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We’ve got a good feeling about this…
After years and years (and YEARS!) of rumours, it is finally here! The first episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi arrive exclusively on Disney+ this week, and it is fair to say that Star Wars fans are HYPED.
But for anyone who might be looking for a little round-up of what will make the return of Kenobi so special, read on…
ONE. We get to see Ewan back as Obi-Wan!
It has been 17 long years since Revenge Of The Sith arrived in cinemas, which was the last time we got to see Ewan McGregor in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Filling the shoes of A New Hope’s legendary Alec Guinness was not going to be an easy task for anyone, but McGregor pulled it off spectacularly, from his pairing with Qui Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) to becoming the teacher for a young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).
This six-part series will give McGregor the opportunity to give this iconic character a proper send-off.
Clip via Star Wars
TWO. He’s not the only one returning.
The new series will also be bringing back Hayden Christensen, now in full-on Darth Vader mode. The trailers so far have been very coy about how much of Vader we’ll actually see, but it is enough to get us all very excited for a long-awaited reunion between the former Jedi teacher and student.
Additionally, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse will be reprising their roles from Revenge Of The Sith, as Uncle Lars and Beru Whitesun Lars, respectively. A full-on family reunion!
THREE. We’re also getting some brilliant new villains.
Vader won’t be the only one hunting down Kenobi in the show, as we’ll also be introduced to the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and the Third Sister (Moses Ingram), both of whom are two of the most formidable and feared characters in the entire Star Wars universe. And from Darth Maul to General Grevious to Snoke, there is no arguing that Star Wars knows how to create massively memorable villains.
FOUR. It fills in some important gaps in the Star Wars timeline.
Set 10 years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith, following the Emperor pulling the trigger on Order 66 – which sent any surviving Jedi into hiding – we catch up with Kenobi on Tatooine as he watches over a very young Luke Skywalker, when he suddenly gets drafted into a new mission.
What could be important enough for Kenobi to ditch his goal of protecting the entire future of the Jedi? We’ll have to wait to find out…
FIVE. The massively impressive list of folk making the show.
All six episodes are directed by Deborah Chow, who has previously directed episodes of The Mandalorian, Jessica Jones, Better Call Saul and Mr. Robot. The episodes are written by Stuart Beattie (Collateral, 30 Days Of Night), Hossein Amimi (Drive, Our Kind of Traitor) and Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, Wall-E). The outstanding Chung Chung-hoon (Oldboy, It) is on cinematography duties, with music by Natalie Holt (Loki).
Basically, what we’re saying is, between the actors and the director and the writers and everyone else working on this behind-the-camera, this is going to look and sound incredible.
The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are now streaming exclusively on Disney Plus, with new episodes arriving every Wednesday.
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