Obi-Wan Kenobi

As part of the wave of Star Wars series on Disney+, fans have gotten a whole host of new stories, with some of them filling in timelines and expanding on pieces that have only been wondered about before. One of those series was Obi-Wan Kenobi which returned Ewan McGregor to the titular role. 

The series is set in the timeline following Episode III -Revenge of the Sith and before fans first met Eli Wallach’s Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode IV- A New Hope, which kicked off the whole franchise.

OBI-WAN KENOBI PICKS UP 10 YEARS AFTER A NEW HOPE

Up until now, Kenobi’s life in between these two movies had been pretty much a mystery. We knew he was living as Ben on Tatooine because that’s how Mark Hamill’s original character first meets him. But what did he do in those decades between Order 66 and when he ultimately begins training Luke as a Jedi? Here we begin to find out.

Obi-Wan Kenobi has run for one season on Disney+ and picks up about 10 years after we last saw the Jedi go into hiding. He’s toiling away on Tatooine and mostly keeping to himself, understanding that there is still a hunt on for Jedis throughout the Galaxy. 

THE SERIES DETAILS LEIA’S CHILDHOOD AND THE CLASH WITH DARTH VADER

The series sets into motion a couple of things that are crucial with filling in major parts of the Star Wars story. For starters, it introduces us to a younger version of Princess Leia, played here by Vivien Lyra Blair. Obi-Wan is forced out of hiding when she is kidnapped by bounty hunters as a means to essentially draw him out.

And there’s also a reunion (such as it were) between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, played once against by Hayden Christensen. Last we left these two, the mentor and mentee had engaged in an epic battle that left then-Anakin Skywalker the broken man who would eventually become Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series, sets the two on a collision course that culminates in a couple of the cooler battles we’ve seen yet in the franchise.

OBI-WAN KENOBI ALSO INTRODUCES THE INQUISITORS

The series also brought out the Inquisitors, a group of Force-sensitive folks who are tasked with rounding out the remaining Jedis, executing them and anyone associated with hiding them from the Empire. This included Rupert Friend’s Grand Inquisitor, and more importantly, Moses Ingram’s Third Sister who has plans of her own.

Overall, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a win with critics who appreciated the direction of the series, though it didn’t quite hit with every fan out there.