One of the key moments – and most effective – was as the facade of Darth Vader was slashed away, revealing the scarred, bitter Anakin Skywalker within. Not only did it require the impressive skills of Legacy FX to craft the shattered helmet, and the performance of Hayden Christensen to bridge the Anakin we knew to the Vader we know, it also required some inventive work from Skywalker Sound, and here we hear from Re-recording mixer Bonnie Wild and supervising sound editor Matthew Wood as they return to the soundscape of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“We knew that there was gonna be confrontations between two legacy characters and we want to make sure we honor what’s come before us and the legacy of [‘Star Wars’ sound designer] Ben Burtt and what he’s created here at Skywalker Sound,” Wood said. “So when you hear these things, it’s kind of like the subconscious glue that holds ‘Star Wars’ together, is the sound and the music.”
In the climactic fight scene, Obi-Wan is forced to reckon with the fact that his protégé and friend Anakin is gone and there is only Darth Vader in his place. However, in the midst of their battle, the scene shows glimpses of Christensen’s character struggling between those two identities.
Sound design played an essential role in this moment as Darth Vader’s cracked mask reveals what remains of his human side. His dialogue oscillates between Anakin’s natural voice and the deeper bass that comes from speaking through the mask. The “Obi-Wan” crew came up with a creative solution to merge the talents of Jones and Christensen.
“This is a moment for them to have some humanity. We really wanted to make sure that Hayden Christensen’s performance came through… we had that very fragile, intimate scene there, but then in the meantime we also had the voice of James Earl jones to come through. And so we tried a really nice blend of those two moments and we found the great moments where we could start the sentence with Hayden but end it with James,” Wood explained.
“The exciting thing about the sounds of ‘Star Wars,’ it’s always about the blend and the balance…it’s considering who has the upperhand in each moment,” Wild explained.
