Disney+ has dropped new poster art and announced a release date for its highly anticipated Star Wars spinoff series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The first episode will drop on the streaming platform on May 25, 2022. We can’t wait.
And yes, uber-fans, May 25 is the same date Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was released in 1977 (back when it was known simply as Star Wars). That film celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, and Obi-Wan Kenobi will debut the night before Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California.
As reported previously, we first learned in August 2019 that the rumors were true about a Star Wars spinoff series featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi. That’s also when we learned that Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequels, would reprise the part. The actor himself made a surprise appearance at the tail end of a showcase presentation at D23 Expo 2019, Disney’s annual fan extravaganza. Then came the big news that his co-star Hayden Christensen would reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy called it “the rematch of the century” at the December 2020 Disney Investors Day.
Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse are reprising their roles as Owen Lars and his wife, Beru, who raise the young Luke Skywalker on the desert planet Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s cast also includes Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, Maya Erskine, and Benny Safdie in undisclosed roles.
We got our first look at some of the concept art for the series during Disney+ Day back in November. While the sizzle reel (which briefly leaked online beforehand) contained no actual footage, fans were buzzing about the images showcasing Obi-Wan and none other than Darth Vader, lightsabers locked in battle. We also saw concept art featuring Vader in what appears to be his castle on Mustafar.
The series will be set 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith—you know, the film where Obi-Wan faced off against Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the Dark Side and eventually became Sith Lord Darth Vader. That period is going to be “a dark time” for Obi-Wan, who must deal with the loss of all his friends, according to director Deborah Chow. The poster art certainly reflects that.
Chow (who directed multiple episodes of The Mandalorian) also said that Obi-Wan and other Jedi who survived Order 66 are being hunted down by the Empire’s Jedi Hunters in the company of Stormtroopers. Obi-Wan is on Tatooine with a mission to protect young Luke Skywalker, at least as the series opens.
We still don’t know much else about the series, but May is just a few months away, so expect to see the usual teasers and trailers trickle out over the next few months.
Disney+
