Actress indira Varma has been added to the cast of Disney+‘s new Star Wars series about Obi-Wan Kenobi, according to a report by Deadline. Sources close to the production said that Varma — best-known for work on Game of Thrones and For Life — will join Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen on the new show. So far, Disney and LucasFilms have not confirmed this news.
There is no word on what character Varma would play in the highly-anticipated series. The field is wide open, as the show takes place between the events of Revenge of The Sith and A New Hope in the Star Wars canon. McGregor has already been confirmed for the titular role while Christensen will reprise his role as Darth Vader — a.k.a. Anakin Skywalker. The show is scheduled to begin filming in the spring.
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Fans loved Varma’s work on Game of Thrones, where she played Ellaria Sand, the paramore of Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal). Ellaria had a handful of daughters with Oberyn known as “the sand snakes,” who posed a threat to the Lannisters briefly before they were snuffed out by Cersei’s machinations. Many fans were disappointed when Ellaria and her daughters did not resurface in the show’s final season.
Varma has had several other major TV roles since then. She appeared in 8 episodes of Carnival Row as Piety Breakspear, and five episodes of This Way Up as Charlotte. Last year, she appeared in six episodes of Spitting Image, and in 23 episodes of For Live as Safiya Masry.
Varma’s connection to Pascal may have helped her land a role on Obi-Wan, since he now stars in The Mandalorian. The new prequel show will reportedly draw on the technology and techniques used prominently in The Mandalorian, since it is so successful with fans. Aside from McGregor and Christensen, the Obi-Wan Kenobi show has secured director Deborah Chow.
Beyond that, the secrets of the series are still jealously guarded, and fans do not know much about what to expect. Some expect the series to serve fans of the prequel trilogy specifically, while others think it will stick to the tone and feel of The Mandalorian. With its focus on a Jedi master in isolation, it has a lot of lore to dig deeply into.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi show is expected to begin filming within the next few months. So far, it has not firm release date set. It will air on Disney+.