Star Wars’ Disney+ TV show Obi-Wan Kenobi provided key context to one scene in the first movie, retitled A New Hope. Set 10 years before A New Hope in the Star Wars timeline, Obi-Wan Kenobi was sure to add details to many Star Wars movies and TV shows, but it was especially important for the original trilogy. Although the prequel trilogy addressed many questions left unanswered following the original trilogy, it also created some gaps.
Namely, the prequel trilogy failed to clarify how Princess Leia knew of Obi-Wan Kenobi and why she sought his assistance specifically in A New Hope. In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Leia was taken to Alderaan following Anakin’s turn to the dark side and Padmé’s death, and Obi-Wan took Luke to Tatooine. Given that, it seemed unlikely the two had ever met. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi shed light upon their considerable connection, which in turn finally explained one previously confusing scene in A New Hope.
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All 10 Ways The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV Show Changed A New Hope For The Better
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s presence during the story of A New Hope changed for the better after Disney+ aired the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.
After Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader Knew His Old Master Would Come For Leia
Obi-Wan Kenobi surprised many by centering not on Obi-Wan watching over Luke Skywalker on Tatooine but rather on him going on a mission to rescue Princess Leia. There was previously no hint of this storyline in Star Wars, so this was a surprise not only for the show but also for Obi-Wan and Leia’s larger story arcs. Critically, this finally explained why Leia would have sent her distress signal to Obi-Wan Kenobi and trusted that he would come, as he had already saved her once.
Leia wasn’t the only Star Wars character to understand the implications of this history, though. Darth Vader was seemingly also aware following Obi-Wan Kenobi of the lengths Obi-Wan had gone to in order to save Princess Leia. Therefore, when Princess Leia landed herself on Vader’s ship at the beginning of A New Hope, Vader knew that Obi-Wan would come to save her, giving him yet another chance at destroying his former master.
Vader Was Actively Waiting For Obi-Wan’s Arrival
As pointed out by SCentralized on X, Darth Vader’s certainty that Obi-Wan would come to rescue Princess Leia in A New Hope was likely borne out of the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, Vader was specifically expecting him.
While it isn’t confirmed that Vader knew the extent of Obi-Wan’s rescue mission in Obi-Wan Kenobi, this would explain why Vader was so confident about Obi-Wan’s arrival.
This contextualization is just one example of many regarding how Obi-Wan Kenobi fleshed out A New Hope beautifully. However, this additional information was particularly critical, as Obi-Wan and Leia’s connection remained a major lingering question between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. By establishing this extensive rescue of Princess Leia by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV show, Star Wars finally addressed one key question in A New Hope.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which showed Anakin’s fall to the dark side and the rise of Darth Vader. Obi-Wan is hiding on Tatooine and watching over Luke Skywalker before Bail Organa recruits him to save a kidnapped Leia. With a confrontation with Darth Vader inevitable, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells the story of a man of a destroyed alliance fighting to protect the future. Ewan McGregor returns as his fan-favorite Star Wars character, as does Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader.
- Cast
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Bonnie Piesse
, Hayden Christensen
, Moses Ingram
, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
, Simone Kessell
, Ewan McGregor
, Grant Feely
, Joel Edgerton
, Maya Erskine
, Benny Safdie
, Indira Varma
, Marisé Álvarez
, Sung Kang
, Rupert Friend
, Kumail Nanjiani - Release Date
-
May 27, 2022
- Seasons
-
1
- Network
-
Disney Channel
- Streaming Service(s)
-
Disney
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
The film that began the Star Wars franchise, Episode IV – A New Hope tells the story of wistful Force-sensitive Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who longs to leave his home planet of Tatooine to fight the evil Empire. After inheriting his Jedi father’s weapon, a lightsaber, Luke sets off under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) with smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to join the Rebellion and face the evil Darth Vader.
- Director
-
George Lucas
- Release Date
-
May 25, 1977
- Studio(s)
-
Lucasfilm
- Distributor(s)
-
20th Century
- Writers
-
George Lucas
- Cast
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Mark Hamill
, Harrison Ford
, Carrie Fisher
, Alec Guinness
, David Prowse
, James Earl Jones
, Frank Oz
, Anthony Daniels
, Kenny Baker
, Peter Mayhew
, Peter Cushing
ALL STAR WARS MOVIES AND TV SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON DISNEY+
