Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you… Well, if you’re reading this on May 4, at least. But this is not-so-unexpected day that Lucasfilm and Disney+ chose to launch the new trailer for streaming series ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’.
And this latest look at the show features a brief glimpse of possibly the ‘Star Wars’ franchise’s most iconic character: Darth Vader. Yes, the wheezy breathing Sith Lord is here, even if he doesn’t get to do much yet.
The big question, of course, is exactly how he’s being brought to life – Hayden Christensen is back for the new series, so is that him in the suit? Or can we expect to also see him as Anakin Skywalker somehow? And will James Earl Jones lend his trademark tones for Vader’s voice? Surely that’s a given.
Mostly, though, as the title suggests, this is about Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan. The new series is set roughly 10 years after the tragic events of ‘Revenge of the Sith’. His pupil and friend, Skywalker, has turned fully to the Dark Side and now strides around in his cybernetic black suit. Many of his fellow Jedi have been slaughtered, partly by Anakin, at the behest of Emperor Palpatine.
And Obi-Wan himself is on the run, hiding out on the dusty desert planet, where he’s trying to keep a low profile while occasionally checking in on a young Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely), who, along with the boy’s twin sister Leia, Obi-Wan helped find a home for after their mother’s death.
a1zRkV9WBut the Empire is not just going to let Kenobi or any of his remaining fellow Jedi hide out. The Dark Side power has dispatched a Grand Inquisitor (played by Rupert Friend) to hunt them down. With a knack for being imposing and spinning his red lightsaber, he’s sure to be a big threat.
Yet a more direct challenge comes courtesy of Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram) who has her own abilities and is seen confronting Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton) on Tatooine. As the baddies suggest, the Jedi’s greatest weakness is that their kindness leaves a mark on people and places – something the Empire can track. And they’ve no quibbles about killing as many people as they need to find their targets.
In addition to reminding us of all of that, the new trailer also finds Obi-Wan talking to Owen, setting up the less-than-warm relationship between the two men. “Leave us alone,” says Lars, no doubt aware of the threat that associating with the Jedi Master represents. “When the time comes, the boy must be trained,” argues Obi-Wan, referring to Luke. “Like you trained his father?” comes the snarky, world-weary reply. Thankfully, Jar-Jar Binks is nowhere to be seen, unable to exclaim at the saltiness of Owen’s attitude.
Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, Benny Safdie, Maya Erskine, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. are all in the cast, with Joby Harold leading the writing side and ‘Mandalorian’ veteran director Deborah Chow calling the shots.
Originally planned for another big ‘Star Wars’ legacy date – May 25, the day the first movie opened back in 1977 – ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is now set to launch its first two episodes on May 27th.
