‘Kenobi’ Exposes The Identity Crisis Inside ‘Star Wars’

Thus far, Obi-Wan Kenobi has perfectly encapsulated the problem with Disney’s Star Wars; it can’t stop emulating the original trilogy, and inevitably, undermines it.

The show has been replaying the franchise’s greatest hits, such as an amusingly underwhelming rematch between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, which takes place against a barren, colorless backdrop and ends on a confusing note, unclear if Vader allowed Obi-Wan to escape, or forgot how to use the Force.

We’re treated to Princess Leia being rescued, again, and narrowly avoids being recaptured after Obi-Wan attempts to hide her under his trenchcoat, for some reason – I guess we shouldn’t expect too much from an outlaw whose alias is “Ben Kenobi.”

Darth Vader invented C-3PO, Baby Yoda knew Luke, Boba Fett didn’t die, Palpatine wasn’t really defeated, and Obi-Wan and Leia built a close friendship long before their galaxy-saving quest – it’s all canon now. All of these characters have been crossing paths for years, it seems, going on uncannily similar adventures with identical outcomes – Disney’s Star Wars is a flat circle, an echo of an echo.

Don’t get me wrong – Kenobi isn’t terrible. It’s fine, I guess, a mediocre kids show starring two iconic characters – but it could have been more. Star Wars boasts the extraordinary advantage of a built-in fanbase that truly love these characters and this universe – why not give them something more interesting than this dull, pointless chase between Obi-Wan and Vader?

I don’t understand why it has to be this way – it seems intuitively obvious that the galaxy Far, Far Away could host a wide range of pulpy genre adventures that show us new sides of the universe. Obi-Wan could have had a few sidequests that take him away from the Skywalker orbit, a fun adventure-of-the-week format. He could have been a wandering Ronin, Samurai Jack in space; instead, he’s become a babysitter to a fan-favorite, presumably because Disney wanted to emulate the dynamic between the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.

Ironically, it’s The Mandalorian that proved how well-suited Star Wars is to host simple, stripped-down standalone adventures, loosely inspired by Westerns. The series starred new characters that reminded fans of old favorites, and boasted a decent amount of worldbuilding, without leaning too heavily on the original trilogy. Eventually, it devolved into algorithmic nostalgia-bait and introduced uncanny valley Luke – but we saw it work without all that nonsense.

To me, the best thing to emerge out of Disney Star Wars is Visions, because it allowed storytellers to play in the sandbox and really let their imaginations run wild. You can have a lot of fun in this universe without, say, introducing Baby Jar Jar to tween Palpatine; there’s no need to lean so heavily on the original trilogy and recycle old favorites. Disney doesn’t always have to talk down to its audience.

Kenobi might be disappointing, but the upcoming Disney+ series Andor looks surprisingly promising; the trailer shows a wartime struggle that mirrors the grimy, weighty aesthetic of Rogue One, a fresh story with new characters.

The galaxy is a big place – Star Wars needs to move on from what came before, and construct an identity beyond empty nostalgia.