged sword since it could mess with the continuity of the story, as has been done plenty of times according to fans, or it could be a nice counterpoint as long as the two are held at arm’s length. What’s bound to come is anyone’s guess, and people have been doing their best to analyze every image and divine what’s coming since the mention that Kenobi would be getting his own show. The hope is that we’ll see plenty of guest stars and perhaps only clips of Vader here and there and that the story will lead seamlessly into A New Hope at one point.