Obi-Wan Kenobi is a legendary character, and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves in his own Disney+ Star Wars series titled after him. It won’t be wrong to say that it is the most anticipated series right after The Mandalorian season 3. In fact, it might be even more awaited!

The show is all set to bring Ewan McGregor in his most famous role along with Hayden Christensen who will be reprising his role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Joining them will be a talented cast full of old and new faces.

The series will be showcasing a crucial and much-speculated gap in Obi-Wan’s life- these were the years between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. So the series will definitely be showcasing an unknown side of the accomplished Jedi master.
However, there’s one little issue.

This little issue is the result of a bombastic casting announcement that could hint at a very dramatic turn of events in the upcoming Kenobi series. But that’s only if a widely circulated fan theory is actually true.

How Will The Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Reconcile A Possibly Major Timeline Disruption?

Back in December 2020, when 9 new Disney+ Star Wars stories were announced during Disney’s Investor Day, one important cast member’s name was leaked for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show.
It was said that Hayden Christensen will be coming back as Anakin Skywalker, after being the Vader.

But…there’s a hitch.

If Anakin and Kenobi meet up between the Original and Prequel trilogies, then it does lessen the intense dramatic impact of that long-awaited deadly confrontation between the two in Star Wars: A New Hope. So the question is- how can they possibly meet before in the Kenobi timeline without lessening the impact of their original meeting?

How can these big gaps between the two big duels between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin be bridged? There is a fan theory that has a solution to this problem.

Redditor u/TheRealStuPickles suggests that Obi-Wan Kenobi is definitely going to make one last attempt to try and redeem Anakin. And this will lead to a fight between them. Now, after the Mustafar fight, Obi-Wan left Anakin for dead, but in this one, Vader would be one who leaves Obi-Wan for dead.

Another Fan Theory Has A Clever Way Out Of This Dilemma

If the Kenobi show does go the above route, then Vader being able to later on know and sense the presence of Kenobi, his old mentor, would resonate even more with viewers. That presence would be of an old friend and not of a mentor and master that he thought he had killed.

This solemn reveal would quite possibly help propel a whole new dimension of hope. But it does depend on how Darth Vader feels upon learning that he didn’t kill Kenobi.

This storyline does feel like it will be extremely narratively exciting. But this isn’t the only way that Hayden Christensen could be inducted into the Obi-Wan series.

There is another way where Vader could be shown without altering the Star Wars canon in any way. And that’s by ensuring that he doesn’t show up during the major action sequence of the show. This can be done by making the Anakin Skywalker who appears in the Obi-Wan show to be just a vision.

This can be used to show how Obi-Wan is dealing with the guilt of losing his padawan to the darkness. However, if the show has already cast the actor who portrayed Darth Vader in the Prequel Trilogy, so why not use him to the fullest? Get your money’s worth at least. Also, since it’s almost confirmed that the Inquisitors will be showing up in the series, so it’s not hard to imagine that Vader will be following them too.

We don’t know which route Kenobi will take. But it needs to be said that messing with the canon established in the Original Trilogy was a major complaint in the Prequel Trilogy. Hell, it’s still a reason for fan contention in recent shows like Star Wars The Bad Batch.

So whether they use a dream sequence or a duel, Kenobi has a very lofty mission ahead when it comes to fleshing out Obi-Wan’s backstory. But will they be able to do it while keeping the timeline intact and satisfying fan expectations? That remains to be seen.

Check Out: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Obi-Wan Kenobi In Star Wars According To Reddit