Obi-Wan Kenobi stole some of its best moments from the Jedi: Fallen Order game. Star Wars has always been something of a transmedia franchise; the first tie-in novel, Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, was published before the release of The Empire Strikes Back. This approach has become even more notable in the Disney era, with a constant stream of live-action Disney+ TV shows. These have even featured the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Set during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, Obi-Wan Kenobi drew on concepts that had already been explored in other mediums. It featured the Inquisitors, a group introduced in the Star Wars Rebels animated series who reported in directly to Darth Vader. The Inquisitors were tasked with hunting down the few Jedi who had survived Order 66, and that naturally meant Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda were at the top of their hit list. The origin of Darth Vader’s Inquisitors was revealed in Marvel’s tie-in comics, but it wasn’t until the award-winning Jedi: Fallen Order game that their role in the Dark Times was explored in detail.
Jedi: Fallen Order also introduced what would become a key location for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV series. Situated in the Mustafar system on the moon Nur, the Fortress Inquisitorius serves as the base of operations for Darth Vader’s dangerous servants. One of the Empire’s more secure facilities, the Fortress Inquisitorius contains everything a Jedi-hunter could possibly need. To his horror, Obi-Wan Kenobi also discovered it houses a sick trophy room, where the Empire store the corpses of fallen Jedi for posterity. Although this particular idea was original, viewers may be surprised to learn how many plot points were drawn from Jedi: Fallen Order itself. In fact, on closer examination, Obi–Wan Kenobi‘s entire Fortress Inquisitorius sequence borrows several beats from the 2019 release.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Broke Into The Fortress Inquisitorius In A Very Familiar Way
The Jedi: Fallen Order game built to an explosive head in an arc in which former Jedi Padawn Cal Kestis broke into the Fortress Inquisitorius. Swiftly recognizing that the majority of the Imperial installation was underwater, Cal chose to swim near to an entry port and slip in while it was open. He rightly reasoned Imperial sensors would struggle to differentiate between a potential infiltrator and the marine life swimming close to their base.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set six years after Cal’s infiltration. Imperial security has improved significantly, with Obi-Wan unable to slip through one of the Fortress Inquisitorius’ entry ports without having someone on the inside. Still, he essentially chose to exploit the exact same weakness, suggesting the whole idea of this largely-underwater base is flawed. It’s possible the Empire initially tried to reduce risk by killing a lot of the marine life around the Fortress Inquisitorius, but if so they clearly relaxed as the years passed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Exploited The Same Weakness In The Fortress Inquisitorius
Amusingly, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 saw the Jedi Master exploit another familiar weakness to the Imperial facility. Stray blaster-fire cracked the plastisteel barriers keeping water out of some of the corridors, and he used the Force to hold them together until stormtroopers had gotten into position. Then, Obi-Wan released the plastisteel with the Force, allowing it to shatter – so water flooded in, sweeping his enemies away. It was the exact same approach his fellow Order 66 survivor Cal Kestis used to escape as well. Cal’s was a little more spectacular, however, given he was on the run from Darth Vader himself.
Oddly enough, there were subtle hints the Empire had improved their flood defenses by the time of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Cal unwittingly flooded large parts of the Fortress Inquisitorius, with only intermittent pressure doors closing to hold the water out. It was clear that, at that point, the Empire had assumed their facility was impregnable and nobody would ever be able to threaten it. In contrast, Obi-Wan’s strategy led to only a single corridor being flooded, suggesting the Empire had now installed emergency pressure doors in as many places as possible.
What Kenobi’s Easter Eggs Mean For Fallen Order
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 may have been surprisingly repetitive, but that’s not necessarily a problem; Star Wars is famed for its “Ring Theory,” which posits that history repeats in a rather poetic manner. What’s more, the two weaknesses of Fortress Inquisitorius – the method used to break in, and the idea of using the aquatic environment itself as a weapon – suggest the Empire made a big mistake establishing their base on the water moon of Nur. They likely chose this location purely because Nur is in the Mustafar system, the center of Darth Vader’s power during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign. By the time of Star Wars Rebels, the Mustafar system had become known as the place where Jedi go to die.
There’s been some speculation Lucasfilm will eventually try to make a live-action adaptation of Jedi: Fallen Order. In truth, this is unlikely; so far, Lucasfilm has shown no inclination of adapting a story from one medium into a live-action form. Ring Theory notwithstanding, the repetitive plot points suggest any adaptation of Jedi: Fallen Order would need to contain some major revisions to the story; two Disney+ TV shows featuring the same kind of sequences would feel a little too much. Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Jedi: Fallen Order plot probably means a live-action spinoff is more likely than a direct adaptation.
