Obi-Wan Kenobi is setting up to make the eventual deaths of Owen and Beru Lars even more tragic. As key characters for the upcoming Disney+ series, viewers will finally get more insight into their time on Tatooine. The uncle and aunt of Luke Skywalker made their Star Wars debut in A New Hope, appearing as the young man's primary caregivers. Luke lived and worked alongside Owen and Beru on the moisture farm housed on the Lars homestead. Shortly after Luke embarked on a life-changing journey with Obi-Wan, Owen and Beru were killed by stormtroopers searching for R2-D2, who had hidden plans of the first Death Star.
Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser originally played the roles of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in George Lucas' 1977 movie that launched the Star Wars franchise. The characters returned for the prequel trilogy, beginning with 2002's Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. This time Owen and Beru were played by Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse as the younger counterparts. In the prequels, it was proven how Owen became the stepbrother of Anakin Skywalker before he and his wife Beru became the surrogate parents of their nephew, Luke, at the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan, of course, was the one who set up the arrangement before going into hiding on Tatooine.
Seeing as Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place a decade after Revenge of the Sith and years before A New Hope, Owen and Beru are still alive and well in the upcoming Disney+ series. In March 2021, some of the show's cast was announced, and it was confirmed Edgerton and Piesse would be reprising their prequel trilogy roles. A year later, the Obi-Wan Kenobi teaser trailer provided a glimpse into their lives during this point in the timeline. While Obi-Wan Kenobi has the opportunity to expand and flesh out Owen and Beru's roles, their charred fate, as seen in A New Hope, will ultimately hit harder.
In the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer, Uncle Owen is seen coming face to face with a threatening Inquisitor, Reva, aka "The Third Sister." The Inquisitors of the Galactic Empire are on the hunt to eliminate surviving members of the Jedi Order following Order 66. During that mission, they somehow end up on Tatooine, which not only puts Obi-Wan's exile plans in jeopardy but also the safety of the entire Lars family. Owen and Beru were shown to be over-protective of Luke in A New Hope, and for a good reason. That same mentality will likely be shown throughout Obi-Wan Kenobi, considering they took a vow to protect Luke. Coming in contact with potential threats while also showcasing how much they care for Luke as if he's their own son increases the tragedy surrounding their deaths from a blaster before their bodies were torched with a flamethrower.
That's certainly not to say Owen and Beru Lars' deaths weren't presented with sadness in the debut Star Wars movie. It was made clear that Luke loved his uncle and aunt, especially because they were the only family he had for much of his life. Still, the pair's short arcs in Star Wars canon made them secondary characters, but that's something Obi-Wan Kenobi can change. There will also be the chance to reveal Owen's thoughts on Anakin's turn to the dark side and the stepbrother's transformation into Darth Vader. In showing Owen and Beru Lars as parental figures and caring family members, viewers could feel a deeper connection to the characters while, in turn, retconning the feelings that stem from their brutal deaths.
Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts May 25, 2022, on Disney+.
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