It’s been months since Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi debuted on Disney+, bringing a new tale of the lost Jedi. Two-time Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton wrote the final two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. These were the most enticing and highly applauded episodes, leading to the epic showdown between Anakin and Obi-Wan on an unknown planet. The part where Anakin’s mask breaks in half and we see this horrifyingly villainous turn of a brutally angry Darth Vader will stay with the fans forever. But it wasn’t exactly a treat for Andrew Stanton.

He had a wonderful time working on the fan-favorite series and has no regrets. But, given the series’ story restrictions, it was tricky to accomplish. Stanton had to ensure that the series fit the Star Wars Saga’s overall lore and appease the audience. And it was a process that was not always fun for Stanton.

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Talking to Gizmodo, Stanton described his experience working on the series as bittersweet. On the one hand, he was living the dream, bringing Vader and Obi-Wan together on-screen. But on the other, he also had several limitations while giving thought to the story, as any event in the show must have fallen within a particular timeline order.

Well, Stanton isn’t wrong as a writer. Writing is a job of creative liberty. Any writer must be free to shape the story in a certain way. But with Star Wars, things are different. Before the franchise expanded with Disney+, eleven movies were set within the saga, including two anthologies. So, any series has a tiny window to fall in there. Not that it has affected the quality of content in Star Wars, but one can’t imagine the amount of research, caution, and constant revision that must go into the penning of these series.

That was the blessing and the curse of it. It’s like one, you’re geeking out that you get to type ‘Vader says’ this and ‘Kenobi says’ that. You pause and say ‘I can’t believe I’m actually getting paid to type this. I can’t believe these words may be said.’ But then another part of you, it has to go through such a rigorous like ‘Does that fit the canon?’ And I feel like it’s bittersweet. [The reason that happens is] because people care, but it also kind of doesn’t allow, sometimes, things to venture beyond where maybe they should to tell a better story. So it can sometimes really handicap what I think are better narrative options.

Stanton Compares Obi-Wan Kenobi to Andor

     Lucasfilm

Andrew Stanton further clarified how he thinks canon-related limitations were a bit of a hustle for him. The writer compared writing Obi-Wan to the latest Star Wars series Andor. Stanton said,

Andor is set before the events of Star Wars: Rouge One, which is set before the original series and focuses on Andor’s rise in the rebellion. Andor, an unknown character featured only once in the series, has a lot of potential stories to be built around him. Hence, Andor is in a safe spot where the creators can give him any suitable backdrop without touching other significant events of the saga. It’s something that the series received critical acclaim for. However, for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the writers would have had a vast chronology of events to look after before fitting the series in between.

I was frustrated sometimes—not a lot— but I just felt it wasn’t as conducive to [the story]. I love it when something like Andor is in a safe spot. And it can just do whatever the heck it wants.

Stanton, however, found help in the form of co-writer Joby Harold, who held the writing table and managed to create a rightful, flawless story that didn’t meddle with any limitations.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi was widely applauded by fans who witnessed Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen together again. The Star Wars Saga is further expanding with several other Disney+ originals, and until now, each story, all well-crafted, has managed to sustain the legacy of the movies.

I felt, you know, Joby, to his credit, kept the torch alive and kept trying to thread the needle so that the story wouldn’t suffer but it would please all the people that were trying to keep it in the canon. But I got some moments in there that I’m very happy with.