Star Wars: 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' series on Disney+ teases life of exile & young Luke in first trailer

We finally have our first teaser trailer for the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming to Disney+ at the end of May, and this initial batch of footage is enough to give any Star Wars fan instant goosebumps. Set a decade after Anakin's betrayal of the Jedi Order, the show picks up on our favorite desert planet, Tatooine, where old Ben Kenobi (fan favorite Ewan McGregor) lives a life of quiet exile, watching over a young Luke Skywalker.

Kenobi's greatest failure, the corruption of his former student and friend (now a feared Sith Lord called Darth Vader; played once again by Hayden Christensen), now rules over the galaxy with an iron fist at the side of the Emperor. "The fight is done," a clearly broken Kenobi says in voiceover. "We lost...stay hidden."

Much easier said than done because the Empire is actively hunting down the last-remaining Jedi by way of the Inquisitors. One of them, Reva (Moses Ingram), is sensitive to the Force, and takes orders directly from the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend), a rabid devotee of the oppressive regime and former guard at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, who speaks about how a Jedi cannot help their inherent nature of wanting to do good. "Their compassion leaves a trail," explains the villain. "The Jedi code is like an itch, they cannot help it."

Watch the first trailer — which reprises "Duel of the Fates" to absolutely chilling effect — below:

“It was a great experience," McGregor recently told Forbes. "Deborah Chow directed all the episodes and she’s really good. She directed a couple [episodes] of The Mandalorian and she’s a really great director. She really knows the Star Wars world, inside out, far more than I do. We just had a great time. I think it’s no secret that Hayden Christensen comes back and we got to play scenes together again as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and it was just fantastic to work with him again. I’m not going to give away anything else about the storyline, only I think it’s really going to satisfy Star Wars fans. I always felt there was a story between Episode III where I finished playing Obi-Wan in the movies and Episode IV where Alec Guinness is Obi-Wan Kenobi. The [Obi-Wan Kenobi series] writers and Deb and I and everyone, I think we crafted or they crafted a very fine storyline. I think people are going to like it."

In addition to McGregor and Christensen, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse reprise their prequel roles of Luke's adoptive parents: Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru of the Lars moisture farm. Even John Williams is back for the main theme song. Newcomers to the Star Wars universe are Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), Sung Kang (F9), Simone Kessell (Terra Nova), and Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza). 

While Vader doesn't make an appearance, his famous labored breathing sound effect can be heard at the very end of the teaser during the title card. It's definitely the right move at this point, holding out one of the greatest pop culture villains of all time to increase his impact when he finally does show up on the screen. However, we are curious about how much of Christensen we'll actually see in this show.

Will he be in full costume most of the time? Will there be any flashbacks to the Clone Wars before his little lava incident on Mustafar? Was the 91-year-old James Earl Jones brought back to voice Vader? To quote Yoda: "Patience you must have, my young padawan.”

McGregor and Chow serve as executive producers with Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Joby Harold.

Obi-Wan Kenobi lands on Disney+ Wednesday, May 25 and will most likely be a one-off limited series.

Photo: Walt Disney Studios