‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Teases Return Of Another Fan-Favourite Character

Recently, fans have been blessed with a number of Star Wars TV and film projects which scratch our itch for the ever expanding universe.

One of the shows we are most excited for is the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+ featuring the stars of the prequels Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christiansen reprising their roles as former Jedi knights and Sith Lords respectively. However, there is still a lot of speculation going around as to just which Star Wars characters will appear in the series.

You can see the most recent trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi featuring the first look at Darth Vader in the video below. 

One observant Reddit user has their theory as to a character we could see returning. Posting to r/StarWarsLeaks, user u/hs1481 transcribed a conversation they heard at the Imperial Commissary Collectors Convention, a convention for sci-fi fans and toy collectors. 

In a panel hosted by Ian McDiarmid who has played Emperor Palpatine in all three Star Wars Trilogies, the actor gave some insight on whether he would be appearing as the phantom menace in any upcoming projects.

“There’s a certain show coming soon set right around the time I may have considered to be very active. Whether or not you will see my physical body, I cannot comment on. But you will certainly feel my presence.”

McDiarmid doesn’t say which upcoming project he will be starring in, but he is certainly heavily hinting at it. While he doesn’t mention Obi-Wan Kenobi specifically, the timeline when Palpatine was active - mostly between the prequels and the original trilogy - appears to line up with the timeline of the show.

Fans have speculated about the other shows McDiarmid could be referring to. Andor is another show which is also set prior to the events of the original trilogy. There is also Star Wars: The Bad Batch, an animated show entering its second series, which takes place around the end of the prequel trilogy. As the show is animated this would be a good guess relating to McDiarmid’s comment that you might not see him physically.