While us Star Wars stans have been sating our thirst for content from A Galaxy Far Far Away with such post-Return of the Jedi offerings as “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett”, Disney+ is finally giving us what we have all being waiting for – the return of the iconic Obi-Wan Kenobi!
Lucasfilm officially announced a Disney+ series focusing on Obi-Wan back in 2019, which would star the man who played the character in the Prequels, Ewan McGregor. The series is set halfway between Revenge of the Sith (the third film of the Prequel Trilogy) and A New Hope (the first film of the Original Trilogy), after Obi-Wan has hidden away Anakin Skywalker’s children following the latter’s fall to the dark side to become Darth Vader. As we know from ANH, Obi-Wan stuck around Tatooine (where he delivered baby Luke to Anakin’s stepbrother and his wife, Owen & Beru Lars) to keep an eye on the kid from a safe distance. (Luke’s twin sister, Leia, meanwhile, was adopted by Princess Breha Organa and her husband Bail of Alderaan.) The new series will revolve around what sorts of shenanigans Obi-Wan got up to in those 20 years before Luke joined him on a quest to rescue Leia from the Empire – apparently, he wasn’t exactly just sitting around in the sand!
Disney+ finally released the first trailer for “Obi-Wan Kenobi” this morning, and here are 5 things that got us totally stoked!
1. Prequel Acknowledgement!
Early on after Disney first bought Lucasfilm, there was a sort of vague consensus that the IP would be more or less ignoring the existence of the Prequel Trilogy, likely due to the fact of the widespread revilement of the movies by fans. But as those films reach their 20-year mark, a whole generation of adults who grew up with the Prequels have become more unabashedly outspoken in their love and appreciation for those movies, to the point where making fun of them feels sort of hacky now. It seems Lucasfilm is also warming back up to these films, as the “Obi-Wan” trailer gives plenty for Prequel stans to chew on, including the “Duel of the Fates” score, and, of course, the presence of Ewan McGregor himself. It has also been previously announced that Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. This marks quite a departure from Lucasfilm’s recent focus on Original Trilogy nostalgia.
2. New Fierce Lady Villain!
Every Star Wars installment needs to have a Big Bad, and it appears that Obi-Wan’s main antagonist this time around is the Imperial inquisitor Reva, played by Moses Ingram (whom you might remember as Anya Taylor-Joy’s bff Jolene in “The Queen’s Gambit”). According to reports, Reva – who is a Force-sensitive dark-sider – is pretty tight with Vader, and it is her goal to root out Jedi wherever they may be hiding in the Galaxy – which, of course, would include our Obi-Wan. Inquisitors are actually Jedi who have fallen to the dark side, so it will be interesting to see the dynamic between Reva and Obi-Wan, and whether or not he can convince her to come back to the light (Reylo vibes, mayhaps??)…
3. A City!
Let’s be real – Star Wars content of late has featured a lot of sand. Like, A LOT. The Sequel Trilogy ended back on Tatooine, and a majority of both “The Mandalorian” and “Book of Boba Fett” have taken place there as well. But with an entire Galaxy of possibilities and diverse planets, it is such a relief to see an actual, bustling city again in the Star Wars universe! The series will feature a new planet to the franchise, Daiyu, which has been described by writers as “edgy” and having a “Hong Kong” sort of vibe. Inject it straight into our veins!
4. The Skywalker/Lars Fam!
As mentioned above, Obi-Wan’s main objective following Anakin’s fall to the dark side is watching over young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, as he grows up with his step-uncle Owen Lars and his wife Beru. We only got the briefest glimpse of the adoptive parents in the Prequels, where they were played by Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse, respectively. We get a look at the slightly older Owen in the trailer, where he appears to be facing off against Reva (ooh!), and we seem to see Beru at a (long) distance as Obi-Wan peeps at the Lars homestead to check up on Luke. Yes, Luke is there too! We get a glimpse, via Obi-Wan, of a 10-year-old Luke sitting on the roof of the homestead, pretending to pilot a ship. Now, while this might smack of yet more OT nostalgia, it’s very clear that this moment is meant to evoke the first time Obi-Wan met a young Anakin on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace, and that boy’s own pilot ambitions, which will surely bring up a lot of feels for Obi-Wan. It’s unclear at this time how much screen time baby Luke will get, but it’s clear that, at the very least, Uncle Owen will be heavily involved.
5. Ewan!
Last but certainly not least, the main attraction of this series is Ewan McGregor himself. Arguably the most memorable and widely beloved part of the Prequels, this much-anticipated return to the legendary character (originated in the OT by Oscar-winning actor Alec Guinness) feels like a long time coming. The trailer does, however, seem to lack a lot of the Obi-Wan charm we came to know; the actor has described Obi-Wan at this point in his life as sort of broken and hopeless after having lost the battle against the burgeoning Empire, witnessed the rise of Sheev Palpatine as Emperor, and lost his best friend and protégé Anakin to the dark side. (Think The Force Awakens/The Last Jedi-era Luke.) Here’s hoping, though, that it’s not all doom and gloom and that we still see glimmers of the cheeky Jedi we all know and love!
The 6-episode limited series premieres May 25 on Disney+!