‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Series: Cast, Trailer, And Fan Theories

While the Star Wars prequel trilogy is hotly contested between fans and haters, we all have common ground: Ewan McGregor as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is a national treasure. That’s why we’re saying, “Well hello there” to the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring our very own Ewan McGregor. 

So what’s to come for the disillusioned, reclusive Jedi Master that fled to Tatooine to look over young Luke Skywalker? What was he doing out in the desert all those years?

Disney+ will start to answer all our questions at the end of the month as they release the first two episodes. All we can do now is watch the trailer, review the cast, and go through some fan theories that might just have some weight to them.

Let’s dive in.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Trailer

So far, we have the teaser and the trailer to enjoy as we wait for the premiere of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The two have very different tones, so we’re eager to see how that plays out in the limited series. 

In the teaser, we hear McGregor say, “The fight is done. We lost. Stay hidden.” This matches with his disillusioned turn after losing Padme to death and losing Anakin to the Dark Side. 

Then the famous Duel of the Fates track starts playing – the iconic John Williams masterpiece from Obi-Wan’s duel with Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace – and we all lose our minds. The rest of the teaser cuts between Obi-Wan in the desert of Tatooine and Empire officials. We don’t get much of the story, but we do get a lot of awesome cinematography.

However, when the trailer came out, we got more context and a different tune from Kenobi. While he does say “Stay hidden,” we also see him approach Owen Lars, Luke’s uncle. He says of Luke, “When the time comes, he must be trained,” showing that he still believes in the Jedi ways and has not yet given up. Owen snaps back and says, “Like you trained his father?”

We get more of a context for the female Empire official, an Inquisitor named Reva, and we hear her speak dialogue. It seems like she’s heading the operation of finding Kenobi. 

And most exciting of all? We see Darth Vader’s suit getting assembled and hear the iconic, mechanical, labored breathing. While we don’t see his face, we know that Hayden Christensen will appear in the limited series to reprise the role. We’re excited to see if there’s any Anakin left in Vader while he’s in the suit. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi Cast

So who will rejoin the ranks of Ewan McGregor for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series? How many returning faces will we see versus new characters?

Director Deborah Chow promises a healthy balance of old and new. She explained that “Obi-Wan’s going on a journey. There’s going to be different people that come into his life. One of the things I was trying to do with this series was to have the legacy, and who is important in Obi-Wan’s life, and to also have some new characters. So it’s going to be a mixture of the two. But I do think there are some surprises to come. I hope.” So Chow notes that we’ll see a blend of old and new, and hints that even on top of the characters we know are returning, there will be some fun cameos of original characters that rejoin the story.

On the return of the beloved character, McGregor said in an interview, “There’s a hunger for this character to come back. The fans have been waiting long enough.” While we don’t doubt that fans have been waiting for this character, we can certainly add McGregor to that list of fans. Since the release of the new Star Wars trilogy, he’s been rather vocal about his intense desire to return to the role. Since the character dies in A New Hope, there wasn’t much wiggle room in where he could re-enter the story. It really had to happen between Episodes 3 and 4, especially since Alec Guinness plays the part in Episode 4. 

Hayden Christensen Is Back

Returning to the series for the first time since Revenge of the Sith in 2005, Hayden Christensen will reprise the role of Anakin, but now as Vader. Christensen hasn’t been a part of the Star Wars story since then, except briefly as the voice of Anakin Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker. 

It’s also promised that he’ll appear in Ahsoka, another Star Wars story series we absolutely cannot wait for.

Luke Skywalker’s aunt and uncle, Owen and Beru Lars, will appear, played by Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse. Grant Feely will play young Luke Skywalker. The Grand Inquisitor will appear in the live-action series played by Rupert Friend. Sung Kang will portray another Inquisitor we already know: the Fifth Brother. Moses Ingram, known for her role in The Queen’s Gambit, will play Reva, a new Inquisitor. She gets a lot of screen time in the trailer. So we think she’ll assume a large role in the series.

As with all things Star Wars and Marvel, many details get kept under lock and key. So while we know that Kumail Nanjiani, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Simone Kessell, Maya Erskine, and Benny Safdie will join the cast, their character names got deliberately left off the IMDB page. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi Fan Theories

So what are the fan theories we have for what the series has in store for Obi-Wan as he stands guard to watch over Luke on Tatooine? 

In some Reddit spaces, users are trading theories on who those surprise cameos Chow hinted at will be. User Ty-Dyed said “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Asohka pop up” and u/eownified responded, “I’d actually be more surprised if she didn’t.” Ashoka is getting more and more screen time, already pulled from the animated Clone Wars series to live-action shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. It would track that she makes an appearance in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series to help set up her own show, Ahsoka. However, logistics may not be on her side. Actress Rosario Dawson has a lot on her plate. And with only 6 episodes in the limited TV series, the writers don’t have much time to waste. 

Another character fans on Reddit are crossing their fingers to see is Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon Jinn, famously played by Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace, could easily make for a show-stopping cameo, whether through his force ghost or in training flashbacks. 

Whether or not Obi-Wan can connect with Qui-Gon will be interesting to see. As made clear in the trailer, Obi-Wan wants to train Luke. However, nowhere in the trailer does he ever show force abilities. u/TheMediocreCritic on Reddit said “Obi-Wan will not be able to talk to Qui-Gon at the start of the series because his mind is too clouded by guilt and grief. It won’t be until a pivotal moment the two finally connect.”

Duchess Satine Kryze

Someone we’re really hoping will show up in the series? Obi-Wan’s love, Duchess Satine Kryze. 

And not as much a fan theory as a desperate hope from fans. But we’re itching to see another Obi-Wan and Anakin lightsaber battle, only with Anakin now as Vader. Now that Anakin fully fell to the Dark Side, will he have stronger powers? Will Obi-Wan’s grief and inner turmoil make him unable to fight back? Will Vader’s chaotic, unbalanced energy lead him to lose once again? Lightsaber duels are so much more than sword fights with glowing weapons. The force relies deeply on the wielder’s ability to control their emotions. Anakin and Obi-Wan have a deeply complex emotional history even before Order 66 took place. And the battle will be a source of turmoil and crisis for both. 

We can’t wait to see whatever Disney+ releases on May 27, 2022. Of the Star Wars stories getting their own TV series, Obi-Wan Kenobi might be the most highly anticipated. We hope that it’s just as incredible as we expect it to be.