Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow has compared the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series to the character-driven stories found in acclaimed movies like Joker and Logan.
Total Film recently attended a press conference where Chow touched on what fans can expect from Obi-Wan Kenobi, explaining how the series allowed them to explore the Star Wars character further. She said it was “exciting” to take on this type of story and likened it to two major comic book movies, though she noted that the tone isn’t the same as theirs.
“I think I was the most excited about getting the opportunity to do a character-driven story, in a similar way – it’s a different tone – but something like Joker or Logan, where you take one character out of a big franchise and then you really have the time and you go a lot deeper with the character,” Chow said. “That to me seemed really exciting to get to do in Star Wars.”
Joker and Logan are not the only two comparisons to have been drawn. Chow previously revealed that she was influenced by “gritty, poetic westerns” such as 2007’s The Assassination of Jesse James and 2005’s The Proposition. She also gave a nod to world-renowned director Akira Kurosawa, whose work greatly inspired Star Wars as we know it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up ten years after Revenge of the Sith, with Ewan McGregor returning to his Star Wars role (alongside Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader) for the first time in 17 years. The actor admitted he was slightly out of practice when he approached the role again and that he initially struggled to find his character’s voice because it “had been so long.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi will premiere on Disney+ on May 27 with two episodes. Alongside McGregor and Christensen, the highly-anticipated series stars Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, and Sung Kang. Chow is directing the series and Joby Harold is the showrunner, with John Williams and Natalie Holt composing the score.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.