If The Book of Boba Fett didn't scratch your itch for Star Wars exploration, Obi-Wan Kenobi is already fixing that problem. As the "first planet" of Star Wars, Tatooine will always play a vital role in stories from a galaxy far, far away. Having said that, we've spent a lot of time there of late... Tatooine has featured in The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - and that's without considering the sequel trilogy's Jakku, which was, essentially, I Can't Believe It's Not Tatooine. The Book of Boba Fett, however, was by far the sandiest Star Wars offering in recent memory.
Though The Book of Boba Fett did briefly visit elsewhere, Boba himself remained firmly on Tatooine, both in his post-Sarlacc flashbacks, and the present-day timeline. While The Book of Boba Fett did make a valiant attempt to expand upon Tatooine's lore through more Tusken Raider details and talk of oceans once sitting where sand currently dominates, the confined locale deprived Boba's solo series of Star Wars' usual scale. By The Book of Boba Fett's finale, audiences could perhaps empathize a little better with Anakin Skywalker, rapidly growing tired of sand dunes, white huts, and moisture vaporators. The Star Wars fandom's Tatooine weariness did not bode well for Disney+'s next offering, Obi-Wan Kenobi...
Set during the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope - when Kenobi is supposed to be looking after Luke Skywalker from afar - Obi-Wan Kenobi was always likely to feature plenty of Tatooine's sunny landscape. Judging from official Obi-Wan Kenobi images released thus far, that's certainly going to be the case, as Ewan McGregor is depicted treading those familiar alien deserts, and the famously Tatooine-bound Owen Lars (played once more by Joel Egerton) is reintroduced. Had The Book of Boba Fett not already given a double-helping of Tatooine, Obi-Wan Kenobi wouldn't have a problem here, but there's only so many ways to retain interest in a planet that was literally designed to be a desolate, boring wasteland nobody wanted to stay on. Mercifully, Obi-Wan Kenobi has now confirmed the titular Jedi will visit at least one brand new planet during his show.
Fans already suspected Obi-Wan would venture further afield in order to have his highly-anticipated rematch with Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader, but fresh images confirm those theories. Obi-Wan Kenobi introduces the planet Daiyu to Star Wars lore, which is described (via EW) as an edgier location covered in graffiti, and brimming with "Hong Kong" vibe nightlife. That sounds a little like the bottom level of Coruscant turned up to 11, but more importantly, is the polar opposite to Tatooine. And unlike The Book of Boba Fett, images confirm Obi-Wan actually visits this fresh territory himself, rather than leaving the space-faring to other folks. Tatooine will, of course, remain hugely important to Obi-Wan Kenobi, but on this occasion, audiences can at least expect some visual and tonal variety, as well as a more expansive dip into Star Wars' galactic atlas.
Now we know Obi-Wan Kenobi won't be shaking sand from his robes 24/7 on Disney+, Star Wars fans will be wondering why the Jedi-in-hiding risks leaving Tatooine at all. Kenobi's mission is to protect young Luke Skywalker, and the character's movie appearances imply he stayed on Tatooine throughout that period. Though taking a break from Tatooine is a very welcome move indeed from Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor's Force-sensitive runaway needs a pretty convincing excuse to go gallivanting around the galaxy. Will it be the Inquisitors' arrival? The growing influence of Darth Vader? Or a factor even more compelling?