The long wait for Ewan McGregor to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi is coming to an end, with the first episodes of his limited series premiering on May 27. Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up in the timeline ten years after the character's last appearance in live-action in Revenge of the Sith, resigned to spending his life watching over Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. Star Wars fans undoubtedly know what happens for Obi-Wan in A New Hope, and the star promised that viewers will find the show’s developments “satisfying.”
Although certain elements of Obi-Wan and Darth Vader’s storylines are set in stone thanks to how Episode III ended and Episode IV picked up, the era between those movies has a lot of blanks that can be filled in. Speaking with CinemaBlend, Ewan McGregor previewed how the show connects some dots between the films:
I think there's a lot of people far cleverer than I who spend a lot of time making sure that that happens. I think that's one of the satisfying things for the fans is that we do have strands between Episode III and Episode IV that I think will be very satisfying for the fans and the audience. I can think of a few. I think definitely that will be one of the satisfying things about watching it.
Fans with a Disney+ subscription will have to wait until the new episodes release to find out precisely what those “strands” between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope are, but it seems safe to take McGregor’s word that it will be “satisfying” as the man behind Obi-Wan Kenobi during the prequel trilogy! It’s safe to say that Obi-Wan won’t be overthrowing the Empire or recruiting Luke to be his Padawan or being killed in a second epic duel with Vader, but there will be connections.
Plus, the show has Star Wars installments in addition to Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope to draw from. The Clone Wars TV show is responsible for fleshing out the timeline between Episode II and Episode III, and the Inquisitors who will be after Obi-Wan in Obi-Wan Kenobi have their TV origins in Star Wars Rebels, set between Episode III and Rogue One/Episode IV. They should be the ideal villains for Obi-Wan at this point in the Star Wars timeline as a Jedi in hiding but who won’t meet his end for another several years.
His status as a Jedi in hiding means that he’ll be using a blaster instead of his iconic lightsaber, which is a change that both Ewan McGregor and director Deborah Chow addressed ahead of the series premiere. All things considered, there’s clearly a lot to look forward to, with nods to the movies, elements from the animated shows, and the original storytelling that fans will finally get to see after the project was announced way back in 2019. Although Star Wars fans have gotten shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Bad Batch to whet their appetites, Obi-Wan is back.
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres its first episode on Disney+ on Friday, May 27, with subsequent episodes releasing on Wednesdays. For more Star Wars fixes, be sure to check out the library of films and shows available on the Disney streamer.
