Obi-Wan Kenobi will center on a galaxy a far cry from the one glimpsed in the Star Wars prequels.
Writer Joby Harold spoke to EW about the upcoming limited series, which will explore the fallout of Order 66, the birth of Darth Vader, and the rule of the Empire. "It takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, in a time of darkness in the galaxy," Harold said. "The Empire is in the ascendancy. And all the horrors that come with the Empire are being made manifest throughout the galaxy. And the Jedi Order as we know them are being all but wiped out. So everything that was in the prequels has crumbled."
Of course, not every Jedi was taken out during Order 66, as various Star Wars projects over the years have shown. And while there have been rumors of Obi-Wan encountering other Jedi, the hero and his scattered ilk, wherever they are, will have to face some serious new threats.
"Those surviving Jedi, those that do survive, are on the run, and they're in hiding," Harold said. "And Vader and his Inquisitors are chasing them to the end of the galaxy. Within that hopeless fatalistic world, we find possibly the most famous of all our surviving Jedi in hiding struggling with that faith that defines the Jedi, and wanting to hold onto it and hoping to regain that faith within that sort of hopeless world."
"Within that environment and that galaxy, his faith is tested," Harold continued. "And he goes on a journey that allows him to travel from that character that we saw in the last of the prequels, where [McGregor] really felt like he was embodying Obi-Wan Kenobi to a pretty extraordinary degree, and ends with him as the more finished article that Sir Alec Guinness gave to the world in A New Hope. And so in this very specific time in the history of Star Wars, when the Jedi are on the run, we get to sort of stand next to and watch Obi-Wan as he runs the gauntlet and has to survive a pretty extraordinary experience."
The Grand Inquisitor and his generals, who Star Wars Rebels fans know intimately, will allow Vader to extend his reach on his quest to eliminate the remaining Jedi for the Emperor. But as capable as they are, Vader will need to step in himself, which is exactly what fans have been hoping for. And so far, all signs indicate Obi-Wan and Vader will face off in an epic rematch.
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 27 on Disney+.
Source: EW