Mandatory Trailers: ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ a New Hope For the Franchise, Or Same Old Star Wars Shit?

An Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff has been in the works for years at Lucasfilm. The character first portrayed by Alec Guinness has been a major part of the Star Wars franchise for the better part of 45 years. Much to the delight of fans, Ewan Mcgregor is stepping back into the role that he redefined during the prequel era of Star Wars. The upcoming limited series, unsurprisingly called Obi-Wan Kenobi, follows the titular character 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. However, now that the first trailer Obi-Wan Kenobi has been unveiled, it can’t help but be the same old Star Wars shit. 

Objectively speaking, the first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi is pretty cool. There are plenty of great throwbacks to the prequel trilogy, as well as the Clone Wars (the Grand Inquisitor, aah!). If you’ve been looking forward to learning more about Obi-Wan’s story, this series will probably satisfy that urge. Subjectively speaking, however, Lucasfilm’s recent trend of rehashing old material seems to have reached its crescendo in this series. From the use of John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” to the obligatory inclusion of Hayden Christianson’s Darth Vader, A Galaxy far, far away is feeling increasingly insular. 

If anything, it’s not a stretch to say that Disney Lucasfilm is really dipping back into the well with the forthcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It’s safe to say that just about everyone is prepared for what Obi-Wan has to offer, seemingly leaning into heavy nostalgia with an equally predictable storyline. Although the story of the show was originally supposed to be much darker, it was eventually reworked into a much more light-hearted affair. 

In too many ways to count, Obi-Wan Kenobi feels eerily similar to 2018’s Solo. That is, a well-crafted story that features all the bells and whistles of a Star Wars product, but one that also something that fails to have any cultural impact beyond that. The Book of Boba Fett, we’re looking at you. Ironically enough, Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to premiere on May 25, 2022, the day that Star Wars originally premiered in theaters. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and find out if it lives up to the 45-year hype.

Cover Photo: Lucasfilm

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