Disney has unleashed its new Star Wars series on Disney+, with the return of Ewan McGregor as the eponymous Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The show, which premiered on Friday 27 May 2022, also brings back Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, setting up an iconic rematch between the Jedi master and his apprentice. 

Here then is everything you need to know about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series: Release date, cast, trailers, and show rumours photo 9
LucasFilm Ltd

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Plot summary

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 and Rogue One are 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 is among the Empire's and Darth Vader's most wanted. We should see Obi-Wan dealing with Imperial Jedi hunters known as Inquisitors, who were tasked with hunting down the few remaining Jedi. We know that Mosen Ingram will be playing a villain called Inquisitor Reva, on the trail of Obi-Wan, so don't bet against that option being the key to the show's plot.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series: Release date, cast, trailers, and show rumours photo 8
LucasFilm Ltd

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Rumours and theories

We know Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader will definitely appear in the show, but what about other Star Wars characters? Only a few have been confirmed so far, but there are plenty of theories about potential appearances. Here's a look at some of the most intriguing ones.

Ahsoka Tano

We know that Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka 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 featured. She was Anakin's former apprentice and feels more guilt about his turning into Darth Vader than anyone except for Obi-Wan himself. One new theory is that the casting of Indira Varma could point to her portraying a younger version of Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka talk about Anakin in The Clone Wars (watch here), which 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, and the trailers so far show that we'll 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. And, rumours have been swirling 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 whom 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. Satine is another logical character for the already announced cast member Indira Varma to play. 

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 show 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 in 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: Release date, cast, trailers, and show rumours photo 6
Disney

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Cast and crew

Director

Deborah Chow is tasked with bringing Obi-Wan to Disney+. Star Wars fans will remember she directed two episodes of The Mandalorian and that she showed up on the screen for a cameo as an X-Wing pilot. She was the first woman to direct any live-action Star Wars project. 

Writer

Hossein Amini has written the script. Beforehand, he most recently worked on the TV series The Alienist and is best known for writing the 2011 film Drive.

Cast

Ewan MacGregor and Hayden Christensen return as their characters from the prequel trilogy.

Here is the full cast:

  • Ewan MacGregor - Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • Hayden Christensen - Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader
  • Joel Edgerton - Owen Lars
  • Bonnie Piesse - Beru Lars
  • Rupert Friend - Grand Inquisitor
  • Moses Ingram - Inquisitor Reva
  • Kumail Nanjiani - Unannounced
  • Indira Varma - Unannounced
  • O'Shea Jackson Jr - Unannounced
  • Sung Kang - Unannounced
  • Simone Kessell - Unannounced
  • Benny Safdie - Unannounced

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Release date

Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered on Friday 27 May 2022 (no, sadly not May 4th). This is a couple of days later than the initially announced date, but we also got two episodes at once, which is a nice bonus.

Obi-Wan Kenobi series: Release date, cast, trailers, and show rumours photo 12
LucasFilm

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Where to stream

The series is available exclusively on Disney+. 

Disney+ - £7.99/m or £79.90/yr

Amazon

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Trailers and teasers

Yes. Disney released the first teaser trailer in March 2022.

Obi-Wan Kenobi | Teaser Trailer | Disney+

The trailer is just under 2 minutes long - which is pretty lengthy for a teaser - and it provides the first look at Ewan McGregor's much-anticipated return. Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - where the Jedi Master went to the desolate planet of Tatooine to hide from the Empire and watch over a young Luke Skywalker.

In fact, in the trailer, we see Obi-Wan looking after Luke. "The fight is done", Obi-Wan says, referring to the rise of the Empire. "We lost".

The trailer also confirms Obi-Wan will leave Tatooine in the show. We see Jedi hunters known as Inquisitors are after Obi-Wan. They're led by the Grand Inquisitor, a character from Star Wars Rebels played in live-action by Rupert Friend, while an Inquisitor named Reva (played by Moses Ingram) is shown confronting Luke's uncle, Owen Lars (played by Joel Edgerton). 

Obi-Wan Kenobi | Official Trailer | Disney+

The full trailer came out on Star Wars Day and while it isn't much longer it gives a clearer look at Obi-Wan's circumstances, and in particular at the huge forces arrayed against him as the Empire seeks to catch one of its last remaining Jedi enemies.

It ends with some menacing shots of Darth Vader being assembled for action, and that iconic breathing apparatus - there's a big showdown brewing, that's for sure.

Want to know more?

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