Well Disney Investor Day has me recovering from nerd seizures. From Pixar to Star Wars to Marvel it feels like there was enough content dropped today to fill a year of announcements! It’s so much I obviously won’t be able to write on all of it, but we will absolutely try to get through all the highlights on this week’s Comic Couch!

The first things I want to dive into are some of the new projects announced for the Star Wars (growing) universe. As they brought up the full screen of show logos (ten to be exact) I was drawn to the Andor series as well as the Obi-Wan series.

Today we got official word that the Obi-Wan show will not just see the return of Ewan McGregor in the title role but will also have Hayden Christensen return as Darth Vader.… Hm…

Set ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith this seems to fit just fine chronologically with the actors; we’re fifteen years from when that film hit theaters. What I think is happening here is that we’re going to get a best of both worlds scenario; Hayden will be the man under the mask allowing the actor to deliver lines BUT while the helmet is on we are going to get full-blown James Earl Jones voiceover. This approach will allow Christensen to continue to explore his interpretation of the character, in a much more demented nature, while still giving the fans the Vader they know and love.

Now, there of course is some anxiety here. Until now we believed that the two characters hadn’t met again since the events of Mustafar. However, if we reflect back on A New Hope we have to acknowledge they they never specifically say how long it had been since their last encounter.

As this takes place ten years after episode III it’s possible that they could have a run-in within the Obi-Wan period and Vader’s, “I haven’t felt a presence like that since…” could be referring to a nine-year gap instead of nineteen. Long story short- I think there is wiggle room to play here.

The reason I bring up Andor is because there’s a strong possibility that the series will have overlapping elements with Obi-Wan. As we saw Vader give his most violent performance in Rogue One I believe these two shows will not only seek to enrich the Star Wars universe in their own right, but will create the space for Vader to showcase the depths of his evil once again.

Now, Andor is rumored to take place five years before Rogue One (making it align exactly with Star Wars: Rebels) but that is still close enough to show more Vader and have McGregor continue the role even for a cameo.

Time will tell! Either way I am very excited for both shows and can’t wait to see what we’re in for.