After 17 years away from the “Star Wars” universe, Ewan McGregor returns this week as our beloved bearded Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. “Patience, you must have,” INDEED. But what was Master Kenobi up to when we saw him last? Does one need to know about multiple cartoon series to identify what’s going on? And what breadcrumbs has the Disney Corporation hunted about the plot in “Obi-Wan Kenobi”?
Thanks to his great internal algorithm, C-3PO was able to be as much as a hundred steps behind R2-D2 and himself. Now that you get as much information with Friday’s release of “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” overlooking your worries will no longer be an issue.
The ability to see Obi-Wan again is great news, but where are we in the relevant timeline?
Troy Pearson admits that the time that Obi-Wan Kenobi disappears is about ten after the Battle of Yavin. Disney states that the series takes place about 10 years after “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” where Obi-Wan went into hiding.
This means Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are about ten years old at this point in the “Star Wars” timeline, and Darth Vader is just a tiny while into his own transformation into Anakin. Obi-Wan, who is keeping watchful eyes on Luke from a distance, is on his way to becoming the sage “Old Ben.” Strictly speaking, Padme Amidala is Obi-Wan’s current bio-identical, but she doesn’t quite fit the bill, not yet in her late thirties and fully a decade past the starting era of Anakin Skywalker’s “Dark Jedi” days.
How was the production as it was before the show?
Don’t upgrade your prime-time viewing schedule by spending 6 1/2 hours watching the prequels? Here’s a guide on how Obi-Wan spent years in “Episodes I-III.”
Episode 1: Qui-Gon Jin, later Obi-Wan, is introduced to a young, sprightly Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine, where “Ani” and his mother are being held captive. Qui-Gon, recognizing through his midichlorian count that Anakin is the chosen one both apparently and merely (don’t ask), is beheaded by Darth Maul, but tasks Obi-Wan with mentoring the young boy.
Episode 2: Obi-Wan, now being Master to a calmer, sand aversion to Anakin, visits Kamino and gets caught up in a battle between the Jango Fett Clone army and Obi-Wan’s apprentice, Anakin. The two of them are extremely closely bonded, but Anakin rebels against Obi-Wan’s invaluable practical sense.
Episode 3: Anakin embraces the Dark Side and duels Obi-Wan on Mustafar, where Anakin becomes Vader. Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious commands the Clone army to execute Order 66 (aka, kill all Jedi). They mostly succeed, though they fail to kill two of the most important Jedi — Yoda and Obi-Wan, the latter of whom is distraught by the loss of his “brother.”Anakin decides to fully accept the eventual outcome of “The Phantom Menace,” the first in the saga, and takes on the droid general on Mustafar, where Anakin’s conflicting aspirations lead him to become Darth Vader. The emperor orders the execution of the Clone army by Order 66 (or, killing Jedi). They mostly succeed, but they narrowly miss two of the main Jedi—Yoda and Obi-Wan, who witness the bloodshed and berate Palpatine.
Do I need to have watched previous episodes of the show for it to make sense?
No, unless you are a fan of homework and good TV. Several new “Obi-Wan Kenobi” characters appear in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, which is streaming on Disney+. The show takes place after Episode III and Obi-Wan makes an unforgettable appearance in the third season.
Who is the antagonist in this series?
In this series, we will learn about the Inquisitors, a group of trained hunters who are steeped in the Dark Side. The first introduced in “Rebels” (2014), their leader is the Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend. Not only do they use lightsabers in battle (just wait until Moses Ingram, who plays Inquisitor Reva, wields her double-edged, spinning red saber — Darth Maul is quaking), but they are not part of either order: Jedi or Sith.
The Inquisitors work for Darth Vader, who wants them to track down one Jedi Knight in particular: Luke Skywalker.
What’s up with Vader?
Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” In this prequel to the original trilogy, Vader is still a loud mouth-breather focused on quashing the growing Rebel Alliance and finding our titular Jedi. The trailer skips over some specifics, but we can assume that he’s still a loud mouth-breather focused on quashing the growing Rebel Alliance and finding our titular Jedi. Prepare the tissues for their inevitable reunion.
Is that a young Luke I see?
In the trailer for Episode I, we see Obi-Wan Kenobi watching a boy in pod-racing goggles pretending to pilot a ship. We can presume that this kid is a young Luke Skywalker, who appears to be around the same age as his father was when Qui-Gon found him.
Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala [note: does not specify if she was Padmé before marrying Anakin or not], lives on the moisture farm of Owen Lars, the latter being the step-brother of Cliegg Lars—who is married to Anakin’s mother, Shmi. Owen Lars and his wife Beru raise Luke on their humble moisture farm, keeping secret the truth of his parentage from him. Obi-Wan Kenobi knows that he is destined for more.
Aren’t there other celebs in this?
“There sure are!” replied the comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who plays a distressed man in the trailer for “Silicon Valley” Season 4. “Straight Outta Compton” star O’Shea Jackson Jr. is also in the trailer — but we haven’t seen footage of him yet either. The only other actor we’ve seen in person is “Uncut Gems” co-director Benny Safdie: He plays a character named Nucleotid.
