Hello there, indeed! As May 25 approaches, the marketing for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series begin to spill out, starting with Entertainment Weekly’s morning batch of stills and some scant details, followed by the first teaser trailer in the afternoon. It’s our first glimpse of Ewan McGregor in full Obi-Wan mode again (no, you’re fanning yourself!), weary and beaten by time and his mission, but avoiding and dealing with the Inquisitor threat seems to bring him some joy again, especially as he gets off Tatooine. There’s glimpses of Rupert Friend as the Grand Inquisitor, Sung Kang as the Fifth Brother Inquisitor, and lots of Moses Ingram’s Reva, a new Inquisitor I really want to know more about, plus even a glimpse of Joel Edgerton as Uncle Owen…and even a young Luke Skywalker! The plot’s under wraps but this first glimpse is gorgeous and intriguing enough you don’t really need to know more. Head below for stills from the trailer and the little information and images EW dropped. UPDATE 3/10: Now includes more from EW’s cover article, including the first look at Darth Vader.
The music and downtrodden Obi-Wan, with the imposing Inquisitor mocking the Jedi ways, combines for a really solid, intriguing teaser for Obi-Wan Kenobi. EW’s article this morning had McGregor saying he’s a little beaten down and faithless, so I’ll be interested to see how they show that in the show and if they show how he got to that point. Obviously whatever happens in the show changes that, especially if the rumors out there are true regarding what all happens, though I look forward more to the show delving into his emotional journey than necessarily what he all gets up. That’ll just be icing on the cake.
With Reva, she’s not numbered like other Inquisitors and I’m curious if that’s just a decision for the show or if there’s some significance there, but director Deborah Chow and writer Joby Harold claim she’s, “…ruthlessly ambitious,” which is clear from the photos alone. When asked about Reva, Ingram offers the cryptic note she does it all from the heart, so I look forward to learning just what that means! I was a big fan of the actress after her role in The Queen’s Gambit and she really looks intimidating in the role, so I don’t think she’ll disappoint in the slightest. It’s really cool to hear and see the Grand Inquisitor in live-action, especially knowing some of his best appearances are yet to come in Star Wars Rebels and even in the recent comic. I understand the push-back on the make-up/look of Rupert Friend’s Ol’ Grandy, but I imagine it’s for actor’s comfort and stunt performance, though I’m surprised they didn’t just CGI over to make him look more like his animated counterpart, considering how far they go with that for Luke Skywalker’s recent scenes. In fact, the previous live-action Pau’an close-up (Tion Medon in Revenge of the Sith) looks far more alien and unique, but that was only for a short scene and not an extended appearance like Ol’ Grandy’s likely will be in the show, but overall my concerns over the look are very minimal and Friend delivering the role to an ounce of Jason Isaacs’ abilities is more important anyways. The Fifth Brother Inquisitor, from Star Wars Rebels too, also looks less alien, but again probably for the same reasons, though he looks just as intimidating here. Regardless, it’s really cool to see the Fortress Inquisitorious, an idea born from Charles Soule’s comic book and last brought to life in Jedi: Fallen Order, on screen now as well! It’ll be interesting to see them explore the Inquisitors with the show’s general audience and how much they’ll manage to honor and reference what’s come before/yet to come about them in other sources.
Obi-Wan and the Inquisitors are seen on a new planet called Daiyu, and I suspect it’ll be one of a few planets he’ll visit in the show. Joby Harold describes Daiyu, “…sort of has a Hong Kong feel to it. It’s got a graffiti-ridden nightlife, and is kind of edgy. It’s just got a different lane and a different feeling.” Before we jump into stills and screenshots, make sure to enjoy all the other Obi-Wan offerings this year: the novel Brotherhood (out May 10), the Obi-Wan comic miniseries (starts May 4), and the Padawan novel (out July 26)!
UPDATE 3/10: EW’s full article is out, detailing the process of making the show (it was originally one of the spin-off films), hiring of a new writer, Ewan and Hayden Christensen’s legacy from the prequels but sensing in the Force their work wasn’t as critiqued as they were first led to believe, and Moses Ingram’s excitement over being in the role, from making sure her hair was something young Black fans could use in their Halloween costumes to training/fighting with Ewan, there’s a lot of fun little tidbits to unlock in the article. The banter at the end regarding Ewan dropping his lightsaber was really icing on the cake and makes me really want the BTS show for Obi-Wan Kenobi after it’s out. Also, they included the first image of Vader in the series, so I’ve added it below!
Official Trailer Stills:
EW’s Stills:
Don’t let this distract us from Disney’s CEO Bob Chopek and his spineless choices with Florida’s hideous Don’t Say Gay bill, because while he tried to qualm concerns in the Investor’s Day call, it still amounted to nothing but fluff and false promises. Donate where you can, like through the fan made Amidala Initiative we’re proud to be a part of, to show support of the LGBTQ+ community since Bob can’t and won’t. Hopefully Disney can remove him soon.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.