Obi-Wan Kenobi series: speculation

Star Wars can be taken seriously, but it had that space opera serial quality that I think the Disney productions have largely lacked. This is a good quote from Lucas about the balancing act with the right amount of seriousness and lightheartedness:

NOW THAT'S A FUCKING TRAILER!!!!!

AND did they just use the Episode III promotional photos for his Imperial mugshot!? 

Right? That's exactly what second-phase, close-to-release trailers are all about: flooding the screen with action and getting the blood pumping. I dig that energy, which we got a taste of in the first trailer, now here, unleashed. 

Although it's clear the acting style is a departure from the PT/OT, I also love the crazed, taunting tone of Reva/The Third Sister at the end, in a neat echo of The Grand Inquisitor in the first trailer:

- "He cannot help it!"
- "You can't escape him!"

These Inquisitor-folk are a tad psychotic, aren't they? They manifest a cool, detached air, and then they suddenly explode with passion and zeal, like Palpatine faking it at the window and pretending to be weak against Mace, only to blast him into oblivion, screaming "Un-lim-uh-tid POWAAARRGH!" Man, I love it when the restraining bolts fall off and Star Wars suddenly hits peak intensity. At their core, Star Wars villains are pretty unhinged -- their stoic facades concealing dark and broken hearts. Who would seek to terrorise a person like this, driving a stake deeper into their own heart, blackening their soul as they delight in chipping away at the fragile conscience of a tragic hero like Obi-Wan?

Reva's taunt speaks grandly to the entire premise of the series: Obi-Wan, a man haunted, a man alone, his old life a distant, tattered memory, now living in a world with precious few allies, inextricably bound by the fateful circumstances of the final days of the Republic he cherished and swore to protect; the very universe now a changed, warped landscape, hostile to his existence and his entire code of ethics -- and, through the dark machinations of Empire and the dedicated enforcers of a cold regime, mocking the fruitlessness of his quest to cling to life and still dare to hope.

Yet cling to life he does.

What fascinating potential this series holds. This slice of story-verse, with the fulcrum of a down-but-not-out Obi-Wan, has always been a vast expanse waiting to be tapped. I think fans obliquely recognise that same thing when they mention Joel Edgerton being given the opportunity to reprise his role as Owen Lars. He barely says a word in the PT (all of two lines in AOTC and a brief silent cameo at the close of ROTS), yet there is obviously something of his character, and what Edgerton could bring to the role, worth exploring. There's not just his antagonism toward Obi-Wan or even his overbearing, play-it-safe attitude toward Luke, but also his compassion toward his wife and just what makes Owen, well... Owen. In "saga" form, his character and the relative brevity of his character, at that, makes complete sense; yet, let us not forget, this guy, along with Beru, is the foster parent of Luke friggin' Skywalker for almost twenty years -- twice the span of time that Anakin lives with his mother on Tatooine; and more time, in fact, than Anakin is a Jedi acolyte with Obi-Wan as his teacher in the declining days of the Republic. I mean, damn. It'll be good to see a little more of the guy and understand a little better how all that shit between him and Obi-Wan goes down.

So there's that. Then there's seeing Obi-Wan struggling with his past and getting to grips with the dark and horrible present he had a hand in creating. Then a confrontation between him and Vader. And -- last but not necessarily least -- those badass Inquisitors and how they tie into everything. Right now, with this new trailer glowing hot like fresh lava, I'm really glad they ditched the Darth-Maul-stalking-Obi-Wan concept and went with Inquisitors instead. The Maul concept was in danger of coming off like too much of a simplistic tale of taking revenge, while this version of things opens up the world of Star Wars and gives "Rebels" a bigger sense of reality (there's nothing like seeing animated series or computer game concepts realised in live-action). Obi-Wan is only one of a bunch of Jedi getting hunted down, but he's an important one, obviously: a prize catch. I like the idea that anyone loyal to the days of old is basically perceived as a fanatic or heretic (as the title "Inquisitor" implies) and must therefore be ruthlessly chased down and exterminated. It has the right element of repressive opportunism. Of course, new fanatics would happily take up nasty means against old ones -- necessitating Obi-Wan's foundational mission to survive and begin Luke's training in the ways of the Force. 

As obvious and as "Disney-fied" as this trailer is in many ways, it does nicely capture something of that urgency. The stakes feel clean, serious, and compelling. Stakes, sticks. Attachment of the sticks. Sorry, old pun. No, there isn't quite the chimerical imagination and gorgeous meanderings of the prequels here. This is going to be a narrower, coarser affair. Slick, to be sure. But not exactly cut from the same cloth. However, in its own way, this miniseries can be a validation and vindication of the prequels; and of GL's purposes in selling. A new generation was meant to bring various offshoot projects to life -- with passion, with cleverness, with care for what has come before, and with Disney's full production might, delivering the best bang possible for one's buck. In some basic yet solid and true sense, that can confidently said to be the case here. That doesn't really say anything about how the Obi-Wan miniseries will land, of course. But it at least suggests something of reasonable quality. Something fit to bear the name Star Wars and to function, perhaps, as a set of decent footnotes/endnotes for the PT -- and be a pretty entertaining work on its own terms. I'm genuinely looking forward to it.

I said before that I wasn't a huge fan of the Inquisitors, but this trailer made them look cool, especially the new one, Reva, who I had the most reservations about. My main gripe with the Inquisitors was that they didn't have the same burning hate motivation as the Sith, but this trailer rectified that, showing the unhinged nature of their desire to hunt down the Jedi. I think Reva's voice over in this one was much more interesting and surprisingly intimidating than the Grand Inquisitor's in the first trailer. "You can't run, Obi-Wan! You can't escape him!", with images of Vader being assembled gives off genuinely scary vibes. These guys are not to be trifled with.

Even though it's not really necessarily needed, because Owen in AotC was perfectly shown to be skeptical of Anakin even with the little he was on screen, it's cool that this show may further explore Owen's feelings about Anakin and how that reflects on his attitude towards Obi-Wan. I love that line from the trailer, "Like you trained his father", and the reaction from Obi. There's so much interesting drama that can be sourced from the rich fountain that is the prequel trilogy. It set up such a tragic foundation for the entire saga.

I agree that Maul would have been stale at this point. I think they completed that story satisfactorily in The Clone Wars and Rebels. Even his little cameo in Solo felt like an unnecessary footnote. I much prefer that they put the focus on Vader, and specifically Hayden's Vader, even though he may be mostly acting through the Inquisitors as proxies.

I take it you're going to be following this series with us when it comes out? Are you going to catch up on the previous two live action shows, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett to prepare for this show? Those would be good "homework" to get a feel for these shows.

They're both scary, but while The Grand Inquisitor's voiceover has a sort of dictatorial malevolence to it, Reva's taunt is more blunt and thuggish, designed to sit in Obi-Wan's mind -- and the viewer's. Job done. I will just say it's unclear if she's referring to Vader or perhaps her boss: The Grand Inquisitor. Everyone assumes it's Vader, probably because the trailer then cuts to Vader being assembled for action, in either a dream-like flashback or an echo of Anakin being roused out of his bacta chamber slumber in "Rogue One". And then you have Obi-Wan seemingly reacting to it. Either way, it's a hell of a thing to say to an enemy you can't find, or who has just escaped your clutches, especially one with the weight of the world (and the hate of the world) on his shoulders like Obi-Wan.   


You put that so well. That was what I was trying to say before: The prequels are the gift that keeps on giving. Fans don't seem to realise -- nor even, perhaps, creators -- just how much of a goldmine they are, in terms of being able to pull certain characters, worlds, or concepts out, and then developing separate screen-based monographs about them. Much as we highlight character beats or debate symbolism on forums such as this one, so creative types have plenty to latch onto and develop down the line from what GL did in just seven hours of screen-time. Of course, there's also "The Clone Wars", the novels, and plenty of unused concept art.

Even then, however, tightening in on Obi-Wan's character and the history between him and Anakin, in this kind of quasi-cinematic telling, is surely one of the more significant gold pieces to have excavated and fashioned into something dramatic from the prequels. In a way, if "Rogue One" and "Solo" were ANH's pre-movie movies, then "Obi-Wan Kenobi" (and its lengthy-yet-contained syllabic signifier as series title) is the PT's, or ROTS's, post-trilogy/post-movie movie. Just on that level, this miniseries is addressing an imbalance that has existed in Disney's extant canon of post-Lucas material, thus far. Hard not to be a little excited that this thing is finally a reality.


As much as I understand it, or desire to, Maul's cameo in "Solo" at least serves to illustrate the notion that there is more to the Sith, and more to the Force, than any one slice of Star Wars can get into. Something looming in the background. Maybe this series will even imply that Maul could still be out there. That would then provide a good link with "Solo". But what you say is still broadly true. I'm glad this isn't about Obi-Wan being scoped out by two Sith Lords from his past. Then again: "Always two there are."


I'm going to follow this series, yeah. I have my ways. I'm sneaky like Obi-Wan!  As for watching the other shows: Maybe. I may somehow have to "force" myself to watch them. I struggle with a lot of the spinoff material, though I'm happy other fans get something from it. Nevertheless, you raise a valid point. I probably should bring myself up-to-date.

Calling this the PT's post-movie movie seems appropriate, and I certainly hope it lives up to that, finally fully connecting the gap between RotS and ANH. "Obi-Wan Kenobi", "Solo", and "Rogue One" could be seen as the mediating trilogy of sorts between the two original Lucas trilogies. I hope we get a sizeable serving of Vader with echoes of Anakin, either seeing him out of the suit in a bacta tank like in Rogue One, having his mask break like in The Force Unleashed, or through flashbacks/holoprojections of the Clone Wars, firmly tying the series to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader."

I won't spoil anything, but I will say this about The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett: Their premise is slightly deceptive and they have their place as part of "The Skywalker Saga." I would say they are as important if not more so than Rogue One and Solo, as far as the spin-offs go. They are the lead up to the sequel trilogy, after all, so there are surprises.

The memes have already started showing up...

smittysgelato
A Youtuber by the name of O.G. Star Wars has proof that Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader never met between ROTS and ANH
www.youtube.com/shorts/D-GwU7vH284

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITl8km4CY-U