As part of today's Disney+ celebrations, Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return premiered on the streaming service. The hour-long making-of special takes us behind the scenes of the series, revealing new comments from the cast and creatives along with an in-depth exploration of how key moments were filmed.
As you might expect, there's a lot of footage delving into Obi-Wan Kenobi's creation, and we're now highlighting some specific scenes we thought you'd like to take a closer look at.
From the return of key actors and characters like Ian McDiarmid's Emperor Palpatine and Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn to Hayden Christensen's jaw-dropping transformation into Darth Vader, there are a lot of cool photos here that have never been seen before.
To take a look through them, all you guys need to do is click the "Next" button below!
10. Emperor Palpatine Returns
Ian McDiarmid made his surprise return as Emperor Palpatine in Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the Sith Lord making it clear to Darth Vader that it was time for him to move on from pursuing his former Master.
Deborah Chow directed the actor over Zoom, and this scene alone was handled better than just about everything we saw from the villain in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
9. Zach Braff's Cameo
Scrubs star Zach Braff made his surprise Star Wars debut by playing Freck, the alien who transports Obi-Wan Kenobi and Princess Leia right into the hands of the Empire.
In this behind-the-scenes shot, we see the actor wearing a device that mimics his facial expressions through the prosthetic head that had been created for the character.
8. Yes, That Was Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen underwent a significant physical transformation to play the horribly scarred Anakin Skywalker in this series.
After donning a second skin to effectively portray Darth Vader's scarred visage, the actor was indeed placed inside that Bacta Tank. No visual effects were needed, and this is an awesome moment to be able to take a closer look at.
7. Return Of The Jedi
Of course, it wasn't only Darth Vader the actor played in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He also returned as the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, both in a vision taunting Ben and a flashback to the former friends training on Coruscant.
The shot above shows Hayden Christensen suiting up in his old Jedi robes for the first time in many years. As you might imagine, it was an emotional moment for him.
6. Liam Neeson Is Back
There had been rumours Liam Neeson might return as Qui-Gon Jinn in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and those were proven correct in the final few minutes of the show's last episode.
Neeson has never shied away from the role, even though he hasn't appeared on screen as Qui-Gon since 1999's The Phantom Menace. He has, however, lent his voice to the character for multiple projects (including The Clone Wars).
5. Friends Reunited
There had been some speculation that Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson never actually spent any time together on set. After all, COVID caused all manner of restrictions and it would have been easy to splice their scenes together.
Well, this confirms the two actors did indeed reunite decades after first working together on Episode I, and we love to see it!
4. A Menagerie Of Aliens
This is classic Star Wars. Director Deborah Chow made use of a whole host of aliens for Obi-Wan Kenobi, bringing them to life with the use of prosthetics and practical effects.
We're not sure if these were made specifically for the show or if Lucasfilm has them lying around somewhere. Either way, it's great to see the focus put on "real" creatures rather than those brought to life solely with VFX.
3. Darth Vader Unmasked
We're not sure what the story is here, though we're assuming it was a replica used on set for reference purposes. The Sith Lord's unmasking served as one of the show's most shocking and memorable moments, that's for sure.
However, before you go assuming that Hayden Christensen wasn't on hand for these scenes, you'll want to take a look at our next photo...
2. Anakin Or Vader?
Yes, the returning Anakin Skywalker actor did indeed don Darth Vader's costume and that was his face staring back at Obi-Wan Kenobi. The transformation is amazing, and shows how committed Hayden Christensen was to the role.
We'd have liked to see more footage from this final battle, but if you watch the documentary, you'll get to see some lightsaber action.
1. The Man Beneath The Mask
Will we see more of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader? We find it hard to believe this will be it for the actor as the iconic Sith Lord and there are plenty of other places he could appear moving forward.
With any luck, Lucasfilm has plans to announce a Darth Vader Disney+ TV series that offers the opportunity to spend more time with this villain away from the iconic moments we know so well.