This was as big a day as any for Star Wars.
At long last, the curtain was pulled back a bit on two upcoming Disney+ releases,The Bad Batch and Andor. Beyond the shows already in production, Lucasfilm also announced several new series, including Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic. Both of those shows will directly tie in with The Mandalorian, and the newly announced The Acolyte, which will take place during the tail end of the High Republic era.
But some of the biggest news came from perhaps the most highly anticipated show of them all: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The series will follow up with the crazy old hermit living out beyond the Dune Sea, picking up his story ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars fans collectively lost their minds when it was announced that Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role as Darth Vader, and it sounds like Master and Apprentice will be going head-to-head once more.
It came as a disappointment that public audiences were shielded from viewing the show's sizzle reel, but a description of the footage has now been shared...
NEWS
ComicBook has provided a description of the footage seen during the Obi-Wan Kenobi sizzle reel. In the video, Ewan McGregor acknowledged the heavy desire from the fans to see him don the Jedi robes again:
"There's a hunger for this character to come back. The fans have been waiting long enough, you know?"
Director Deborah Chow teased that there are Jedi Hunters out in the galaxy during this time:
"This is quite a dark time that we're coming into with him, just being a Jedi — it's not safe. There's Jedi hunters out there."
There was concept art depicting the Great Jedi Purge from Episode III:
Concept art shows a Jedi, lightsaber blade ignited, defending a trio of Younglings as the newly-anointed Darth Vader marches on the Jedi Temple with a legion of Clone Troopers.
McGregor says that Obi-Wan's sole job is to protect the son of his fallen student:
"He has this one task left, which is to keep Luke safe."
It appears that we'll be seeing both sand and sea:
More concept art shows a stingray-like creature floating above slave workers toiling away in the barren, sandy landscape of Tatooine. "We start on Tatooine, and we go on a rollicking adventure," McGregor teased over a glimpse at a watery planet, where armed soldiers fire upon a many-armed sea creature.
Vader will naturally be a part of Kenobi's story, and there's a chance he might have a throne:
"We couldn't tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi without addressing Anakin or Vader," Chow added over an image of the armored Vader seated on a throne as he communicates with a hologram — possibly his master, the reigning Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
McGregor's favorite part of the series? Working with an old friend again:
"The most beautiful thing of all is that it's brought me back together with Hayden. It'll be amazing to bring those characters back together again, very unexpectedly."
Obi-Wan and Vader will clash blades again:
Chow confirmed that audiences will "definitely see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader get into it again" as we see the blue blade of a hooded Obi-Wan clash with the fiery red blade of Darth Vader.
McGregor knows the battle will be eagerly anticipated, and he's looking forward to performing it just as much:
"Having another swing at each other might be quite satisfying for everybody. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we're going to enjoy making it."
WHAT THIS MEANS
At this point, it's hard to contain the excitement for this show.
Ewan McGregor's performance as Obi-Wan in the Prequel Trilogy is held in the highest regard, and Hayden Christensen has been widely embraced by the Star Wars fandom in recent years. Revenge of the Sith is an outstanding film that resulted in a heartbreaking end to Anakin and Obi-Wan's friendship, and it sounds like we'll get to see an unexpected continuation of their story.
The decision to bring Vader and Obi-Wan face-to-face in this series is interesting. For decades, the confrontation in A New Hope is their first, and last, meeting since Mustafar. But if the former Master and Apprentice duo will be meeting again, this re-contextualizes the saga entirely. There is a bit of precedent for such a meeting, however. When Luke urges Vader to come with him in Return of the Jedi, his father tells him that "Obi-Wan once thought" as he did. We never saw Obi-Wan attempt to bring his fallen friend with him away from the dark side, and that's something that may now be explored in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It's clear from the quotes and concept art described that being a Jedi will be a struggle for Obi-Wan in the show. Exiling on Tatooine doesn't seem too dangerous, as nobody cares enough to go to Star Wars's resident sand planet, but the footage seems to indicate that Obi-Wan will indeed be going off-world. Doing so will heighten the dangers the Jedi Master will face. It sounds like Kenobi will be going on a thrill ride, and that ride will stop right at Darth Vader's front door.
Seeing McGregor and Christensen share the screen again will perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the series. It seems likely that we'll see Christensen play Anakin in flashbacks in addition to suiting up as Darth Vader, and it will be interesting to see how they can work to top that iconic battle from Episode III. We're still at least a year away from seeing the show on Disney+, but today's news makes it hard not to wish it were coming tomorrow.
This will be a day long remembered.
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