Owen Lars has always been important to the Star Wars franchise, but Obi-Wan Kenobi can finally show the full extent of this in a live-action property. While Luke Skywalker became one of the original trilogy’s heroes, he grew up as a simple moisture farmer raised by his uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, with Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi watching over him from afar. While much of the franchise focuses on Luke’s biological mother and father, his adoptive parents and their impact on him are often forgotten.
As far as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Bail Organa were concerned, Luke and his sister, Leia, were the galaxy’s new hope, but they couldn’t be trained as Jedi quite yet. Playing the long game, the Jedi leaders bided their time until the right opportunity to train one or both of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala's children presented itself. While raised separately and very differently, eventually, both Luke and Leia ended up playing key roles in the Rebellion’s victory against the Empire.
As shown in the trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Imperial Inquisitors will visit Tatooine in search of surviving Jedi. One moment in the trailer shows the Third Sister facing off against Owen Lars with her deadly red-bladed lightsaber drawn and ignited. Owen’s bravery in the face of such a deadly enemy speaks volumes about the bravery and ethics that he and Beru raised Luke with, as well as their protectiveness over their adopted son.
Luke Skywalker is devastated by the deaths of Owen and Beru in A New Hope, but the Star Wars movies don’t mention them again once he resolves to learn the ways of the Force from Obi-Wan Kenobi. In non-movie material from both the canon and Legends continuities, however, their role in his quiet upbringing has been depicted further, with Luke continuing to mourn their loss long after the events of the 1977 film. The Legends-era Star Wars comics by Marvel often had Luke reminisce about his deceased uncle and aunt, missing them despite having finally left Tatooine.
In Star Wars canon, Owen Lars is framed as an obstacle to Luke’s destiny, but he and Beru have always prioritized Luke’s wellbeing above all else. Owen and Beru discouraged Luke from enrolling in the Imperial Academy and initiating Jedi training with Obi-Wan Kenobi out of protectiveness. In the 2015 canon Star Wars comic series by Marvel, Owen made his intentions abundantly clear to Obi-Wan: he feared Luke would die horribly if he became his student.
Despite this, Owen and Beru were courageous and kind people who passed these traits onto Luke. The Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer shows Owen staring certain death in the face, knowing that he is raising the son of a Jedi hero and he lives a short distance from one of the Empire’s most wanted fugitives. The full scene in Obi-Wan Kenobi will no doubt further demonstrate Owen Lars’s bravery and how he and Beru are responsible for the heroic Jedi that Luke Skywalker becomes.
