The highly anticipated Star Wars show about Obi-Wan Kenobi finally released a trailer on March 9. The show sees the return of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Fans are going wild on social media, as McGregor and Christensen have become icons in the Star Wars fandom for their work on George Lucas’ prequel trilogy.
And now they’ve returned for a show that means virtually nothing.
This is hard for me to write, as I am a massive Star Wars fan. In fact, it’s my favorite franchise of all time. I eat, sleep and breathe knowledge of the galaxy far, far away.
But just because I like Star Wars doesn’t mean that I can’t acknowledge when their movies or shows are bad. “The Rise of Skywalker” was a sloppy ending to the saga that relied purely on nostalgia and not actual storytelling. The latest animated show “The Bad Batch” has failed to develop any characters besides the ones who cameo in each episode. Recently, “The Book of Boba Fett” released a seven-episode run where the two best episodes didn’t even feature Boba Fett.
Needless to say, even if Star Wars has its great films like “The Empire Strikes Back” or “Revenge of the Sith,” there are weaker projects that definitely exist. Now, I fear “Obi-Wan Kenobi” will be the latest of these mediocre projects.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” will follow the titular character after the Jedi Order was slaughtered during Order 66. Kenobi at this point is a hermit in hiding, watching over a young Luke Skywalker. He’s traumatized and struggling with his faith in The Force. As far as a premise goes, it’s a pretty good one.
But then the writers decided to go in a direction that I don’t necessarily agree with. Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy already confirmed that Kenobi and Vader will have a rematch, which is cool, I guess. I never thought it was a good idea, though. This series is set before “A New Hope,” where Kenobi and Vader fight for the final time. In other words, we know what happens to these two already. What’s the point?
The trailer then introduces multiple Inquisitors, Force users who hunt Jedi. I was excited to see them finally appear, and then I saw who it was. Joining two new Inquisitors are the Grand Inquisitor and the Fifth Brother, both of whom appeared on “Star Wars Rebels.” Since “Rebels” is set after the Kenobi show, the question once again becomes “what’s the point?”
And what are the stakes for this show? It can’t be Kenobi’s life. We already know he survives, as does Vader, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Fifth Brother. Does someone find Luke Skywalker living with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru? Because (spoiler alert) they all make it to “A New Hope” as well. Maybe new characters will be standouts to watch, but even then, won’t they just die or not show up again after this show?
I’m sure the action and special effects of this show will be cool. This is Star Wars, after all, and we have a total of six characters who wield lightsabers in this show. But what does this show have to add to Star Wars as a whole besides profit for Lucasfilm?
And for those of you who think this will add anything to Kenobi’s life, it likely won’t. We’ve seen every major moment of his life already. We saw him as a Padawan in “The Phantom Menace,” what happened between him and Anakin in “Revenge of the Sith,” and his death in “A New Hope.”
On top of that, “The Clone Wars” animated show provided a love interest for Obi-Wan, revealing a piece of his past. We also see the return of Maul, who’s set on revenge against Kenobi. Kenobi even wraps up a few of these storylines in “Rebels.” What more is there to see?
I will still be watching “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” but my hopes aren’t the highest. It will certainly be nice to see McGregor return to this beloved character, but I don’t expect to feel anything besides nostalgia while watching it. Call me crazy, but nostalgia just isn’t enough to make a show or movie good.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” releases on May 25 on DIsney+.
The Beat @APU 