The Cutprice Guignol

My darlings, it’s been a while since I’ve been genuinely pumped about new Star Wars content.

There’s just been…so much. So much. Even for a deranged fan like me. But you put Ewan McGregor (yes, he did take his surname from me as an homage to my work, thanks for asking) in front of me, reprising his iconic role as Obi-Wan Kenobi – so good that he nearly single-handedly saved the prequel trilogy with it – and I am going to drink it up like blue Tatooine farm juice.

And now we have a trailer! I’m planning on reviewing the show when it comes out in a couple of months, so I thought it would be good to get a little tantalising taste of what’s to come by sitting down together and holding hands and watching the trailer together. Shall we?

0:06: The first Star Wars movie I properly remember seeing was The Phantom Menace, and it’s for that reason that the depiction of Tatooine in its mundanity – day-to-day life stuff – always makes me happy. It’s so familiar, as I’ve seen it so many times, but still holds a delightfully alien feel.

0:20: And I’m ALWAYS obsessed with stories that act as an epilogue of a character dealing with failure after the main story seems to be done. McGregor has the range to bring this to Kenobi, the weight of this loss on the character, and I can’t wait to see it.

0:31: INSTANT sense memory of dancing around my living room as a kid with my best friend play-fighting with sticks to this track. Duel of the Fates is probably the most impressive single piece in any Star Wars score, and it still takes me there.

0:44: This character, if my Rebels memories serve me correctly, is The Grand Inquisitor. I’m genuinely really pleased to see him here, as he provides such an interesting parallel to Obi-Wan’s story with regards to Jedi after the rise of Palpatine, and because he’s a bit of a drama queen which I need in my villains – but I am quite sad that Jason Isaacs, who voices him in the show, isn’t the one playing him. Can you imagine the scenery-chewing? Can you?

0:53: If you’re describing your enemy’s major fault as being “compassion”, does it not occur to you just a little bit that you might be the villain? Just a bit?

0:54: Is that…the victim of a public hanging? I know Star Wars has been edging towards edgyness lately, but damn.

1:05: I don’t think it’s a hot new take to say that the Star Wars live-action shows have almost universally just looked outstandingly beautiful, but it’s worth saying again. This is stunning.

1:17: The combo of this music (taking me RIGHT back to my Star Wars Battlefront II days) and this light-sabre heavy action is doing it for me, I’ve got to admit it.

1:18: And yet I must admit to not being a fan of Joel Edgerton. Interested to see what the show is going to do with Owen here, given his limited presence in the movies (apart from as a crisped-up corpse, of course).

1:32: I mean, we all know how this show is going to end, unless they’re doing some serious retconning, so Luke Skytoddler is going to be fine. But the tone is still dark enough to make this interesting, if this trailer is representative of what they’re going for.

1:35: The Darth Vader breathing over the closing is a really nice touch, and brings me to another point: I’m really looking forward to seeing what Hayden Christensen can bring to his comeback here, after his famously-maligned performances in the prequel trilogy, especially given some re-appraisal of his talent I’ve been doing lately.

Overall, if they’d just silently shown a low-res picture of Ewan McGregor’s headshot, I would have been in to this. But I’m loving the look of this trailer, and I can’t wait to get to reviewing this show in a couple of months. Hope to see you there!

If you liked this article and want to see more of my Star Wars writing, check out my Mandalorian episode reviews, and my cinematic universe retrospective. And, if you enjoyed this and want to support my work, please consider supporting this blog!

(header image via Hollywood Reporter)