Spoilers ahead for the first five episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
Only one episode is left in the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series that brought film stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to the small screen for an epic untold story in Obi-Wan and Darth Vader’s histories. Throw in the Inquisitors’ debut as live-action villains, little Leia’s major role, Reva finding out about Luke after being left to die, and the “rematch of the century” that hasn’t occurred yet, and there’s a lot that might go down in the finale on June 22.
As it stands, however, there’s so much Star Wars canon set in the years after this series that we can deduce some of what is going to happen in the finale… and what isn’t going to happen in the finale. So, in light of Star Wars Rebels (beginning four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the original trilogy (beginning nine years after Obi-Wan Kenobi), let’s look at what canon already tells us about how the series ends.
A Lot Of Characters Are Going To Survive
There are some very obvious characters who aren’t going to die in the final episode of the limited series. Star Wars Rebels features Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Leia, Bail, and even briefly Luke, while A New Hope obviously includes Owen and Beru as well. Several of those characters will die before the end of A New Hope, but they’re safe through the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Some lesser known characters will survive as well. Both the Grand Inquisitor (who wasn’t actually killed off in Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Fifth Brother have roles in the first and second seasons of Rebels, respectively, so they’re safe from death for another 4-5 years or so in the Star Wars timeline.
Some Characters Can Still Die
Alas, some characters don’t appear in Rebels or the OT. As Tala proved in the fifth episode, anybody who isn’t already confirmed later in the saga might meet their doom. Reva is not one of the Inquisitors in Rebels (unsurprisingly after Episode 5) or part of the Rebellion in the original trilogy; after being stabbed by Vader and basically learning that she has no allies, her survival odds aren't the greatest.
Also not confirmed to survive are Kumail Nanjiani’s Haja (who made a big mistake in the fifth episode that could lead Reva to Luke) and O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Kawlan Roken, who has helped Obi-Wan and Leia. Even LOLA isn’t guaranteed to make it to the end without being permanently destroyed. All of these characters might not die, but we can’t say with absolute certainty that they won’t.
Obi-Wan Returns To Tatooine
Luke Skywalker probably would have died early in A New Hope if not for finding Old Ben in the desert, so the exiled Jedi is absolutely going to return to his hermit life on Tatooine. Ewan McGregor has expressed interest in reprising his role again following the end of this series; assuming that there truly is a limit to the number of major events that can take place on Tatooine, he might leave the planet again.
But even if he does have some more off-planet adventures, Star Wars Rebels establishes that he's still holding his post watching over Luke in the third season of the animated show, set around a year or two before A New Hope. By that point, he's even carrying his lightsaber on him, which comes in very handy.
Darth Vader And Obi-Wan Need Another Rematch
The two former brothers-in-arms need to meet and clash again. In the show as of Episode 5, Obi-Wan still seems to have some hesitation about wanting Vader dead since he knows that he was once Anakin, but original trilogy Obi-Wan doesn’t show that same hesitation.
In fact, by Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan wants Luke to kill Vader, calling him "more machine now than man" and "twisted and evil," and dismissing Luke’s protest that there’s still good in him. Sure, there’s some wiggle room since Obi-Wan “From A Certain Point Of View” Kenobi has been known to bend the truth, but it feels like he needs to witness (or experience) Vader doing something more monstrous than he’s seen so far to get to that place of wanting Luke to kill his own father.
Plus, Vader said “Obi-Wan once thought as you did” in ROTJ when Luke tried to insist that there was still good in him, and I’m not sure that their conversation on Mustafar quite qualifies. For their dynamic in the OT era to fully make sense, they need to meet again at least one more time before the decisive duel in A New Hope.
The Twins Won't Get To Know Each Other
We can’t say with any certainty that Luke and Leia won’t cross paths now that so many stories are seemingly converging on Tatooine, but it’s at least safe to say that Leia won’t know her brother by his full name. After she drops the iconic “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” line on him in A New Hope when he arrives to rescue her on the Death Star, he identifies himself as Luke Skywalker, and she doesn’t recognize the name.
In fact, she doesn’t even look all that convinced that he can rescue her until he mentions that he’s “here with Ben Kenobi.” It’s technically possible that the twins will meet in Obi-Wan Kenobi without messing up canon as long as they don't learn each other's names, but the safest course would be for Luke and Leia not to meet for another nine years.
Vader Probably Doesn't Find Out About Luke Or Obi-Wan On Tatooine
Darth Vader may well know about Leia’s existence as Leia Organa, princess of Alderaan and daughter of Bail Organa, but the original trilogy rules out Vader finding out about Luke’s existence as somebody with the last name of “Skywalker” until after A New Hope, and Luke's life on Tatooine seems pretty uneventful until R2-D2 and C-3PO show up.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has made it very clear that Vader wants his revenge for Mustafar, and nobody on Tatooine would likely be living in peace if Vader had an inkling that his former master was there. If the action returns to Tatooine and Reva goes after Luke after hearing Bail’s message, then Vader shouldn’t be involved based on the OT. Even Hayden Christensen thinks Vader would never show up there.
Obi-Wan's Practice Pays Off
Speaking of nemeses with revenge on their minds, Star Wars Rebels tells us that Obi-Wan getting back into practice with his lightsaber is going to pay off in a big way within a decade. Maul will finally track Obi-Wan down on Tatooine, and after deducing that he was there to protect “someone,” Obi-Wan drew his saber to fight Maul.
It was a short fight that ended with Maul dead in three very quick moves that the Obi-Wan who fled from Vader in the third episode of his series wouldn’t have been able to pull off. He was easily outfought by Vader then, but he'll be back in practice enough for Maul after this series.
Luke Probably Remains Oblivious
Okay, we technically don’t know for sure that Luke will remain completely oblivious about everything that seems to be leading to him on Tatooine, but the height of excitement in Luke’s life at the beginning of A New Hope seemed to be bullseyeing womp rats and the Tosche Station. Meanwhile, Leia is a senator and Rebel leader by the same point in the timeline. It seems more likely that Luke will remain almost entirely oblivious in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale than playing any kind of major role.
How much of this will the limited series address, and what kinds of unexpected twists are in store despite all of the canon from Star Wars Rebels and the original trilogy? Find out with the final episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi starting on Wednesday, June 22 at 12:01 a.m. PT with a Disney+ subscription. You can also find the original trilogy and all four seasons of Rebels on the Disney streaming platform.
