On Wednesday, the first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi - a new limited series on DisneyPlus - dropped. Entertainment Weekly gave us the "first look" and the trailer was released shortly after. Another picture (of Vader) can be seen here.
Ewan McGregor is one of the few things I liked about the prequel trilogy, which I think is awful. I simply do not like those movies. McGregor's Obi-Wan was one of the few bright spots. He took a character someone else's (Alec Guinness) and made it his own. There's always skepticism when someone else takes over playing an iconic character, but not only was McGregor's performance accepted, whenever we hear the name "Obi-Wan Kenobi", I think it's safe to say people people - without hesitation - think of both actors. That's quite impressive. Very rarely - if ever - do people give as much respect to someone playing a character made famous by someone else, but that is how much people respect McGregor's take on the character.
But something has always bothered me about the premise of this show. Obi-Wan disappeared after the events of Revenge of the Sith. He fought - and severely injured his apprentice (Vader) - and peaced out. He was not carrying out secret missions for the Rebellion. He didn't even know the Rebellion existed:
Obi-Wan was hiding on Tatooine, he wasn't hopping on a ship every other day doing missions with Rebels or anyone else. He disappeared and was assumed dead:
I was concerned this show would contradict the movies - particularly the the original trilogy - and create massive plot holes. I just can't envision them making a show about Obi-Wan being a hermit for 30 years.
While I freely the trailer looks to be of good quality, I think some of my fears are being confirmed. We see Obi-Wan on a planet that clearly isn't Tatooine. We see the Empire is hunting him too. This simply doesn't mesh with the lore and mythology of the original trilogy. As I already said, he fought Vader and disappeared. They never saw each other again until:
To quote...well anyone from Star Wars, "I have a bad feeling about this." Hayden Christensen is in this show. He's playing Vader. I have a sneaking suspicion they are going to have the two confront one another and even worse...fight. The two clips above make it quite clear they had not seen one another since Obi-Wan maimed him, but I have a strong feeling they are not going to be able to resist having the two clash. Expanded universes - books, comics, and video games based on existing movies or shows - can't resist doing this kind of stuff. They are always bringing someone back or making something "bigger and badder", which never works.
I have a hunch this show is going to be well-made. I might even like it. But I'm not sure I can look past some of the massive plot holes I think it's going to create. I think many will because McGregor and Christensen will make them feel nostaligic, but I'm not sure it's something I can get past (if it happens).
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