Live-action Star Wars storytelling is set to return to Disney+ in a big way in 2022.
While 2021 offered Star Wars: Bad Batch and Star Wars: Visions, the drought ends on December 29, 2021 with The Book of Boba Fett followed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and, potentially, Ahsoka.
Even though any new content is good news for Star Wars fans, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is one of the roster's most intriguing. Not only is Ewan McGregor reprising his role of Obi-Wan from the prequel trilogy, but Disney's Investor Day Event in 2020 confirmed Anakin Skywalker's Hayden Christensen was also returning as Darth Vader.
Fans have been expecting to hear more about this series and its upcoming trailer during Disney Plus Day on November 12, 2021; but it looks like Lucasfilm is offering audiences something to tide them over in the meantime.
New Obi-Wan Kenobi Video Teases Darth Vader Rematch
Just ahead of Disney Plus Day, Disney+ Hotstar dropped a sizzle reel for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series - which has since been removed - that was first shown to investors during 2020's Disney Investor Day.
The footage also included concept art from the series teasing a lightsaber duel rematch between Obi-Wan and Vader in a potentially familiar fiery landscape:
After the video highlights Vader's iconic, ominous breathing, McGregor goes on to say that, "The most beautiful thing of all is that it's brought me back together with Hayden."
Deborah Chow, who previously directed episodes of The Mandalorian on Disney+, commented on Hayden's return as Vader, saying, "We are bringing back Hayden Christensen to reprise the role of Darth Vader. We couldn't tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi without addressing Anakin or Vader."
As Chow's voiceover plays, the following concept art of Vader watching a hologram in what appears to be his castle of Mustafar is shown:
A similar piece of concept art from a different perspective shows a better view of the Sith Lord.
The Sith Lord Strikes Back on Disney+
In A New Hope, Darth Vader references meeting his old master again, implying that the two had fought years before and Obi-Wan had won. Following the conclusion of the prequel trilogy, fans believed the battle the Sith Lord referenced was their duel on Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith.
That no longer appears to be the case; but if fans thought their Revenge of the Sith battle was personal, a rematch between the two now that Anakin is Vader is sure to be even more intense.
In addition to the saber duel, the concept art implies that audiences will be spending some time on Mustafar in Vader's castle, which was first shown on-screen in 2016's Rogue One. That particular film also showed Vader at his peak during that now-famous hallway confrontation right before the film's conclusion.
Worth noting is that Vader should be at the same level of power in this series, something fans have wanted to see more for years. So, even though Obi-Wan Kenobi looks to focus on the Jedi Master in the wake of Order 66, it looks like fans are also getting that missing chapter of Vader's story as well.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to be released on Disney+ in 2022.
