Obi-Wan Kenobi has a deep history. Before the Disney+ series, here’s what you need to know

For anyone familiar with “Star Wars,” Obi-Wan Kenobi needs no introduction.

Debuting in 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” Obi-Wan (played by Alec Guinness) is a former general and Jedi Master living in solitude on the remote desert planet of Tatooine. When farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) brings him a droid with a message from Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) of the Rebellion, he begins the adventure that launches the franchise.

It wasn’t until years later that Obi-Wan’s backstory was expanded upon. The prequel trilogy, beginning with 1999’s “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” follows a younger Obi-Wan, played by Ewan McGregor, as he rises through the ranks from Jedi Padawan apprentice to Knight. and eventually to teacher after meeting his eventual student Anakin Skywalker.

A limited series premiering Friday on Disney+, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” sees McGregor return to the role for the first time since 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” Written by Joby Harold and directed by Deborah Chow, the six-episode series picks up 10 years after the fall of the Republic and the Jedi Order in “Revenge of the Sith,” as Obi-Wan, in hiding, watches young Luke from afar. .

“You left the original [‘Star Wars’] trilogy that thinks of Obi-Wan as this fatherly and wise old man [who’s] patient and allows you to make the mistakes you have to make to become the person you need to be,” Harold told The Times in a recent video call. But McGregor in the prequels is “all the things you wouldn’t have imagined Obi-Wan could have been”: “Alec Guinness’s Obi-Wan is the finished article. He takes a long time to get to that.”

For Harold, part of the excitement of the Disney+ series was exploring what might have happened between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope” for McGregor’s version of the character to become the version embodied by Guinness.

While details about “Obi-Wan Kenobi” are scant ahead of the premiere, Harold explained that the series follows the character at a time when the events of “Revenge of the Sith” are behind him, but “even with him and still chase him.

McGregor himself noted during Lucasfilm’s presentation at Star Wars Celebration on Thursday that there seemed to be no love for the prequel films at the time of their release. But hype for the series is running high, as indicated by raucous applause from the audience and lightsabers raised for McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who returns as Darth Vader for the series, as they stood together onstage at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Harold also joked that “there are little moments within the show where you can enjoy the fact that Ewan is playing this character.”

“We can put it in places and times where we challenge and test the Jedi to find out where they are on their journey,” said Harold. “I wanted to see him go a little rough and tumble down a hallway and throw some people off and shoot a blaster and do things that weren’t just ‘Jedi Knight.'”

Obi-Wan’s story so far

When audiences first meet McGregor’s Obi-Wan in “The Phantom Menace,” he is Qui-Gon Jinn’s Padawan learner, an unconventional Jedi Master. An unexpected detour during a mission leads them to Tatooine, where they meet a young Anakin Skywalker, exceptionally sensitive to the Force.

Though initially unconvinced by his master’s insistence that Anakin is prophesied to bring balance to the Force, Obi-Wan overcomes his hesitation to fulfill Qui-Gon’s dying wish to train the boy as a Jedi.

Obi-Wan rises through the ranks to become a Jedi Master and a member of the Jedi Council. He served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars along with other Jedi and clone troopers.

Unbeknownst to Obi-Wan, Anakin, who has also risen through the ranks of the Jedi, is slowly drawn to the dark side by Chancellor Palpatine, a politician who is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

Obi-Wan learns of his former apprentice’s defection after Palpatine issues Order 66, causing the clone troopers to turn on the Jedi to finish them off. After confronting Anakin, Obi-Wan defeats him in battle and leaves him for dead.

Obi-Wan, one of the few surviving Jedi, hides out on Tatooine, where he is able to care for Anakin and Padmé Amidala’s son, Luke, whom he has left in the care of Anakin’s half-brother.

The vader of everything

However, Anakin is not dead. Palpatine saved him and gave him new prosthetics, as well as dark armor that helps keep him alive. Now known as Darth Vader, the character’s shadow is felt throughout the series.

According to Harold, “You can’t tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi without acknowledging the story of Anakin Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan “was charged with the responsibility of doing something pretty profound when he probably wasn’t ready for it,” Harold said. “How do you carry the weight of [that] responsibility in the future when you discover the depths of the result of your failures?

Crossover potential?

Because it’s set in a different era than other live-action “Star Wars” series like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” the chances of Grogu making a surprise appearance in “Obi- Wan Kenobi” are rare. .” But everything is possible.

It has already been established that some characters from the animated series “Star Wars Rebels” will participate in the Obi-Wan limited series. This includes the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and the Fifth Brother (Sung Kang), who along with new character Reva (Moses Ingram) are Force-wielding dark side warriors tasked with hunting down the Jedi Knights. survivors.

Obi-Wan also has a lot of history with “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” characters like Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze, who have already appeared in other live-action “Star Wars” shows. While any crossover seems unlikely, viewers will just have to wait and see if any other familiar faces appear in “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”