Every bit of casting news means we’re that much closer to production, and this is good news indeed: Indira Varma, Game of Thrones‘ Ellaria Sand, is joining the cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series. Let the wild speculation about her character begin!
In December, Disney revealed two key pieces of information about the Obi-Wan show—it’s set 10 years after The Revenge of the Sith, and Hayden Christensen will return to play Darth Vader. It had previously been announced that the show would be set eight years after Sith, and that little timeline change is enough to pique the curiosity of anyone looking at where this story will fit in with existing series. Obi-Wan Kenobi will take place not long after Solo, and not long before most of the events of Rebels, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for Obi’s paths to cross with characters from either tale: Maybe Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra, maybe Kanan Jarrus. (Do I just really want to see live-action Hera Syndulla? I do.) This is also a window of time where Darth Maul could (and probably will) make an appearance, though Rebels fans know it won’t be the last time these two meet.
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The post-Clone Wars setting makes it unlikely that Varma will be playing a Jedi, though some of us are still holding out hope that the live-action series will ignore the events of Dark Disciple and let us have Asajj Ventress back—a role Varma would be incredible in.
Varma is likely best known for her work on Game of Thrones (where she played the partner of future Mandalorian Pedro Pascal), but she’s been working regularly since making her debut in 1996’s Kama Sutra. Among other roles, she appeared on Torchwood and Luther, played Niobe on Rome, and provided the voice of Vivienne for two Dragon Age games.
Last year, it was announced that Joby Harold would step in as the writer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, following the departure of original writer Hossein Amini. Harold was one of the writers of Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and co-wrote Zack Snyder’s upcoming Army of the Dead. As far as we know, Mandalorian director Deborah Chow is still on board to direct Obi-Wan’s story.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is expected to premiere in late 2021 or 2022.
