Kenobi: Trailer Breakdown

By: Teresa Prytko 

The upcoming Kenobi series, streaming exclusively on Disney+, will (hopefully) answer questions that Star Wars fans have been trying to figure out for years. 

The most important one clearly is; how did Obi-Wan age so fast? 

The trailer opens with Obi-Wan, naturally, on the sands of Tatooine, a planet that we have seen a lot of recently. Following the events of Order 66 when the clones turned on the Jedi, from Revenge of The Sith, the Force-sensitive protectors of the galaxy have been nearly all wiped out and Kenobi has slipped into exile. 

There are several very recognizable and nostalgic themes that are heard throughout the trailer, the first one being the theme “Battle of the Heroes” from Revenge of the Sith. It is a slightly different arrangement, but still recognizable. As the theme plays we get a shot of a young Luke Skywalker, who will one day help bring about the end of the Empire and the redemption of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. 

Vader is far from redemption at this time, however, instead, we will see him at the height of his power. 

He is overseeing the Inquistorious, a group of Force-sensitive dark side agents also known as Inquisitors. They were first introduced in the TV series Star Wars: Rebels. They are also the main antagonists in the video game Star Wars: Fallen Order and in the novel Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K Johnston. Their primary objective is to hunt down whatever remaining Jedi there are. 

The trailer introduces us to The Grand Inquisitor, who we saw in the first season of Rebels. He did not make it to the second season, but because of this, we know he will survive the events of Kenobi so one can speculate about how Kenobi will deal with this problem. The “Duel of the Fates” theme from The Phantom Menace also begins to play at this point, giving chills to any and every fan watching. 

We are introduced to a new inquisitor, Reva, and also see a familiar (not-BBQed) face, Uncle Owen. The strange thing about Reva is her name breaks rank. After the Grand Inquisitor, every other Inquisitor’s name either contains “Brother” or “Sister” (Fifth Brother, Second Sister, etc.,). Supposedly she is the Third Sister, but it is not known why she is not being referred to in this way, at least not yet. 

There is a break from the sunny sands of Tatooine and we see several shots of a new, edgy planet Daiyu, with dark buildings and neon signage reminiscent of Hong Kong, according to showrunner, writer, and executive producer Joby Harold. 

There are multiple shots showing the Inquisitors’ cruel tactics to get the information they want. Some more ambiguous shots were a gloved hand touching a strange symbol scratched onto a wall, a shadowy silhouette in an alley and a flock of feathered creatures flying out on a roof. 

What can be inferred is that the Empire is hot on Kenobi’s trail, we know how Vader feels about his former master at this point in the timeline and is thus very motivated to hunt him down. Kenobi is focused on keeping Luke safe, so he probably goes off-world for a bit to avoid them finding the young Jedi. 

The last shot we get is Obi-Wan once more, then as the title page rolls, we hear the rasp of Vader’s masked breath. There is a way to tell if the former Master and Pawadan will face off. 

There is also nothing hinting at Obi-Wan’s increased ageing in the trailer, but there will be more to investigate when the show releases. If Obi-Wan has to spend the whole show running from scary-looking Inquisitors and trying to keep them away from “but I was going into Tosche Station to pick up power converters” farmboy Luke then he will understandably be quite stressed.