Amid speculation on who certain actors are playing in Obi-Wan Kenobi, I’m happy to report who Benny Safdie is playing in the limited-series.
I can exclusively reveal that Safdie is playing a Jedi named Nari who’s been seeking out Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Nari is being hunted down by the Inquisitors and is the reason they arrive on Tatooine. In the trailer you get two glimpses at Nari, one at an establishment where Moses Ingram’s Reva jumps in front of him and ignites her lightsaber, and a shot of his feet as he’s been hung, but the trailer also gives us a small piece of a conversation between Obi-Wan and Nari when you hear the former say, “The fight is done. We lost.”
I can add a little bit of extra information regarding the scene where Nari is confronted by Reva in the teaser trailer. My sources told me that Reva, The Fifth Brother, and The Grand Inquisitor shake down civilians trying to lure Nari out, and all three enter an establishment (as seen in the trailer), we see the Grand Inquisitor giving a speech about the Jedi not being able to help themselves, which we partly heard in the trailer.
The character of Nari was previously revealed by MakingStarWars, who revealed Nari grew up in the Jedi temple on Coruscant, and has been seeking out Kenobi since Order 66. Nari finds Kenobi and asks for his help, but Kenobi refuses and advises him to bury his lightsaber in the sand. However Kenobi rejecting Nari’s plea for help results in the death of the young Jedi, something I’m sure will deeply weigh on Obi-Wan.
Benny Safdie is best known for his directorial work alongside his brother, Josh Safdie, as the duo, The Safdie Brothers, who are probably most known for their films Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler, and Good Time starring Robert Pattinson along with Benny Safdie himself. Benny has started forging a path as an actor in recent years starring in Licorice Pizza, Pieces of a Woman, and recently signed on to star in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Take this part more as a rumour, as I’m not as confident on this as I am Safdie playing Nari, or other reports, but I’ve repeatedly heard that Simone Kessell is playing Breha Organa. As I said, I’m not as confident in this, but it’s something I’ve been hearing off-and-on for a while and feel confident enough to bring it up. Kessell is currently starring in the HBO series, Our Flag Means Death, which is produced by and stars Taika Waititi.
In other character news, MakingStarWars recently reported on the roles of O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), and Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals). According to the report, O’Shea plays a humanitarian of sorts on Jabiim as part of a non-combatant section of the Rebellion, which Leia Organa becomes intertwined with. Varma as we’ve seen from the trailers plays an Imperial officer, but the report says that Indira is actually on the side of good and is secretly working against the Empire. Lastly, Nanjiani’s character is a point of contact for Kenobi when he’s searching for Leia, and the character is sort of a Han Solo type – a handsome rogue who comes across as quite seedy and a bit of a bad guy, but later on you see there’s a lot more to the man than first thought.
I’m currently sitting on more news from The Mandalorian season three, as well as Andor information, so expect some updates from me very soon. If you want to keep up-to-date with the latest leaks, news, reputable rumours, and my exclusive reports, then be sure to sign up to my mailing list below. And if you’re a fan of my work and would like to show your appreciation, you can tip me on my Ko-Fi page here.