Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most recognisable characters in Star Wars. Sir Alec Guinness was introduced to viewers as the wise hermit Ben Kenobi in A New Hope (1977). He trains Luke Skywalker until he is killed by Darth Vader, becoming one with the Force. Ewan McGregor played a younger version of Obi-Wan in the prequel movies. Whatever your opinion on those films, (we happen to think the recent trilogy make the prequels look much better) most can agree that McGregor is great as young Obi-Wan. In the prequels, he sees Anakin Skywalker, the young man he moulded into a Jedi Knight, go down the path of evil. Through him we feel the weight of Anakin’s eventual turn to the dark side as he becomes Darth Vader.
Fans have been eager to see him return to the role since his last appearance in Revenge of the Sith (2005). They got exactly what they wanted when Disney announced that McGregor would star in a new Disney+ series centered around the character. So far, we know that he show is set ten years after Revenge of the Sith and that Hayden Christensen will reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.
Fans have many questions about what we might see in the series. Given the amount of Star Wars media that feature Obi-Wan and Anakin, the Clone Wars (2008) and Rebels (2014) animated series to name a couple, there are plenty of stories to draw from. Here’s some of what we might see in the new show.
Qui Gon
Fans of the movies know that at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Yoda intends to travel to the heart of the galaxy and make contact Obi-Wan’s late master, Qui-Gon Jinn. In Clone Wars we actually see Yoda meet with an ancient order known as the Whills in order to commune with Qui-Gon. There, he receives dark omens of the upcoming slaughter of the Jedi. It would be great to see Liam Neeson come back as a wizened old Qui-Gonn, a deceased Jedi who is now one with the Force.
The Darth Vader avatar
We know that Christensen is back as Darth Vader. If this Vader wears the instantly recognisable armour, Disney will likely have the iconic James Earl Jones Darth Vader voice. Since Vader was already in the suit by the end of the prequel movies, it’s anyone’s guess if we’ll see Christensen’s actual face or if it will be hidden behind the mask. Maybe we’ll get occasional face reveals like Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian.
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt, a fat space slug from the original and prequel trilogies, runs a criminal syndicate on Tatooine. He control and oppresses the people of the planet. In the post-credits sequence in The Mandalorian season two finale, we see Boba Fett taking over Jabba’s empire. Perhaps the Obi-Wan series will show Jabba and find some way to connect to the announced Book of Boba Fett series.
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is the badass silent two-sided lightsaber wielding Sith who gets cut in half by Obi-Wan in the prequels. Fans who watched The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels know that the Sith survived this event and seeks revenge on Obi-Wan by training his own apprentice and forming a crime syndicate known as the Shadow Collective. Perhaps we’ll see Darth Maul return in the new series as well.
