The Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer supports rumors regarding Princess Leia and her importance to Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars spin-off. What is not seen in a trailer is often as significant as what is, and considering a young Luke Skywalker was included, but his sister, Leia, was absent, seems a bit curious. However, for a while now, rumors have circulated about just what Obi-Wan’s mission is in the new show and Leia’s absence may be the key to understanding where fans will see Ewan McGregor’s character go.
At the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the Empire has massacred the Jedi and Obi-Wan is tasked with finding homes for Luke and Leia after the death of their mother, Padmé. Senator Bail Organa offers to adopt Leia and bring her to live with him and his wife, Breha, on Alderaan and Obi-Wan takes Luke to live with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru Lars on Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place ten years after these events. While Obi-Wan probably spent a majority of his time watching over Luke on Tatooine, the young moisture farmer wasn’t the only Skywalker the Jedi needed to keep safe.
Leia may be absent from the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer, but rumors of her role in the upcoming series are being supported by this absence. The rumors have suggested that she will play a pivotal role, in fact, and that she may be at the center of Obi-Wan’s mission. The fact that she wasn’t included in the trailer hints that her role is so big, featuring her would have been too much of a spoiler. Not only this, but the words, "Hope Survives," were flashed across the screen during the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer– "hope" being a word that’s practically synonymous with Princess Leia.
Based on the recording Leia had made in A New Hope for Obi-Wan, who went by “Ben” at that point, it was clear that she and the Jedi had some sort of relationship prior to the events of the first Star Wars movie. With Obi-Wan Kenobi taking place ten years after he hid away Luke and Leia, now would be the perfect time to explore how Obi-Wan and Leia got to know each other. It seems only fitting if a mission to help Leia in some way is what forces Obi-Wan to leave Tatooine.
The other piece of evidence in the trailer supporting young Leia having a prominent role is the inclusion of the words, “Hope Survives.” The iconic line that Carrie Fisher’s Leia uttered in A New Hope has influenced many more iterations of the “hope” motif throughout the entire Star Wars saga, perhaps most recently during Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Early images of Obi-Wan Kenobi show the scruffy-looking Jedi beaten down and living in what appears to be a cave, but the symbol of “hope” clearly will play some kind of role for Obi-Wan, and a young Leia might just be that very symbol personified.
Originally, Obi-Wan’s mission was protecting Luke Skywalker after the collapse of the Republic, but with Vivien Lyra Blair set to play a young Leia Skywalker in Obi-Wan Kenobi, it looks like the trailer’s vagueness about her role is setting up the Jedi for something he wasn’t expecting. As the ominous voice for the Grand Inquisitor says in the trailer, “Jedi cannot help what they are. Their compassion leaves a trail.” If there is any inkling of the Jedi Code left inside the now broken Obi-Wan, and if Leia is in need of his help, he will realize that he may just be her only hope.
