The other day I was driving home from a very long day of work, honestly, most workdays at this point are long and it would probably be easier just to say “driving home from work” but you all know I have a flair for the dramatic so, I was driving home from a very long day of work. I was relistening to the Binge Mode: Star Wars- Rebels podcast, having just finished my re-watch of the show, I haven’t been quite ready to say goodbye to these characters. I missed them pretty instantly and re-listening to this pod allowed me to celebrate them one more time until I randomly choose to watch “Twilight of the Apprentice Parts 1 &2”… again. During this re-listen, they started talking about the episode that focused on the conclusion of the Obi-Wan/Darth Maul story, an episode that I personally love but has left some fans kind of divided. I get it, but for me it’s such a perfect conclusion to their arc. It resonates.

That’s not what stood out to me though. No, I started thinking, “holy crap, they’re filming the Kenobi series right now. At this very moment”, and suddenly I needed that show in my life like yesterday. There’s still so much of Obi’s journey that we don’t know about and if the news coming out of Disney’s Shareholder’s Meeting was any indication, there was a ton of new chapters to be written about Old Ben. You know, like an encounter with Darth Vader before that fateful duel on the Death Star back in A New Hope.

Which got me thinking, not about what that encounter would be, no, I was more focused on the casting of the series. Among alllllll the Star Wars announcements back during the Shareholder’s meeting, we learned that Hayden Christensen would be returning to Star Wars to play Darth Vader. Talk about coming full circle. Yes, Christensen has been the butt of many prequel-related jokes but over time it seems that reception of his performance as Anakin has softened. I’m willing to admit that not all of the prequel’s problems is his fault, George takes his blame, and I’ve grown nostalgic for Christensen and love that he’s returning to the franchise. It makes my heart feel good.

Here’s the thing though, you’re going to bring Hayden Christensen back and then just throw him in the Vader suit? The whole time? Something isn’t adding up to me there. I mean, it’s cool and I love it but there has to be more to it than that, right? One has to figure that James Earl Jones will most likely return to voice Vader, so you mean to tell me Christensen is going to be the guy in the suit? Nah, I’m not buying that.

Immediately my mind started racing, we’re going to get some Obi and Anikan flashbacks. Got to. No doubt about it. Maybe we’ll get some things to fill in blanks between Episodes II and III, or maaaaaaaaybe, we can live-action flashbacks to important Clone Wars moments. Now, that would be cool to see those animated scenes come to life. One, it could introduce a whole new audience to the series, and Two, it would be such a gift to see those moments play out with these actors. I’ve long said that Clone Wars Anakin is my Anakin and the main reason why Revenge of the Sith hits that emotional impact the way it does. We’ve already seen properties like Solo and The Mandalorian incorporate some of those moments, characters, or stories and how it’s only enhanced the overall storytelling experience. #infiloniwetrust

And then…then my mind landed on a possibility that is almost too overwhelming for my brain to process. A possibility that seems to fragile to even whisper yet I can’t help but think it’s possible. Not just possible, a certainty.

What if we get a live-action flashback of Anakin, Obi… and Ahsoka.

I’ll give you a minute to recover because the prospect was almost enough to make me pull over my car for a minute to re-group.

Those of us who have watched Clone Wars, and to an extent Rebels, know the one thing that is missing from the prequels is Ahsoka Tano. Outside of Padme and Obi, she’s the most important person in Anakin Skywalker’s life. No questions asked. It’s her leaving of the Jedi Order that starts Anakin’s final push to the Dark Side. It’s her inability to speak to him before confronting the Chancellor that allows Anakin to save the Emperor’s life. Ahsoka Tano is the lynchpin of the prequels and we don’t see her once in any of the movies. She’s doesn’t even pull an E.T. in the background. This is a character that is instrumental to Anakin Skywalker and all that storytelling was done through the animated series. In fact, those final four episodes were so masterfully done that her absence from the prequels was not only avenged but reconciled. Filoni, who understands Star Wars better than anyone on the planet, filled those gaps and told the complete story that the prequels needed.

Now, now we have an opportunity to right those omissions. The Mandalorian gave us our first look at a live-action Ahsoka Tano and it’s something my brain still hasn’t properly recovered from. Yes, at the time I was in the midst of a COVID fog but I often stop and think that a live-action Ahsoka Tano exists in Star Wars and it’s almost too much for my heart to bear. Don’t get me wrong, I think the animated programs have more than validated Ahsoka’s importance to Star Wars but seeing her represented in live-action programs only helps to magnify her impact. Ahsoka is Star Wars and in a lot of ways, she’s the catalyst to move things forward.

Picture this, Obi, sitting out in the sands of Tatooine reflecting on his life. On his mistakes. Maybe even trying to reach out to Qui-Gon, something that could also happen, because Yoda gave him training after all. And then he sits back stroking that magnificent beard and falls into a flashback to happier times. A moment where Anakin, Obi, and Ahsoka are together talking strategy for the Clone Wars or training together. A reflective moment. A moment Obi could need to help advance his training. It doesn’t have to be much, just enough to help expand the prequels even further. Enough to further validate Ahsoka’s importance to Anakin’s journey, hell, her importance to the franchise. Do that, and I don’t care how many episodes Kenobi is, it’ll all be worth it.

When thinking about Kenobi this is all I can think about now. This has become my head cannon.

Once Rosario Dawson was cast as Ahsoka that picture of Hayden Christensen and her started circulating around the interwebs. Like Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader, an Ahsoka flashback seems inevitable. And it’s literally all I want from Star Wars right now… that and a sequel to Rebels but that’s a column for another day.

What do you think Geeklings, do you think Kenobi can bring us an Anakin/Obi/Ahsoka flashback? Is this something you want to see? Sound off in the comments below with your thoughts and theories or you can throw me a line over on Twitter @iamgeek32 to discuss this further. We still have some waiting to do before the show is released but it’s never to early to start those theory wheels turning.