Obi-Wan Kenobi Trades Landspeeder for VW ID Buzz in New Ad
Volkswagen's electric microbus stars in a joint ad for the new Star Wars series on Disney Plus.
Ewan McGregor is returning to the Star Wars universe as the title character in Disney Plus' upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series later this month, and Volkswagen is jumping in on the hype train with a new commercial featuring the all-electric ID Buzz, McGregor and a few other familiar faces. The ad, which will run globally, was developed with Lucasfilm and Industry Light & Magic.
The ad spot starts with what seems like a shot of Jawas -- my personal favorite Star Wars alien -- looking out across Tatooine's landscape as a ship comes in to land. But the camera pans out to reveal the set of the new TV show, with the Jawas and crew cutting for a break. The lovable R2-D2 is moving through the set, followed by an adorable new flying droid, when he spots the ID Buzz parked in a corner of the set.
Best friends!
As R2 approaches the Buzz, gay icon C-3PO comes up to scold him for being somewhere he isn't supposed to be. R2 says that he's "making friends" with the cute EV, with C-3PO responding that the van isn't a droid. The Buzz's headlights then turn on, startling the droids and onlooking Jawas, but C-3PO exclaims that there's nothing to worry about, as the Buzz is "smiling." Ewan McGregor then unplugs the charging ID Buzz, gets in and drives off the set, though sadly he isn't in full Obi-Wan costume. McGregor is apparently a longtime VW fan, even getting one as his first car at age 16.
This isn't the first time the Volkswagen Group has done a Star Wars tie-in. In 2019 Porsche designed a spaceship to coincide with the release of Rise of Skywalker, though sadly it didn't appear in the movie. And while it isn't a VW product, who could forget Nissan's special-edition Rogue that was a promo for the movie Rogue One. The first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi will start streaming on Disney Plus on May 27 while the ID Buzz will go on sale in the US next year, and something in the Force is telling me this won't be the only ID Buzz/Star Wars crossover we get.
