Obi-Wan Kenobi: trailer 2, Star Wars series release date, cast with actor Ewan McGregor - is Darth Vader in it

Just a couple of weeks out from its launch on the service, Disney+ has revealed a brand new trailer for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

On ‘Star Wars Day’, no less.

The six-part ‘Kenobi’ TV series is part of a collection of live-action Star Wars shows being created for Disney+.

The event series will be directed by Deborah Chow, who previously helmed two episodes of the first series of The Mandalorian, which first aired in 2019.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is Obi-Wan Kenobi about?

The series sees Ewan McGregor reprise his famous role as Obi Wan Kenobi, a role he has not played for more than 15 years since starring as the Jedi Master in the three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005.

The Scottish star has said he is “really excited” about the project.

“Maybe more so than the first ones, because I’m older – I just turned 50 – and I’m just in a much better place,” he said.

The actor will also act as an executive producer for the series, alongside LucasFilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Chow, and writer Joby Harold.

The story begins 10 years after the events of the 2005 film, Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith.

At the climax of that film, Kenobi faced his greatest defeat; the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who had turned to the dark side.

Who’s in the cast?

Alongside McGregor, the series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of classic Star Wars villain, the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Other stars joining the cast include Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, and Rupert Friend; O’Shea Jackson, Bonnie Piesse, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie will also feature in the series.

Is there a trailer?

The first trailer for the series dropped on 9 March - and it’s safe to say that it has gotten Star Wars fans sufficiently hyped.

While the trailer gives fans their first look into the the new series, viewers have said that a “cheap trick” employed by LucasFilm is what really has gotten them excited - the use of John Williams’ Duel of the Fates signature music theme.

Duel of Fates made its first Star Wars appearance during the final lightsaber fight between Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, released in 1999.

One fan commented: “The thrill I felt hearing that in the trailer was immediately matched by self-loathing that their cheap trick worked.”

Another wrote: “Absolute chills when the music hits. So hyped for this.”

In the latest trailer - released on Star Wars Day - McGregor keeps watch over a young Luke Skywalker as he is pursued by dark forces.

It also gives fans a glimpse of Darth Vader, as the baddie’s iconic suit is pieced together, and we hear his terrifying laboured breathing.

How was it filmed?

McGregor said working on the three Star Wars prequels was difficult because it was largely done in front of a screen rather than on a set.

“After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious – especially when the scenes are… I don’t want to be rude, but it’s not Shakespeare,” he said.

“There’s not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there’s no environment there. It was quite hard to do.”Since the first season of The Mandalorian, Disney has made use of a virtual set technology known as The Volume, a curved 20-foot high 270-degree LED video wall made up of 1,326 individual LED screens topped with an LED ceiling.

During filming for the new series, the backgrounds were projected “onto this massive LED screen”.

“So if you’re in a desert, you’re standing in the middle of a desert,” McGregor said. “If you’re in the snow, you’re surrounded by snow. And if you’re in the cockpit of a starfighter, you’re in space.”

When can I watch it?

Obi-Wan Kenobi will be available on Disney+ from Wednesday May 25.

What other Star Wars projects are on the way?

Kenobi is far from the only upcoming Star Wars project Disney has up its sleeve.

Among many more film and TV announcements, one of the most intriguing is the news that Taika Waititi will write and direct a new Star Wars film.

The Jojo Rabbit director, who won an Oscar for adapting the screenplay of the anti-hate satire, will pen the script with 1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns.Waititi is no stranger to a galaxy far, far away and directed the final episode of the first series of The Mandalorian.

Russian Doll showrunner Leslye Headland is also developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+.

She will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the series, which will join the catalogue of Star Wars spin-offs on the platform, including another based on Cassian Andor’s life prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The streaming service announced in 2020 that they had 10 Star Wars series spin-offs planned, which includes The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett, which premiered at the end of 2021 and recently broadcast its season finale on 9 February.