Obi-Wan Kenobi now has a confirmed May premiere date, which means a Super Bowl 2022 trailer is very likely. The Book of Boba Fett has now finished on Disney+ and Star Wars fans will be looking for their next trip to a galaxy far, far away. While Lucasfilm has an abundance of upcoming Disney+ Star Wars shows at various stages of development, Obi-Wan Kenobi is next out of the gate, despite very little information being released so far.
Super Bowl 2022 sees the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, February 13th. The Super Bowl is the most-watched television broadcast in the United States every year, and for movie fans, the Super Bowl trailers that air during the game are one of the most anticipated parts of the sporting event. NBC charges $6.5 million per 30-second advert, and with a limited number of trailer slots up for grabs, competition is high between movie studios to release the most talked-about trailer. Super Bowl 2022 will be no different, with trailers for Jurassic World: Dominion, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 among the safe predictions. Whether Obi-Wan Kenobi is also included remains to be seen.
Star Wars fans have been desperate for a first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi since it was first announced. The show completed filming back in September 2021 but so far only a short Obi-Wan Kenobi sizzle reel has been released as part of Disney+ Day last November. With Disney favoring Wednesdays to air their new Marvel and Star Wars shows, May 4th was the first potential date for Obi-Wan Kenobi to premiere, but Disney+ instead chose May 25th - the real Star Wars day, seeing as it'll be the 45th anniversary of George Lucas' original Star Wars movie. And now, a Super Bowl 2022 trailer would ride the momentum from The Book of Boba Fett’s finale and Obi-Wan Kenobi premiere announcement.
Since May is Lucasfilm’s intended release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney marketing machine will need to start warming up soon, making a Super Bowl 2022 trailer more likely. Given the expense and competition for a trailer slot though, Disney will have had to decide which of their releases take priority. The Mouse House has several releases over the next few months, including Doctor Strange 2, Moon Knight, and Lightyear, and may decide they don't want to dilute the impact of their respective trailers.
Alternatively, Disney and Lucasfilm may decide to repeat last year’s Marvel's "The Universe is Expanding" sizzle reel format that packed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki into a single 30-second slot. With filming wrapped on Andor, and well underway on The Mandalorian season 3, a three-for-the-price-of-one Star Wars trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi would be cost-effective and attention-catching. If the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer ultimately doesn’t air in some way during Super Bowl 2022, it's unlikely that Star Wars fans will have to wait too much longer before Disney starts their marketing campaign.