Could This Sith Lord Make An Appearance In The Kenobi Series?

We Meet Again At Last

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 3 min read

The Book Of Boba Fett is now a distant memory, and all eyes are now turned towards the Obi-Wan Kenobi series that is due to start on May 25th, streaming exclusively on Disney+. With The Book Of Boba Fett getting mixed reactions, expectations are high for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series to really deliver.

As is usual with anything related to Star Wars, everyone is very tight-lipped about what we can expect. So far, we’ve had one poster release, some cast announcements, leaked on-set photos, and the odd snippet from officials at Lucasfilm. Accompanying the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi is five-issue comic book series and a novel called Brotherhood by Mike Chen, which features Obi-Wan and Anakin. Both are coming in May. Lastly, a YA Kenobi book is coming in June.

We know that Ewan McGregor is returning to play our titular hero Obi-Wan Kenobi but have little detail on how the story will play out. Hayden Christensen has also been confirmed as returning to resume his role as Darth Vader. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy dropped a minor ‘spoiler’ by revealing that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series will have a rematch between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.

It has been confirmed that other prequel trilogy characters will appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse will return to play Owen Lars and Beru Lars, respectively. Given the period that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series will be covering, there is plenty of scope for more prequel trilogy characters to appear.

With Darth Vader making an appearance, you have to wonder if we might get a cameo from Emperor Palpatine as well. Iain McDiarmid, who played Emperor Palpatine, gave an interview with UK newspaper Metro back in September 2021, where he dropped a hint that making a return as Palpatine in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was “not impossible.”

"I think I have to accept that, thanks to my ungrateful granddaughter, my annihilation was finally final. [But] Of course, [Darth] Vader is back in the new [Obi-Wan Kenobi] television series, so I suppose it’s not impossible that one day his mentor might be discovered once again skulking in the shadows.”

Whether or not this was a secret hint at the truth or was just speculation at the time remains to be seen. However, seeing Emperor Palpatine appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi would undoubtedly be an exciting prospect. While there might have been some confusion around the unexpected re-appearance of Emperor Palpatine in The Rise Of Skywalker from some fans, it would certainly make a lot of sense for him to be involved somewhere in the timeline of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

This could be even more like something we expect to see a Fifth Brother and the Grand Inquisitor as part of a Jedi hunt, so seeing this being instigated by Emperor Palpatine himself would be amazing. Additionally, Emperor Palpatine has now appeared in the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars, Rebels, original trilogy, and sequel trilogy, so it would also allow continuity in the Star Wars storytelling to include him in the live-action TV shows.

Although we don’t have character names for most cast members, we have some names announced. Alongside Maya Erskine, it has also been revealed that she will be joined by Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kamail Najiani, Bennie Safdje in as yet unknown roles. Indira Varma has been confirmed as Tia, and Paul O’Kelly plays a prisoner. There is a strong rumor that Sung Kang will be portraying Fifth Brother, a Sith Inquisitor that has appeared in animation in Star Wars Rebels. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s adventures will continue exclusively on Disney+ on May 25th.

Thank you for reading our article today. If you want to keep up to date with our latest stories, please consider becoming a pledge or, alternatively, please consider leaving a tip. This will help us continue to keep bringing new and interesting content. You can also check out our video content on the following YouTube channels, where you can subscribe to keep up to date: Star Wars Culture, Eye On Canon, The Star Wars Underworld, Chatter Squadron, The Roll Out, Meg in the Morning.