The first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi is finally here, and it seems clear from the brief teaser that Disney and Lucasfilm want us to know they know exactly what we actually liked about the prequels. Which is to say, not that much.
The upcoming Star Wars Disney Plus show is the closest the live-action universe has come to exploring the immediate fallout of the much-maligned prequel trilogy. With this comes some concern that Obi-Wan might get some of that prequel stink on it by association... but the new trailer fully acknowledges it knows what we loved about those films by giving us the two best things from The Phantom Menace.
Take a look at the trailer below and see if you can work out what I'm talking about!
I am, of course, in part referring to Ewan McGregor's titular Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's widely accepted that the Scottish actor was one of the prequel trilogy's redeeming features - even when he was rocking that awful rat tail in The Phantom Menace.
That we finally get to see him in action again after all these years is a dizzyingly exciting prospect, and he looks fantastic in those brief moments of the trailer that actually showed him.
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But a special mention must also go to the trailer's inspired use of John Williams' 'Duel Of The Fates', AKA the epic piece of music that plays during Obi-Wan's climatic duel with Darth Maul at the end of The Phantom Menace. Never has a piece of music done such a good job at making us think a film was better than it actually was. But if you listen to 'Duel Of Fates' at any point, the impossible happens: you trick yourself into thinking the prequels were good.
To see the piece used in the context of the Obi-Wan trailer certainly suggests to me that Disney is determined to redeem the prequels with an adventure that paints them in a new light - and I'm all for it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to Disney Plus on May 25.