Spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 4 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order ahead!
After appearing in Star Wars comics and video games, Purge Troopers just made their live-action debut in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Appearing in 'Part IV' of the Star Wars TV series on Disney+, the Purge Troopers from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are no longer just part of the popular Star Wars video game, or the Darth Vader comic book they made their first appearance in.
Alongside Stormtroopers and Imperial officers, we find an instantly recognizable Purge Trooper in the thick of the Fortress Inquisitorius – the ominous, underwater base of the Inquisitors. They appear in multiple scenes, clearly a part of the daily life of the Fortress. Purge Troopers are designated Jedi hunting stormtroopers, equipped with lightsaber-resistant armor, and it's only designated commanders who wear the red pauldrons we see both in-game and in the show.
As you can see, the red visor and pauldron are a real giveaway, and though the Purge Trooper’s helmet looks as though it’s had a bit of a redesign, it’s almost certainly one of those pesky Fallen Order enemies.
After all, the setting is perfect for it – the Fortress Inquisitorius played a big part in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s ending, with Cal Kestis and Cere Junda making a daring escape after keeping Vader busy with a spot of sabotage. In fact, both the TV show and video game include sequences where a fortress window breaks and the water must be held back using the Force.
Obi-Wan Kenobi sees the legendary Jedi holding back the waters just long enough to unleash them on some passing Stormtroopers led by a Purge Trooper, while Vader is kept busy repelling those waves in the video game. Both Cal and Obi-Wan also sneak into the fortress by swimming underwater… It’s almost as though someone at Disney was a bit of a fan of the game.
That entire episode is basically the last third of JEDI: FALLEN ORDER. I love it. #ObiWanKenobi pic.twitter.com/pEUhcpnPeL
— Shaurya Chawla (@_ShauryaChawla) June 8, 2022
Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi alongside Benny Safdie, Joel Edgerton, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Sung Kang, and Hayden Christensen.
Deborah Chow directed the series, based on scripts by Joby Harold, Andrew Stanton, Hannah Friedman, Hossein Amini, and Stuart Beattie.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.