Darth Vader is going through some growing pains.
In the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi—which takes place 10 years after 2005's Revenge of the Sith—the legendary villain plays a major role, but you might not fully recognize him.
"He isn't the New Hope Vader quite yet," director Deborah Chow told Entertainment Weekly. "So we are with the character sort of in the middle of this period. It is still Vader obviously, but it's a Vader that isn't quite as fully formed as A New Hope.
Chow is referencing the first Star Wars film—released in 1977 and now known as Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope—where Darth Vader was first introduced to legions of moviegoers.
Hayden Christensen plays Vader in the series, rejoining the Star Wars universe 17 years after last playing Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. The titular Obi-Wan is played by Ewan McGregor, reprising his role from Episodes I-III.
The series will dive deeper into Vader than anybody has dared before, Chow promised.
"I really wanted to do something that was character-based and character-driven, because that is the benefit of the limited series, is that you have more time to sort of tell a real character story. And so for me, the starting place of character is you just start and you look at who has been important to him in his life," Chow said.
Still, the decision to include Vader in the series did not come easily, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
"The debate around whether we should do that or not carried on for quite some time," she told EW. "Everybody within our creative team has strong opinions, and all of our fans have strong opinions. So when you realize that you're under that level of scrutiny, certainly a story point like that is going to be scrutinized at a very high level. We talked about it constantly."
Star Wars fans have theorized that we might get an especially up-close-and-personal look at Vader in the series. In a photo, Vader is seen emerging from his meditation chamber, the only place he can remove his mask.
Of course, whether or not we'll get a glimpse of the man himself remains a closely-guarded mystery.
"I wish I could tell you," Christensen told EW. "I'm sworn to secrecy."
Check out Darth Vader like you've never seen him before when Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 25 on Disney+.