At a glance:
- Set 10 years after the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi tells a new story of how Darth Vader tried to hunt down and kill his old master who has gone missing.
- Kenobi is on Tatooine, watching over Vader’s son, Luke Skywalker, as we first saw him in 1977’s Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
- Ewan McGregor reprises his role as Kenobi from the Star Wars prequels and Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader. Other confirmed cast members include Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse, reprising their roles as Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
- The Mandalorian director Deborah Chow directs all six episodes.
- The six episode season begins May 25 on Disney+.
What is Obi-Wan Kenobi about?
It’s about Obi-Wan Kenobi, of course. Audiences first met the old, grizzled Jedi Master in 1977 when he was played by Alec Guinness. He was living alone on Tatooine when a young boy (Luke Skywalker) sought him out to make sense of this weird message a droid sent him from a princess. That princess was Princess Leia and she wanted Kenobi, then referred to as Ben Kenobi, to help her get plans stolen from the Empire of their destructive weapon, the Death Star, back to the Rebel Alliance. Kenobi did that with Skywalker in tow but at a certain point, allowed himself to be killed by the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. Even in death, though, Kenobi was strong enough with the force that he remained a part of Luke Skywalker’s life. He would occasionally advise him, as a Force Ghost, all the way through when Luke defeated Vader himself. Vader is eventually revealed to be actually be Luke and Leia’s biological father, Anakin Skywalker.
Fast forward to 1999; 22 years after the first Star Wars film film introduced Obi-Wan Kenobi, a new film set decades prior introduced him as a young Jedi Knight played by Ewan McGregor. Along with his master, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, he was tasked with settling an trade dispute. However, the mission got much more important when the master and apprentice were forced to land on the planet Tatooine. There they met a young boy named Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon sensed that Anakin was strong with the Force and could become a Jedi, so he rescued him from a slave life on Tatooine and vowed to train him, much as he had Obi-Wan. That plan hit a snag though when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan got wrapped up in a larger plan by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious and had to fight his Sith Apprentice, Darth Maul. Maul killed Qui-Gon, but was then himself killed by Obi-Wan. With his last breath, Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan to train Anakin.
And so he did. The pair got in many adventures over the course of the next decade or so, all of which can be seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (click here to find out all the essential episodes you need to see). Now Obi-Wan was the Master, and Anakin the Apprentice. But along the way, and culminating in 2005’s Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Anakin’s fears began drawing him to the Dark Side of the Force and eventually he and Obi-Wan had an epic lightsaber battle on the lava planet of Mustafar. There Kenobi defeated his apprentice by severing several of his limbs, leaving him for dead. Obi-Wan then witnessed the birth of Anakin’s children, Luke and Leia, and vowed to protect them. After their mother’s death, Leia was sent away with Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and Kenobi went to Tatooine and gave Luke to his only living family, his step-Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Aunt Beru (Bonnie Piesse), to raise Luke as their own. Which is where we find Luke before he meets Obi-Wan 20-something years later in the original film.
Which, finally, brings us back to new show Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Twenty years is a long time to be alone on a desert planet watching a young child from afar, and the show will tell a story of how Obi-Wan’s former apprentice, and now Sith Lord Vader, tried to hunt down Kenobi 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. (Meaning Luke Skywalker is now 10 years old and about 10 years from his adventures with Kenobi.) Vader will appear, but he’s also given the task of finding Kenobi to a group of evil beings called Inquisitors. They’re Force-sensitive soldiers whose sole purpose is to help the Empire (led by Vader and his master, Darth Sidious aka Emperor Palpatine) to kill and destroy all the remaining Jedi. They correctly believe the Jedi are the only ones strong enough to challenge them. So it’s time to wipe them out. All of them.
Who is making Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi is a six-episode Disney+ miniseries. All episodes are directed by Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian). Chow is also an executive producer on the show along with Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Ewan McGregor, and Joby Harold.
What is the release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts at 12:01 a.m. PST on Disney+ May 25, with new episodes dropping each subsequent Wednesday (June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29) at the same time.
Is there an Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer?
There certainly is! It was released on March 9 — finally, after years and years of waiting. It shows Ewan McGregor returning to the iconic role he debuted in 1991’s Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as well as our first glimpse of Inquistors in live action. Up until now they’ve only appeared in animation (Star Wars Rebels), comics (Marvel’s Darth Vader) and video games (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order). Watch it above and read about everything in it here.
Who is in the cast? Who do they play?
A few of these are easy and a few are not. Of course Ewan McGregor stars, reprising the title role of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Hayden Christensen, last seen being fitted in to the black armour of Darth Vader, will also return for the first time as Vader. Beyond that, most principal members of the cast have been announced but we only know for sure who a few are playing. For example Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse are back, reprising their roles as Owen and Beru from the prequel films. Moses Ingram is an Inquisitor named Reva, and Rupert Friend (Hitman: Agent 47) appears to be playing the Grand Inquisitor, the leader of all Inquistors. And Sung Kung (F9) might also be playing an Inquisitor, potentially the Fifth Brother, but both of those are just rumoured characters. Beyond that, actors Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma (seen in the trailer wearing an Imperial Officer uniform), O’Shea Jackson Jr., Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie are all in the show.
How can I watch Obi-Wan Kenobi?
It will only available on the Disney+ streaming service, for which you’ll need a subscription.
Is there more Obi-Wan Kenobi to come?
For now, Lucasfilm is saying that Obi-Wan Kenobi is a six-part “Limited Series.” But the president of the company, Kathleen Kennedy, did hint in an interview that they could continue the story. “It’s certainly something we talk about,” Kennedy said of a potential second season. “Mainly because everybody came together and had such an incredible time … But we have to really spend our time asking the question: why would we do it? If we were to decide to do anything more with the Obi-Wan character, we’d have to really answer the question, why?”
However, it can’t go on forever. Eventually the Rebels steal the Death Star plans, put those plans in an R2 unit, that unit lands on Tatooine, and Kenobi will begin the journey toward his demise at the hands of Vader — and his immortality in the Force.