Darth Vader's Jedi Hunting Is Personal In Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hayden Christensen reveals that regardless of Darth Vader's mandate from the Emperor, his mission to hunt down Jedi will be very personal on Obi-Wan.

Darth Vader's Jedi Hunting Is Personal In Obi-Wan Kenobi

Darth Vader’s hunt for the Jedi alongside his team of Inquisitors in Obi-Wan Kenobi will be personal. The infamous villain will be making his return in the newest Star Wars series, with Hayden Christensen stepping back into the role for the first time since the prequel trilogy. He joins Ewan McGregor, who will once again be shrugging on Obi-Wan’s robes as the Jedi navigates life 10 years after the fall of the Republic and the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan will be called away from his vigilant watch over Luke Skywalker in an adventure that will force him to come to terms with everything he’s been through.

One of the biggest threats following Obi-Wan in this series will be Vader and his team of ruthless Inquisitors. The Force-sensitive Jedi hunters were first seen in the animated Star Wars Rebels series and have since also been depicted in the video game Jedi: Fallen Order. Many of the Inquisitors are fallen Jedi, such as the Grand Inquisitor who used to serve as a guard at the Jedi Temple. This makes them each extremely dangerous threats to Jedi who are still on the run from Order 66, as they could be met with a hard match in the Force. With Vader leading this team on Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s also likely that he’ll join in these hunts to ensure their follow-through.

Now, Christensen has revealed that the Jedi hunting conducted by Vader is, in fact, very personal. In an interview with The Cutaway with William Mullally, the actor is asked what he found about Vader that was different from his portrayal in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars trilogy. Christensen discusses this open gap in the timeline that hasn’t yet been explored in depth, and how that’s allowed for his portrayal of Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi to be “interesting.” The actor shared that Vader is trying to “reconcile his past,” and his hunting of the Jedi is a big part of that, even going so far as to become a “personal mission for him.” See everything Christensen revealed below:

This is sort of a point in the timeline that hasn’t really been explored yet, and I think that the character of Darth Vader is at an interesting point in his life, in terms of what has happened before and where we left him in Episode III. He’s very much sort of trying to reconcile his past, and hunting down the Jedi… obviously it’s his job and he’s mandated by the Emperor, but it’s more than that. It’s a personal mission for him.

It comes as no surprise that Vader will take a large personal stake in his hunt for Obi-Wan, though Christensen’s inference about all of Vader’s efforts being personal is a very interesting detail. Given the heartbreaking circumstances of Anakin’s fall and Vader’s rise, it’s clear to see how Vader could have a strong desire to take down any Jedi he can. It’s possible that audiences could even see Vader thinking about the loss of Padmé, the person for whom Anakin turned to the dark side in the first place, as Vader could still be taking out his pain of her death on Obi-Wan and the Jedi.

All of the personal stake Vader has in his Jedi hunt will culminate into his highly anticipated rematch with Obi-Wan. It’s likely that Obi-Wan still doesn’t know Anakin survived to become Darth Vader following their Revenge of the Sith duel, which will make the rematch even more emotional and thus intense. The hurt each character has experienced respectively will likely cement this duel into Star Wars history as one of the most thrilling, though there will be many steps for both Obi-Wan and Vader to take before audiences get to witness such an event. The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series will undoubtedly change viewers’ understanding of Vader forever, though in which way is yet to be seen.