It’s a great time to be a “Star Wars” fan. After the one-two punch of “The Mandalorian” seasons 1 and 2, followed by “The Book of Boba Fett,” Disney isn’t giving up. It’s just a short wait until May 25, the day “Obi-Wan Kenobi” lands on Disney+, with the title role reprised by Ewan McGregor. He will be joined by his former castmate Hayden Christensen, who returns as Anakin Skywalker, now known as Darth Vader. Even more “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” alums are on the way as Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse return to their roles as Owen and Beru Lars, Luke Skywalker’s aunt and uncle. In fact, it looks like Jimmy Smits may be returning as the Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa.
As for new faces, comedian and “Eternals” star Kumail Nanjiani is on board in an as-yet-unknown role. “Game of Thrones” alumna Indira Varma and Moses Ingram of “The Queen’s Gambit” fame had similar secret roles until the new teaser trailer came out on March 9. The sneak peek of the original series reveals that Varma will play an Imperial officer, and Ingram will take on the role of Reva, an Imperial Inquisitor (via Entertainment Weekly).
With so many characters from the prequel trilogy returning amid so many new faces, many fans have wondered when exactly “Obi-Wan Kenobi” takes place and how it fits into the larger “Star Wars” timeline. It turns out those questions have some pretty intriguing answers. Despite so much about the show being shrouded in Sith-esque secrecy, here’s what we know about where “Obi-Wan Kenobi” fits in “Star Wars” history.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set ten years after Revenge of the Sith. off
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” will take place in “Revenge of the Sith” about 10 years after the rise of the empire, as confirmed by a tweet from the official “Star Wars” Twitter December 2020 account. To date, Disney+ “Star Wars” shows have focused primarily on the post-Imperial era. Both “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” are set in the years after Emperor Palpatine’s death in “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi”, so it will be fascinating to finally see a story that took place during the height of the imperial power.
Based on what we’ve seen in trailers and from casting announcements, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” will follow his titular character as he watches over a young Luke (and maybe Leia) Skywalker from afar. It appears that the Clone Wars general has been haunted by Imperial troops all along, including several red lightsaber figures who appear to be Imperial Inquisitors, force-sensing fighters tasked with wiping out the last of the Jedi order, led known by the former Jedi now as the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend). It seems that the Empire is still busy tracking down those who managed to save themselves after Order 66 and will stop at nothing to clear the galaxy of them. Obi-Wan will certainly be a prime target in their campaign, especially as Hayden Christensen is slated to return as Darth Vader. Something tells us he won’t let his former master slip so easily into Tatooine’s twin sunsets.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set nine years before A New Hope
The final act of “Revenge of the Sith” ends with Obi-Wan Kenobi delivering Padmé Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) newborn twins, Luke and Leia. After Padmé dies in childbirth, it is decided to separate the twins and keep them in hiding. Senator Organa and his wife become the adoptive parents of Leia, who will grow up on Alderaan. Meanwhile, Luke is destined to grow up on Tatooine, where Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi leaves him in the care of Owen and Beru Lars.
“Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” is set 19 years after “Revenge of the Sith”, meaning Luke and Leia are also 19 years old when the original “Star Wars” trilogy kicks off. This places the Disney+ limited series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” almost in the middle of the two movies in regards to the “Star Wars” timeline. This is seemingly confirmed by the brief inclusion of what appears to be a young Luke, who appears to be nine or ten years old, in the new teaser trailer. Raised by Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Luke is seen through Obi-Wan’s futuristic binoculars living on their damp ranch pretending to do podrace. This could be a deliberate recall to “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”, in which a much younger Obi-Wan encounters a much younger Anakin (Jake Lloyd), also a podracer, on that same sandy planet.
Nine years before ‘A New Hope’, also means that ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ takes place one year before the events of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich), Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). It’s unlikely that Obi-Wan will cross paths with any of those characters, both because none of the “Solo” actors are cast in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and because the Jedi in hiding doesn’t meet Han Solo until the cantina scene in “A New Hope.” Still, it’s exciting for fans to finally see the years between the prequels and the original trilogy so in-depth.
