Obi-Wan Kenobi featured the live-action debut of the Grand Inquisitor, a character that appeared first in the Star Wars animated shows. However, the series changed the design of the character as they opted for a more human-accurate shape than the animated design's long and skinny look.
During his appearance at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo 2023 (via The Direct), Rupert Friend, who played the Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi, was asked whether there were discussions about making the character's design more accurate to the animated shows.
"Making my head bigger? It wasn't big enough?," the actor responded.
When the fan pointed out that the "cartoon" design was "thin and long," Friend gave a blunt response, "Yeah, the key word there, my friend, is 'cartoon.'"
"So when I got this role, I wasn’t familiar with the character, or the Inquisitors, or anything like that. So for me, it was completely fresh. New world, new character, and I wanted to relate to that in my own instinctive way first, but I then was made aware of Jason’s interpretation," he said.
"The last thing I wanted to do was an impersonation of someone else’s interpretation. So I let my own instincts come through first, and then I had a look at what he’d done, which I thought was terrific."
Friend also revealed that he already discussed with Isaacs about his taking over the role of the Grand Inquisitor in the live-action series.
"And Jason basically gave me sh*t, pardon my French, over text throughout the process about why he was better, and that everyone wished that it was him, and all of that," the actor added.
"So, he’s not going to let me forget that one. But if you’ve seen the movie we did together, Death of Stalin, where he gets to gut punch me to the floor, he gets the last laugh, maybe."
Whether you like the live-action redesign or not, Friend does have a point that character's long and skinny look in the animation design will not translate well into live-action. In the end, despite the changes in the design, the character's essence was still very much present in its translation into live-action.
Also Read: More Star Wars Plans Involving Grand Admiral Thrawn Teased By Creator
Obi-Wan Kenobi is available to stream on Disney+.
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