After years of anticipation and rumors about a potential Star Wars spinoff project focused on Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ series of the same name is finally in sight. There were suggestions shortly after the Lucasfilm purchase that McGregor could star in an anthology film like Rogue One or Solo, but thanks to the success of Disney+’s Star Wars shows, he’s headed to the streaming service. Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to be released on May 25, the 45th anniversary of the character’s first appearance in the original 1977 Star Wars film.

Lucasfilm finally unveiled the first trailer for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which takes place between the ending of Revenge of the Sith and the beginning of A New Hope. During the twenty-year span between trilogies, Obi-Wan is watching over a young Luke Skywalker as he grows up on the Lars family homestead on Tatooine. However, the trailer revealed that Obi-Wan will be visiting other planets as well. He is being hunted by the fearsome Grand Inquisitor, a villain that longtime Star Wars fans may recognize.

In the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader became obsessed with tracking down the Jedi that survived Order 66. In the third prequel film, Obi-Wan and Yoda break into the Jedi Temple and create a warning message to survivors, urging them to go into hiding to evade the new Imperial forces. Vader looks for these elusive Jedi, but he requires a task force that is equipped to take on powerful opponents. Vader trains other Jedi who have fallen to the dark side as his personal legion: the Inquisitors.

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Image via Lucasfilm

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The Inquisitors are trained directly by Vader; although they’re already skilled force users, Vader teaches them tactics to hunt down Jedi. The title of “Grand Inquisitor” is given to the most experienced warrior in Vader’s selective group, and reports directly to him. The Grand Inquisitor is granted access to the archives within the Jedi Temple that explain the lightsaber training program. By learning the Jedi’s combat skills, the Grand Inquisitor is even more lethal.

The Inquisitors first appeared in Dave Filoni’s cartoon series Star Wars Rebels, which is set during the same time period as Obi-Wan Kenobi. An enigmatic Grand Inquisitor (whose name is never given) tracks down Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and his Rebel allies on the planet Lothal. Voiced by Jason Isaacs, the Grand Inquisitor serves as the main antagonist in the first season of Rebels. Although he proves himself to be a worthy opponent to both Kanan and his new apprentice Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), the Grand Inquisitor does not survive the series for very long. He perishes during the explosion of his flagship Sovereign in the season one finale “Fire Across The Galaxy.”

Little details are given about the Grand Inquisitor’s backstory, other than that he’s a former Jedi Temple guard who fell to the dark side during the end of the Clone Wars. The Grand Inquisitor is among the Jedi Guards that arrested Ashoka Tano on false charges in The Clone Wars after she is blamed for bombing the temple. He is a member of the Pau’an alien species from the planet Utapau, where Obi-Wan battled General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. The Grand Inquisitor is distinguished by his unique lightsaber; the double-bladed weapon revolves to overwhelm his opponents.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Based on the footage from the trailer, it appears that the character played by Rupert Friend is the same Grand Inquisitor as the one that shows up in Rebels. Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place around five years before the beginning of Rebels, so it's entirely possible that the Grand Inquisitor survives his appearance on Obi-Wan Kenobi. In Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor references the various Jedi that he’s killed while serving Vader; perhaps we will see some of these victories in live-action.

The trailer also suggests that one of the other major villains from Rebels will be appearing in Obi-Wan Kenobi as well. After the Grand Inquisitor's death, another Inquisitor known as the “Fifth Brother” (voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez) is tasked with tracking down Ezra and Kanan. The Fifth Brother nearly kills his two targets during a mission to the Sith planet Malachor in the Rebels season two finale “Twilight of the Apprentice,” but he meets his death at the hands of Ashoka Tano.

In Rebels, the Fifth Brother works alongside another Inquisitor known as the “Seventh Sister” (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar), who does not appear in the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer. However, the new character Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram) shows up briefly. Little is known about this mysterious new character, but the show’s director Deborah Chow teased that she was “ruthlessly ambitious” in an interview for Entertainment Weekly. Chow revealed that Reva, the Grand Inquisitor, and Vader would all be working together on the show.

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Image via Lucasfilm

The biggest question of the trailer is what the Grand Inquisitor’s relationship with Vader looks like, and how big of a role both characters will play in the series. It was revealed that Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role in some capacity, but it is still unclear whether he will show up in flashbacks as Anakin Skywalker or in the actual suit. It seems unlikely that Vader and Obi-Wan would encounter each other before the events of A New Hope, but there may be a reason for the Dark Lord to show up if he’s relaying information to the Grand Inquisitor.

It will be exciting to see what Rupert Friend does with the character. The British actor has been acclaimed for his work in films such as Pride and Prejudice, The Death of Stalin, Starred Up, Young Victoria, and At Eternity’s Gate. While his performance as the titular character in the video game adaptation Hitman: Agent 47 didn’t win him any critical praise for his acting, it certainly showed that he could handle the intense stunt work. It’s safe to say that he’ll see his fair share of action in Obi-Wan Kenobi.