Disney+'s very first Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer hides Darth Vader, allowing only the slightest few notes of iconic heavy breathing - a restraint that protects his role in the show. As soon as Ewan McGregor was confirmed for his own Star Wars solo series, fans dared dream of a reunion between Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader. In December 2020, that announcement came like an early Christmas present, setting the Star Wars fandom alight with prequel nostalgia.
Disney's marketing machine is now in full swing ahead of the big May 25 premiere. First images have hit magazine pages, the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer has finally released after several years of anticipation... and, curiously, Darth Vader is nowhere to be seen. The most marketable helmet in movie history sits at Disney's fingertips, but the only sign of Darth Vader comes during the dying moments of Obi-Wan Kenobi's trailer - a few seconds of instantly-recognizable breathing over the title card. Some Star Wars fans will inevitably feel a twinge of disappointment at being asked to wait for Vader's onscreen return, but this tantalizing audio tease is far more effective than any visual could've been.
There's something poignant about Darth Vader's breathy presence in the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer. The sound of Kenobi's fallen padawan lording over the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" title card feels pleasingly ominous - as if Vader is watching his old master from the shadows, silently (well, as silently as Darth Vader can manage) waiting for his chance at vengeance for Mustafar, Padmé, and every other grievance. Those simmering emotions are accentuated by the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer's use of "Dark Deeds" by John Williams - Anakin's famous theme. The combination of Vader's breathing with Anakin's music perfectly encapsulates Hayden Christensen's duality in Obi-Wan Kenobi - a man caught between two personas, one light, one dark. That spectral, musical metaphor carries a dark beauty that physically showing Darth Vader within the trailer would lack.
Hiding Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi's marketing - with Hayden Christensen's presence represented through audio cues alone - protects his role from losing its mystique. At this point in the Star Wars timeline, Obi-Wan hasn't seen Anakin Skywalker since leaving him to consider the importance of high ground on Mustafar. Kenobi remembers the troubled, red-eyed young man seething with rage - but he's likely only heard rumors of Palpatine's towering Sith warrior in black armor. Darth Vader's role in Obi-Wan Kenobi is that of an overarching threat - a shadowy enemy waiting at the end of his Jedi journey, where Obi-Wan will witness the monster his student has become for the first time. Vader's role isn't as a central, ever-present antagonist, with the Grand Inquisitor and Moses Ingram's Reva ably occupying those positions, and restricting the Sith Lord's marketing presence to mere breathing protects that aura of elusiveness and exclusivity.
Darth Vader's non-corporeal contribution to the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer equally benefits the show's other villains. As alluded to prior, Obi-Wan Kenobi features the Grand Inquisitor making his live-action debut, having previously featured in the animated Star Wars Rebels series. There's also Reva, the Third Sister, and numerous other Inquisitors tracking down those pesky Jedi who treated participation in Order 66 as optional. Quite rightly, that evil pair are the main focus of Obi-Wan Kenobi's promotional campaign - a brand new creation yet to establish herself, and a live-action debutante many will be unfamiliar with. Disney knows a few strains of labored breathing is all it takes to trigger Darth Vader hype - and that allows the trailer to savor the iconic baddie's enigmatic edge.