Obi-Wan Kenobi Director on Directing Darth Vader: “It Was Intense”

Credit: Disney Plus Press

NOT EVERYONE gets to direct an iconic character from a globally cherished franchise. And Darth Vader is particular. Recently, Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow spoke about his experience directing this very overwhelming character.

Obi-Wan Kenobi recreated the franchise’s most powerful and terrifying version of Darth Vader, portrayed by multiple individuals due to its physicality and voice. In fact, four individuals worked together to recreate the role in the Disney+ series.

Related: Obi-Wan Kenobi Director Says Season 2 Is Not “Off the Board”

Hayden Christensen is the obvious unmasked version of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. The legendary James Earl Jones, who voiced the character. Dimitrios Bistrevsky and Tom O’Connell were also brought in to join Christensen for the physical performance of Vader.

Credit: Disney Plus Press

“You just never think that you’re going to end up directing Darth Vader,” the director told The Hollywood Reporter.

In fact, he had a very surreal experience when it happened. “I’d sit on set and go, ‘I don’t know how this happened.’”

Chow recalled his first expression of Darth Vader was much more overwhelming than the character seemed on screen because of its massiveness. “When he first walked on set, it felt like he was almost twice my size. It was intense.”

“When you’re the one responsible for having Vader come across as Vader, it’s not quite as easy as it seems,” said Chow. “There’s a lot of work that gets into making that character operate the way that he does, but it was just amazing. I got to direct Darth Vader.”