Warning: Contains Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1 & 2 SPOILERS
Barely halfway through the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the unexpected character appearances that had been promised by Ewan McGregor and others started with Jimmy Smits reprising his role as Bail Organa, the adoptive father of Princess Leia. However, despite delivering some major plot points, the surprise death of the Grand Inquisitor and the first appearance of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, director Deborah Chow has promised that there will be more cameos to come thanks to the placement of the series in the Star Wars timeline.
Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, meaning that there is plenty of scope to see characters from the prequels returning to the franchise, such as Smits and Joel Edgerton, who plays Uncle Owen as he did in the three prequel movies. Of course there are a host of new characters too, including Third Sister Reva, played by Moses Ingram, but with shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi fans are always looking for the next cameo appearance. Chow told Rotten Tomatoes TV:
“I don't think it would be Star Wars if we didn't have some Easter eggs, and we didn't have some cameos. So there definitely are some to come. I think for us, what we do have in the show, it needed to come out of character for us. We didn't want to just put things in for the sake of it. [...] With that said, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a character that has definitely interacted with a lot of people and has done a lot in his life.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi Has Delivered Many Easter Eggs So Far
As well as larger roles that have seen former actors reprising their roles, there have also been some fleeting Easter egg appearances in the first two episodes. Temuera Morrison appears as a 501st clone battalion veteran who is begging for money on the streets of Daiyu, while C-3PO and R2-D2 have made short appearances in the royal gathering on Alderaan. However, we are only two episodes in which means there is plenty of time for more surprises to come, as Chow has suggested.
Of course, the biggest talking point of the first two episodes was the unveiling of Hayden Christensen’s short but certainly memorable return to the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. From the moment it was announced that Christensen would be returning alongside Ewan McGregor for the series, it has been a given that the entire season is going to be one long tease for a climactic rematch between the former mentor and student.
While there is a lot of anticipation to see the Jedi and the Sith Lord come to blows again, there is still a lot of storytelling to be done. Even though the Star Wars TV shows have delivered a lot of Easter eggs and surprise cameos over the last couple of years, there is always a tale to be told and that has to be the focus of any series, otherwise it is likely to fall to the dark side of the streaming charts.