After sparking much speculation, Obi-Wan Kenobi's latest promotional material confirms that the Imperial Inquisitors will be this show's primary antagonists.
Both the exclusive photos from EW and the official Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer provided a firsthand look at its Dark Side agents, comprised of familiar Star Wars Rebels faces and a brand new Inquisitor named Reva (i.e. Third Sister). When asked about her Jedi hunter's role in the story, actor Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit) teased that Reva, her superior the Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader all "share a common dark-side goal" and are "on the same team."
Obi-Wan's trailer, meanwhile, provided more context into the Inquisitors' abilities. Reva's scenes not only feature her wielding an Inquisitor lightsaber, but also an arm cannon used to intimidate locals on Tatooine, including Joel Edgerton's Owen Lars. The Grand Inquisitor, reportedly played by Rupert Friend, also retains his unusual rotating double-bladed saber and, while featured briefly, characters resembling the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister introduced in Rebels Season 2 can be seen conferring with Reva and tracking down Obi-Wan on the planet Daiyu. Unlike the feared prequel-era Jedi Knight, actor Ewan McGregor has described this Obi-Wan as someone in a dark place, calling him "broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up."
First shown in Rebels' first season, the Inquisitors are a group of ex-Jedi who, under Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor's command, hunt down survivors of Order 66. In addition to the aforementioned Rebels characters, more Inquisitors were created for Marvel's 2017 Darth Vader series and the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but concept art released for Obi-Wan Kenobi last November hinted at these characters making their live-action transition. Fallen Order also revealed the dark process behind turning a Force-wielder into an Inquisitor through extensive torture, with the Inquisitors' headquarters heavily resembling a location from the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer.
While previous Star Wars media never showed Obi-Wan battling Inquisitors post-exile, Star Wars cartoons and comics have featured him going up against powerful opponents like Darth Maul and Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. As a merger of prequel/Clone Wars-era and Disney-era characters, Obi-Wan Kenobi will not only see McGregor and Edgerton reprise their roles for the first time since Revenge of the Sith but also Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. One report even suggested that Liam Neeson might return as Qui-Gon Jin -- having previously re-voiced Obi-Wan's master in two Star Wars: The Clone Wars story arcs -- but nothing official has been confirmed yet.
Directed by Deborah Chow, Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 25 on Disney+
Source: EW