Deep Dive Into New Promotional Posters For Obi-Wan Kenobi

what do you think?

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • Updated 2 years ago • 6 min read

May the 4th started with the trailer that every Star Wars fan had been waiting for – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+’s new series, finally had a full trailer. Fans were ecstatic. At the same time as the trailer release, new promotional posters hit the web adding to the hype. Fans are already making plans for buying these gorgeously done posters and framing them. But what exactly does each poster show?

The first one that was released is the one that Disney+ is adding to all their promotional information. This poster is mostly Obi-Wan, looking very stoic and slightly worried, against the backdrop of Tatooine. Behind him are the two suns. He is wearing his classic dark brown Jedi cloak, which gives him a nomad look, and the lighter brown robes that fans know so well as his Tatooine outfit from Star Wars: A New Hope. Attached to his black belt is his lightsaber, which, he seems to be protecting. Whether this specific hand placement is intentional is unknown, but, knowing that the plot of Obi-Wan Kenobi is him literally running away from the Empire and the Inquisitors (and now bounty Hunters as we found out in the trailer), it would make sense for him to be protecting the lightsaber.

However, while seeing Obi-Wan is exciting (obviously) the one aspect of the poster that has everyone excited is in the middle. Superimposed on Obi-Wan is the backdrop of Tatooine and on a crest of the hill stands Darth Vader in all his Vader glory, red lightsaber out, full suit, the works. While promotional materials don’t always show the full story, and sometimes can be misleading where characters will pop up in the show, it may be safe to say that Darth Vader will possibly be seen on Tatooine. After all, Obi-Wan Kenobi seems to take place a lot on Tatooine, and we know that that is where Obi-Wan went to hide. Seeing Darth Vader on Tatooine is not so far-fetched. Which of course, as one Reddit user drod2015 pointed out: “Vader on Tatooine??? But what about the sand?!” Although, right underneath this, Reddit user Smudger9, pointed out what Vader is standing on: “Looks more like Mustafar.” To which I_Like_Spoilers said, “He does seem to have the high ground…” So, perhaps we are just supposed to assume that Vader is on Tatooine but really, Disney could be misleading us and Vader meets Obi-Wan on another planet – perhaps Mustafar.

This particular poster has fans geeking out because it is so gorgeous and very well done. Reddit user killerqueenstardust, said “I love how Vader’s placed in his chest. Poetic cinema. *chef’s kiss*” And Reddit user Amity75 added, “In his heart.” Which, if that was indeed the idea around the placement, does make the poster even more powerful. Many fans on Reddit are gushing about this poster and judging from the reactions, it will probably be the one on many fan’s walls.

The other three posters that were released are more artsy.

The first looks more like a painting vs. a picture and depicts Obi-Wan and Darth Vader’s lightsabers clashing in sparks of blue and red. What is interesting about this poster is that because Vader’s lightsaber is closer to Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan’s coloring is more of a reddish tint and Vader’s is more of a blueish tint due to Obi-Wan’s lightsaber being closer to him. Art style or perhaps showing something more? Obi-Wan's lightsaber hilts look a little different from his hilt in Revenge of the Sith, to which Reddit user AnakinisSkywalker, said “It’s a mix of his ANH and ROTS hilts.” Does this mean that we might see Obi-Wan getting a new hilt to match his different one in Star Wars: A New Hope? Or is it just an artist’s choice? It is never said canonically that Obi-Wan does get a new hilt, but it cannot be denied that the hilts do look different. We shall see.

The next poster released focuses more on Darth Vader. It is mostly made up of his helmet, looking down. His face is looking down towards the reddish/orange light, the color of the Sith. Behind him is the blue light of the Jedi. In the blue light of the Jedi, Vader is fighting Obi-Wan and both lightsabers are poised, ready to strike. The placement of the helmet, seeming to reject the light in favor of the dark, and the fight within the light is very poignant and gave lots of fans goosebumps when they first saw it. The question remains: is this the fight from Revenge of the Sith or does it depict a different fight yet to come?

The last poster to be released is another one that features Obi-Wan prominently – again wearing his dark brown hooded Jedi cloak. He also looks stoic in this, but less worried. His face seems to be glowing in the sunlight. However, that image isn’t what fans are excited about. There is the lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in the bottom left corner of the poster. The fascinating thing about this image is that it looks almost identical to promos from Revenge of the Sith, which has fans overjoyed. Reddit user Dr_W00t pointed out, “It screams “Revenge of the Sith part II” and oh boy I’m ready! So much nostalgia…” AnakinisSkywalker said again, “In the last image, they literally picked that vader png from the 2005 promos. not that that’s a bad thing but man does it give me nostalgia.” For Reddit user ayylmao95, their reaction is “Sweet vindication...I remember seeing that promo shot and thinking ‘I can’t wait to see who Vader is swinging his blade at in ROTS,’ only for the suited Vader scenes to be very limited. [Now] I finally get the satisfaction of [seeing] Vader doing something cool.”

There is some debate on whether or not the suit that Darth Vader has in Obi-Wan Kenobi is more like his Revenge of the Sith suit or his Rogue One suit. It is hard to tell from the promo posters and trailer which suit it could specifically be. Fans will just have to wait and see on May 27 and hope that Vader makes more than a brief appearance in the series. If the promotional materials are correct, Vader will be making more than a brief appearance. Hopefully, with their use of a duel between Vader and Obi-Wan in almost all their promotional materials, we will finally get to see a battle between a fully suited Darth Vader and Obi-Wan. This means we will get some more awesome fight scene music as well.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is premiering on Disney+ on May 27, 2022.

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