A teaser trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the upcoming Disney+ series that gives Ewan McGregor a shot at redemption, dropped yesterday. It looks…pretty good. Honestly, I’d be more into it if The Book of Boba Fett wasn’t a goddamn mess, and if the whole vibe of the new Star Wars stuff hadn’t become “cling to the past no matter what”. The Mandalorian started out so strong as new people doing new stuff in (mostly) new places, but by the end of season two it doubled down on tying everything back to Skywalkers, which is now a major problem for the world of Star Wars as it continues to expand. They have GOT to learn to live without Skywalkers if there is any hope of this surviving in the long term, but they seem completely incapable of letting go of anything from the original trilogy.
I am already dreading more time spent on Tatooine. Everything in the teaser that looks vaguely like Blade Runner and features those creepy “inquisitors” searching for Jedi on the lam is cool. Into all of that. Obi-Wan in the f-cking desert looking at a bunch of sh-t we’ve already seen before, I can do without. I am really hoping Obi-Wan is, like, 80% new stuff with new people in new places, and 20% Tatooine and young Luke Skywalker, but I’m afraid it’s going to end up the other way around. You know what? I am really starting to understand Anakin’s position on sand. I, too, hate sand now.
I want this to work for Ewan McGregor, I really do. Casting him as Obi-Wan is arguably the only really good piece of casting in the prequel trilogy (Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu isn’t bad, but he didn’t get to do a lot). McGregor has always been vocal about his love for Star Wars, even if his films weren’t well-received, and I am rooting for him, and for Obi-Wan. I want this to work. It’s just that after Boba Fett, I don’t trust it will. But Ewan McGregor deserves another shot at this character, to go out on a better note, if nothing else.
Also attached - Ewan out in LA the other day with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and their baby.
