Some justified quibbles aside, Obi-Wan Kenobi looks like it’s going to go down in Star Wars history as a big success. It’s been a huge ratings hit for Disney Plus, threaded the needle of showing us a new story between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and provided some fun context for Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship.
Beyond all that, one of the most praised elements of the show is Vivian Lyra Blair’s ten-year-old Leia Organa. Blair managed to make a forthright and insightful child character tolerable, with her performance as Leia neatly segueing into Carrie Fisher in A New Hope.
Hayden Christensen, who plays Leia’s on-screen dad Anakin Skywalker, didn’t get to share a scene with her, though has singled out Blair for what she accomplished. In an interview with E! Online, he said:
“I was just thrilled at seeing young Leia in this story and how’s she’s represented. I think they really imbued the character with all the qualities that make that character great. And young Vivien has done such a great job of bringing her to life.”
Christensen also says he recognized another key Star Wars character in her performance, saying he was “getting those little glimpses of Padme” in her Leia.
Disney and Lucasfilm now have nine years of fertile storytelling ground between Obi-Wan Kenobi and A New Hope, and we hope Blair is a part of those projects. We’ve already seen parts of the Rebellion being built in various Star Wars films, shows, comics, and books, but showing how Leia learned from her experiences to become a valuable figurehead and leader against the Empire would be a very fun watch.
Blair will next appear in Gren Well’s drama Dear Zoe, which adapts the Philip Beard novel of the same name, and then in horror movie The Boogeyman based on a Stephen King short story. She’s proved she has the talent to make it in Hollywood, let’s hope they give her a chance to show what she can do.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is available to stream in full on Disney Plus.