Andrew Stanton Star Wars: Wall-E Director Talks Writing Obi-Wan Kenobi

Andrew Stanton is aware of a factor or two about storytelling. A two-time Oscar winner greatest identified for steering Finding Nemo and Wall-E, Stanton has been with Pixar for the reason that very starting, lending his experience to not simply his movies, however many of the movies the studio has launched. In between, he’s begun to unfold his wings and work extra on tv, directing episodes of Better Call Saul, Legion, Tales From the Loop, and For All Mankind. Most not too long ago, he labored as a author on the ultimate two episodes of the Disney+ collection Obi-Wan Kenobi which, us being us, we needed to ask about in a brand new interview.

Stanton is at the moment selling the very fact his Oscar-winning masterpiece, Wall-E, is coming to the Criterion Collection later this month. And we’ll get rather more into that quickly. During our speak although, we requested about writing on Kenobi, particularly the ultimate two episodes, which featured vastly essential moments to the material of the Star Wars franchise. Stanton has apparent reverence for the fabric but additionally some surprisingly frank ideas a few potential drawback writing in a galaxy far, far, away.

“That was the blessing and the curse of it,” Stanton advised io9 when requested about being part of two main episodes within the canon of Star Wars. “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.”

“And so I was frustrated sometimes—not a lot— but I just felt it wasn’t as conducive to [the story],” Stanton continued. “So I love it when something like Andor is in a safe spot. And it can just do whatever the heck it wants. But I felt, you know, Joby [Harold, Obi-Wan Kenobi co-writer and executive producer], 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.”

Stanton’s trepidations appear to reflect what many Star Wars followers are beginning to see, particularly in mild of the adoration for Andor. Andor can go anyplace. Do something. All that should occur is, ultimately, the character will get a tip a few large Imperial weapon which ends up in the ultimate chapter, Rogue One. How it will get there—save for greater issues, like the principle character becoming a member of the Rebellion and assembly eventual sidekick Okay-2SO—is a totally clean slate.

With Obi-Wan Kenobi particularly, and the opposite reveals to a lesser extent, you’re utilizing characters and a time-frame that’s very well-explored, and telling tales that could be up towards years of preconceptions or earlier works. That can put large shackles round your story, whereas, say, with a Pixar film, there isn’t any restrict to the place the story can go. And within the odd case that there are limits—like, for instance, Lightyear—issues don’t go as properly.

We’ll have rather more from Stanton on how Wall-E turned the primary Pixar film within the Criterion Collection, and all of the methods it was slightly too correct about its depiction of the long run. You can pre-order the disc here.

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