Obi-Wan Kenobi series: Release date, cast, trailers, and show rumours

Possibly the biggest reveal at Disney’s Investor Day 2020 event was that an upcoming Disney+ series will see the return of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The series will also bring back Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, setting up an iconic rematch between the Jedi master and his apprentice. 

In announcing Christensen’s return, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also revealed a few details about the upcoming show, like that it will begin filming in March 2021 and will be set 10 years after Obi-Wan and Anakin faced off in Revenge of the Sith. Here’s everything we know about Obi-Wan Kenobi so far.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi series | Rumours and theories

Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place a decade after the final film in the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith.

It's also set nine years before we meet up with Obi-Wan again in A New Hope. This is a relatively unexplored timeline in the Star Wars Universe. Solo: A Star Wars Story is set around this time, and it shows a universe with the Empire at the height of its power. While that certainly makes life tough for a smuggler like Han Solo, it should be even more difficult for a Jedi master like Obi-Wan, who could be among the Empire’s and Darth Vader’s most wanted.

We also could see Obi-Wan dealing with Imperial Jedi hunters known as Inquisitors, who were tasked with hunting down the few remaining Jedi.

Characters who might make an appearance

We know Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader will definitely appear in the show, but what about other Star Wars characters? Nothing else has been confirmed at this point, but there are plenty of rumours and theories about potential character appearances. Here's a look at some of the most intriguing ones.

Ashoka Tano

We know that Rosario Dawson’s Ashoka Tano is getting her own Disney+ show, that's set around The Mandalorian, which is about 20 years after the show Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place. It wouldn’t be shocking to see her included in the series, as she’s close to the two main characters we know are going to be included. She was Anakin’s former apprentice and feels more guilt about his turning into Darth Vader than anyone except for Obi-Wan himself.

Obi-Wan and Ashoka share a conversation about Anakin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (watch here) that shows the relationship between the three characters. 

Luke Skywalker

There’s been a ton of rumours swirling amid a fan-led campaign that Disney will eventually introduce a younger version of Luke portrayed by Sebastian Stan. That probably won’t happen in this Obi-Wan Kenobi series, as the future leader of the Rebellion will be around 10 years old. Still, we know Obi-Wan was intent on watching over the boy at the end of Revenge of the Sith, so it wouldn’t be surprising if we get a glimpse at Luke as a young moisture farmer on Tattooine.

Darth Maul

We know Maul survived being chopped in half by Obi-Wan at the end of The Phantom Menace, as the character appeared at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story as well in the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. Already rumours have begun to swirl about a Maul return in the Kenobi series, but we wonder how effective it would be since the two have a climactic showdown in Star Wars: Rebels that sees Obi-Wan finally kill Maul for good (we think),

Qui-Gon Jinn

It wouldn’t shock us to see Liam Neeson return to the Star Wars Universe as Kenobi’s former Jedi master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Sure, he’s dead, but it would make sense to see him in both flashbacks and as a Force ghost keeping Obi-Wan company in his desert hideout.

Jabba the Hutt

Here's another classic Star Wars character that'd make sense for us to see in the series. We know at least part of the show will take place on Tattooine, after all, and Jabba’s criminal empire rules the back-water planet as much or more than the Empire.

Duchess Satine Kryze

If you only follow the Star Wars live-action universe, first of all, you're missing out, and secondly, you might be surprised to learn that, before Anakin’s love for Padme turned him to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan was tempted by love in a similar way. While Anakin’s love led him to join the Dark Side for fear of losing Padme, Obi-Wan did the opposite, turning his back on the Mandalorian ruler Satine Kryze, with who he had fallen in love, to preserve his vows as a Jedi.

While the events of their love affair eventually see Satine murdered by Darth Maul in front of Obi-Wan, it wouldn’t be shocking to find Obi-Wan troubled by these memories, with some flashbacks, just like Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side. Check out Star Wars: Clone Wars to get the full story behind Satine and Obi-Wan.

Bo Katan

We recently saw Bo Katan’s live-action debut in the second season of The Mandalorian.

She is portrayed by the same actress who voiced the character in her animated form, Katee Sackhoff. This is another character that Obi-Wan would’ve known from The Clone Wars series, and including her in this Obi-Wan Kenobi series would be particularly interesting to fans of The Mandalorian. 

Katan was the last person to wield the Mandalorian lightsaber, known as the Dark Saber, before The Mandalorian’s big bad Moff Gideon got his hands on it during an event known as The Great Purge, which saw the Empire attack Mandalore. The Great Purge happened around the same time as the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is set, so it could provide a great opportunity to show an event that’s only been hinted at during The Mandalorian.

Cal Kestis

One of the only other known Jedis during this time is a former apprentice that survived the Order 66 and starred in the Star Wars video game, Jedi: Fallen Order.

While tying a video game into the actual Star Wars Universe might seem far-fetched at first, it’s worth pointing out that Fallen Order is a part of Star Wars canon and takes place a few years before the events of this Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The actor who plays Kestis, Cameron Monaghan, in the video game also has plenty of experience in live-action series, as he starred as the Joker in the Batman prequel series Gotham and has been part of the Showtime hit series Shameless.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series | Cast and crew

Director

Deborah Chow has been tasked with bringing the new Obi-Wan story to Disney+. Star Wars fans will remember her from her time directing two episodes of The Mandalorian’s first season and also showing up onscreen for a cameo as an X-Wing pilot. She was the first woman to direct any live-action Star Wars project. 

Writer

Hossein Amini will write the script. He most recently worked on the TV series The Alienist and is perhaps best known for writing the 2011 film Drive.

Cast

Ewan MacGregor and Hayden Christensen will return as their characters from the prequel trilogy. We'll keep you updated as more of the cast is announced.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series | Release date

We don’t know exactly when the Obi-Wan Kenobi will premiere on Disney+, but we can make an educated guess based on what we do know. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has said that the series will begin filming in March 2021. The third season of The Mandalorian is set to premiere in December 2021, so we’re figuring Obi-Wan Kenobi will hit Disney+ sometime in early 2022 after the next season of The Mandalorian has completed.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series | Trailers and teasers

There are no trailers yet for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, but you can watch Disney's Kathleen Kennedy reveal Hayden Christensen's return and more about the upcoming Disney+ project at the Disney Investor Day 2020 event. Go here and skip to the 1:22:00 mark to see the Obi-Wan Kenobi portion.

Want to know more?

Check out our guide on how to watch every Star Wars movie and TV show in the correct order. We also have this guide on upcoming Star Wars projects.

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