By Cale William
On Monday, Lucasfilm officially revealed the cast for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. The Ewan McGregor led show, which includes Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, will also feature Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, and Moses Ingram. Ingram, perhaps best known for her role in The Queen’s Gambit, fueled speculation that she could be playing a character with lightsabers, posting on Instagram:
If true, this seems to confirm that Ingram will be playing a Force user of some kind, or at the very least someone who uses lightsabers. Which Force user, or a new character entirely, remains to be seen. Just a few months ago, Star Wars fans were treated to the first live action appearance of Ahsoka Tano in the second season of The Mandalorian, played by Rosario Dawson. Now, some are theorizing that Tano will appear in Kenobi.
The story of Obi-Wan Kenobi is now longer after the project was changed from a film to a series, meaning that there’s more room to explore the characters in depth. Fans expect to really get inside Obi-Wan’s head in this show, and rumors and theories have circulated that the series will do this by showing flashbacks to the Clone Wars. This would be amazing for fans who for years have longed to see the prequel actors don their characters’ animated battle armor seen throughout The Clone Wars animated show, and would also give Hayden Christensen more screen time as Anakin Skywalker. In doing so, fans could also see the trio of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka together in live action for the first time.
All of this leads to speculation that Moses Ingram could be playing a young Ahsoka Tano in the upcoming series. If she did, it would set a precedent of Rosario Dawson as the Original Trilogy and post Return of the Jedi era Ahsoka, with Moses Ingram playing the prequel era version of the character.
However, the de-aging technology that exists today and the fact that whoever plays Ahsoka will need extensive makeup and prosthetics mean that it would be relatively easy to bring Rosario Dawson in as a younger version of the character, which could dispel this theory.
Still, Ingram could be playing a Force user in general. At this point in canon, there are many Inquisitors wreaking havoc upon the remaining Jedi and Rebels, and it’s possible that Ingram’s lightsaber collection could be a hint at that. This would certainly make sense, particularly as Darth Vader appears to be the main villain of the series, yet he most likely won’t pose a physical threat to Obi-Wan until towards the end of the season (as Kathleen Kennedy teased “the rematch of the century). In the meantime, an Inquisitor would seem to serve the story well, giving Obi-Wan a more immediate threat while his battle with Vader is saved for later on. This would also provide a lot more lightsaber combat in the show, something that will really excite fans, especially since it’s Ewan McGregor that will be holding the laser sword.
It’s unclear at this time who Moses Ingram will be playing, but evidence suggests that she could be playing a Force user. Although some hold the theory that she is a young Ahsoka Tano, her being an Inquisitor would seem to make more sense.
Obi-Wan Kenobi begins production next month.
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm and Disney