Star Wars’ live–action TV show Obi–Wan Kenobi is set to release May 25, 2022 on Disney+. Ewan McGregor is reprising his role as Obi–Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen is playing Darth Vader.
The story is set 10 years after the Battle on Mustafar, in which Kenobi left Anakin to burn on the planet’s boiling lava surface, later to be rescued under Emperor Palpatine’s orders and officially converted into Darth Vader.
Although not many details about the show have been released, it is suspected that Kenobi will work to protect a young Luke Skywalker, officially taken care of by his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Although Luke will be stationed on the sands of Tatoinne, the Kenobi trailer has revealed that Kenobi will go off–world while he is remaining in exile, hidden from the Jedi–hunters known as Inquisitors.
“It is probably going to start off slow, with Obi–Wan wandering the desert, but I heard it goes to a water planet,” said Dinuk Manikka Baduge ‘23. “[I hope he gets] hunted by Inquisitors, and eventually meets Darth Vader [to] battle it out.”
The Inquisitors are force–sensitive individuals trained by Darth Vader to carry out his commands, often hunting down former Jedi who escaped Order 66, issued by Emperor Palpatine at the climax of the Clone Wars.
They wield a spinning, double–bladed lightsaber that is different from any other style in Canon to date. They were first seen in the Rebels animated series, later to become main antagonists in the hit video game, “Jedi Fallen Order,” in which they hunt down Order 66 survivors, specifically Cal Kestis in the video game.
“I hope he fights the Inquisitors, but they didn’t look that strong [in the trailer]. Obi–Wan had beaten Darth Vader at one point, he beat Anakin, and the Inquisitors were much weaker than Darth Vader, so if he is an equal level to them [in the show], I’ll be upset,” said Ru Aluwihare ‘25. “I know he is much stronger than [the Inquisitors].”
Along with the Inquisitors, Captain Rex and other members of the 501st battalion of Clone Troopers are heavily alluded to throughout the trailer, as pointed out by CBR.com. In the original trailer, it briefly shows damaged, blue armor looking too outdated to resemble that of a stormtrooper. In a later shot, an individual being interrogated by the Grand Inquisitor a Jango Fett–like head design, although the face and entirety of the armor was not revealed.
“Rex is one of, if not my favorite, character from the Clone Wars, so if he’s in [the show], I’d be really excited, but I really hope he’s still good at fighting, because if they made him less cool … I’d be really disappointed,” said Aluwihare. “If he was less about fighting and more about his morals, like Boba, I’d be really cool with that.”
As well as re–introducing fan–favorite characters from the prequels, much of the music heard in the trailer brings a sense of nostalgia, as tracks such as ‘Battle of the Heroes’ from Revenge of the Sith and ‘Dual of the Fates’ from The Phantom Menace were included in the trailer.
“They are really good pieces of work from John Williams,” said Manikka Baduge. “Those two pieces are probably the best Star Wars musical pieces that he’s created, and they are both in battles that Obi–Wan fought in with Darth Maul and Anakin. Honestly, I like “Battle of the Heroes” better than “Dual of the Fates,” but “Duel of the Fates” is more popular.
In general, the show will bring a sense of nostalgia to many Star Wars fans, as it will re–introduce some fan–favorite characters from prequels and The Clone Wars animated series, renew old pieces of music from the prequel era and will fill in the 19 year gap that Obi–Wan has been absent from Canon. The gap starts from the aftermath of the Battle on Mustafar until his victory against Darth Maul in Rebels.
“We’ve seen Obi–Wan before in Rebels and different versions of him being old in cartoons, but we have never seen Ewan McGregor as Obi–Wan [in live–action past episode three],” said Manikka Baduge. “We haven’t seen him since 2005. I’ve seen all the fanart and fake stuff, but seeing it actually in the trailer [and Kenobi] with a fully grown–out beard is cool.”
