The teaser trailer for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, unveiled on Wednesday, offers the first look at Ewan McGregor’s hotly anticipated return to Tatooine. As Obi-Wan, McGregor is reprising his role from the infamous Star Wars prequel films.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the devastating events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, in which Obi-Wan’s mentee and closest friend, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) goes bad and joins the dark side. The new trailer shows the exiled Jedi Master hiding out on the unforgiving desert planet of Tatooine, watching over a young Luke Skywalker.
But it doesn’t look like Obi-Wan will be able to stay hidden for long; he’s being pursued by a Force-sensitive Imperial Inquisitor played by Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit). “Jedi cannot help what they are,” narrates a Sith leader. “Their compassion leaves a trail. The Jedi Code is like an itch. He cannot help it.”
Fans hoping for a first glimpse of Christensen as Darth Vader will be disappointed, but if you pay close attention at the end, you can hear the villain’s labored, helmet-stifled breathing. In addition to McGregor, Christensen, and Ingram, the cast includes Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, and Benny Safdie. Obi-Wan Kenobi is helmed by director and showrunner Deborah Chow, a Star Wars universe vet who has directed episodes of The Mandalorian. Joby Harold penned the script.
In an interview with Forbes last month, McGregor opened up about playing Obi-Wan again, saying, “Oh my gosh, well I loved playing him again. I mean it’s quite interesting, after the experience of making the first three films and living through sort of their reception in the world, which wasn’t always glowing, I have to say. And then now, meeting the generation who we made those films for, the children then, and now, people in their late teens or early 20s, those people who were kids who we made those films for, they loved them. To them, they’re their Star Wars films, you know? For us, it was the original films of the ‘70s, but for them, it was our films were their Star Wars. So to step back into his shoes again now and do a series, a whole series about Obi-Wan Kenobi for those fans, it just makes me really happy.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi will start streaming on Disney+ on May 25. Tune in then to catch the intergalactic reunion between Obi-Wan and Anakin.
