Obi-Wan Kenobi

In fact, the Jedi Master has much to reckon with in the new series, including his failure to save Anakin Skywalker from the dark side and the lure of the Sith.

Obi-Wan still hopes to train Luke as a Jedi one day, but being a member of that ancient order is very dangerous in the era in which the new series takes place. If you’re wondering, the events of Rebels kick off in 5 BBY, four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi. What else do we know about this point in the timeline? A Galactic Empire ruled by Sith lords, dark side hunters set loose on the galaxy, and Jedi fugitives hiding or running for their lives. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, the six-episode limited series on Disney+, brings back the fan-favorite Jedi Master but at a very different point in his life. The series stars Ewan McGregor as an older Obi-Wan who has seen better days.

Will Obi-Wan and Vader meet? Is Mace Windu really dead? Does Jar Jar Binks get the cameo he so richly deserves?!

Here are 10 burning questions we have before watching Obi-Wan Kenobi. So, of course, like a herd of Banthas champing at their bits, we’re dying to see what happens next—and can’t help but start theorizing. At long last, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn’t so far, far away.

How to watch the newest Star Wars series dropping at midnight on Friday, May 27.

What live sports, movies and TV shows does it include? All you have to do is sign up for Disney+ using the same email that’s associated with your Hulu account, no matter which type of Hulu account it is. Need a refresher on who Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the Star Wars universe? Watch the the official Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer now before the series debuts tonight. This new series will introduce fans of the Star Wars Universe, both old and new, to a beloved cult figure in the story. The much-anticipated premiere of Star Wars’ latest series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is upon us.

We've got everything else you need below to catch the latest Star Wars show the second it drops on Disney Plus, with the exact time you can expect the episodes ...

Obi-Wan Kenobi is dropping a new episode on Disney Plus weekly, following its double season premiere. so keep refreshing that landing page to catch the episodes the second they drop! That means you can watch episodes 1 and 2 together straightaway.

Premiering exclusively on Disney+ on May 27, the latest 'Star Wars' spinoff series follows the Jedi Master on the run from Darth Vader.

As Vanity Fairrevealed, Andor (the Star Wars spy saga starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor) will premiere in theaters late summer. Both options let you watch live sports and original series from Hulu and Disney+, including all of the Star Wars movies and series. Obi-Wan Kenobi is available exclusively on Disney+, so you’ll need a subscription to the streaming service.

We look back at the Star Wars history of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, originated by Alec Guinness and played in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' by Ewan McGregor.

It has already been established that some characters from the animated “Star Wars Rebels” will be playing a part in the limited Obi-Wan series. While any crossover seems unlikely, viewers will just have to wait and see if any other familiar faces appear in “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” But McGregor in the prequels is “all the things that you would not have imagined Obi-Wan could have been”: “Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan is the finished article. Now known as the Darth Vader, the character’s shadow is felt across the series. McGregor himself noted during the Lucasfilm presentation at Star Wars Celebration on Thursday that there seemed to be no love for the prequel films at the time of their release. An unexpected detour during a mission brings them to Tatooine, where they meet the young, exceptionally Force-sensitive Anakin Skywalker.

West Coast viewers will be able to stream the first two episodes of the show, starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, starting at 9 p.m. PT. Originally, ...

After Joby Harold (“Army of the Dead”) was hired to take over, the six-episode series was delayed again due to the pandemic. The Disney+ series is the culmination of years of planning at Lucasfilm to revive McGregor’s performance as Obi-Wan from the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy. early,” the tweet reads. The actor finally confirmed the news to great fanfare at the D23 Expo in August 2019, but a planned shoot in 2020 with “The Mandalorian” director Deborah Chow was delayed when the original head writer, Hossein Amini (“The Alienist”), left the production. The news was announced in a tweet from the official “Star Wars” account. “Start streaming the first two episodes TONIGHT at 9 p.m. PT on @Disneyplus.”

The first two episodes, starring Ewan McGregor, are arriving earlier than expected.

- Episode 6: Available Wednesday, June 22 -- 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET/7 a.m. GMT) - Episode 5: Available Wednesday, June 15 -- 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET/7 a.m. GMT) - Episode 4: Available Wednesday, June 8 -- 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET/7 a.m. GMT) - Episode 3: Available Wednesday, June 1 -- 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET/7 a.m. GMT) The first of the six episodes was originally scheduled to premiere on Disney Plus on May 25. The show, going by the Jedi Master's name, will pick up 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith.

Disney's Ewan McGregor Star Wars spin-off debuts on 27th May 2022. Read on to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi with a Disney Plus bundle deal.

Head over to our 11 of the best Disney Plus shows and movies to watch right now. For one thing, Disney owns Lucasfilm, the Star Wars production company. Here's how to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi wherever you are. There's no contract, so you can cancel anytime. New episode air every Wednesday, with the finale set for 22nd June. This generous bundle deal gets you access three top streaming service for one very reasonable monthly payment.

The latest instalment of the Star Wars franchise, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now available to stream. But which Star Wars gets top marks from the critics?

Confused about how we've determined which one is the best? As the Star Wars galaxy expands, which one is considered the best? With the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi, use the Force to see which Star Wars is supreme leader among critics

Fans at Star Wars Celebration shared their thoughts on the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

While no spoilers have made it to the public yet, Lucasfilm and Disney surprised fans by releasing the first two episodes on Disney+ at 9PM PST instead of its usual midnight slot. "Obi-Wan Kenobi first reactions, Ewan McGregor brings the emotion as an older Kenobi. His eye acting is next level. "The first 2 episodes of Kenobi are amazing. "Obi-Wan Kenobi gets off to a great start. A brilliant artist." With this series having been in development for most of the past three years, anticipation is at an all-time high to see the former Jedi Master take the spotlight once again.

The last seconds of the two-episode premiere finally delivered what fans have been clamoring for -- a helmetless Darth Vader.

Well, unless there’s a flashback, this is the Vader we’re going to learn to love to hate. There must be some Force connection still left between the two, because as soon as Obi-Wan utters the name “Anakin,” we see the man himself, floating in a bacta tank. In the last few seconds, a close shave encounter with Reva makes Obi-Wan face the truth: Anakin isn’t dead, he’s alive — and going after his old master.

Flea (of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers) makes a surprise appearance in the 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' premiere. Here's how he helps establish the show's ...

In the moment, this seems pretty normal, but Kenobi is fighting dirty. More interesting, perhaps, is what Obi-Wan does to survive. But if you’re wondering who Flea plays in Kenobi\ or why his character matters, here’s what you need to know.

The latest Star Wars spin-off from Disney+ sees the Scot put in his best performance as the legendary Jedi in a John Wick-esque caper with marvellous action ...

It’s the sort of character and performance that would usually deserve its own spin-off, even if it didn’t exist in the world of modern Star Wars, where every single character who ever appears onscreen is all but guaranteed a full series about their origin story. In the prequel series they often overwhelmed McGregor’s performance, but here, he wears them lightly, letting some of his natural charisma seep through. The series actually starts to justify its own existence. The story goes that this series started life as a film. Post-Lucas Star Wars exists almost exclusively to bulk out thin gruel, joining various dots that didn’t need to be joined, for the delight of a quickly ageing fanbase. Kenobi left Anakin Skywalker for dead a decade ago and, realistically, it’s another decade before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope.

New Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi had a surprising fate for a character from Star Wars Rebels.

Clearly, there must be more than one Grand Inquisitor on the Empire’s books from this alien species (called Pau’an, if you want to get technical), and the Inquisitor that fans were familiar with was a different man. Well, it seems like Obi-Wan Kenobi (and Rebels creator Dave Filoni, who gets a “special thanks” in the credits) has pulled a fast one on fans. Rather than let him take her prize (and in revenge for his insults), Reva kills him in cold blood, leaving him on the ground before she starts hunting Kenobi again.

Find out where you can learn more about the upcoming villains' backstories and other appearances before Obi-Wan Kenobi hits Disney+.

This is because the number of the member directly corresponds to their rank in the Order. As in golf, the lower the number the better. We also see what appears to be the office of the Grand Inquisitor in this scene. The Fifth Brother is one of the recurring villains who has appeared in Star Wars: Rebels. He was often seen with his partner, the Seventh Sister, who has not yet appeared in any of the Obi-Wan trailers. As a tool used by the Grand Inquisitor, he will likely be a substantial threat. In fact, it was later revealed in the book Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition that he was one of the temple guards that escorted the fallen Jedi Bariss Offee to her trial. In Rebels, he is depicted as a savvy and sinister opponent who is extremely adept with a lightsaber. In animated shows and comics, the Inquisitors can even use these blades to fly a limited distance. In the trailer, we see what appears to be a shuttle similar to a Delta Class shuttle (Same as Krennic's from Rogue One) traveling towards an unmarked base. While nameless (and we will probably never see their faces) the groups of Purge Troopers seen in the trailers for Obi-Wan Kenobi also have a place in Star Wars canon. By the time the series begins, the Order is solidly controlled by Darth Vader, with the Grand Inquisitor as his second-in-command. These purge troopers were first seen in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and are somewhat similar to the Death Troopers (black suit and garbled language) seen in Rogue One and Star Wars: Rebels. The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show may be a new series, but it doesn’t feature that many new faces.

Early reactions to Ewan McGregor's Disney+ Star Wars TV mini series suggest the force is strong with this one.

ComicBook’s Brandon Davis had a similar response, telling his followers Obi-Wan Kenobi was “really surprising! Meanwhile, Total Film attended an early screening of Obi-Wan Kenobi and gave it a thumbs up on Twitter: “Wow, what a start” they said, adding intriguingly that the first episode “pulls Obi into the action in a very unexpected way.” It’s McGregor’s first time back in the Jedi gown for 17 year since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, and Obi-Wan Kenobi will fill in the character’s unknown back story between the events of that film and 1977’s A New Hope.

The episode ends with Vader floating in a bacta tank, yellow eyes on display and a breathing mask strapped over his mouth and nose. We hear that iconic ...

THAT ENDING FOR EPISODE TWO THOUGH," thinks another person (opens in new tab). But this is even better jsjsjs," says someone else (opens in new tab). "Seeing it jump from Obi Wan saying "Anakin"… to actual Vader/Anakin in the bacta tank. "The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi were quite the emotional thrill ride. "THAT ENDING TO EPISODE 2 OF #ObiWanKenobi OMGGGG The first 2 episodes were amazing. And the 3rd one is going to be even better…"

The Book of Boba Fett star had a surprise cameo in the second episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus.

Based on the clone’s armour, he probably even fought in the 501st Legion, who worked closely with Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker during the animated Clone Wars TV series. Who’s to say how many Jedi this clone in particular killed off? Yes, it’s another star of the Disney Plus screen – Temuera Morrison, aka Boba Fett, aka Jango Fett, aka just about any clone trooper you’d care to mention.

What was Obi-Wan Kenobi up to during those years when he was watching over Luke Skywalker after the Republic's fall in "Revenge of the Sith?"

That scenario also creates plenty of opportunities for callbacks that, in a theatrical setting, would have fans whooping and hollering. He watches the young Luke from a respectable distance, which is still too close to suit the boy's Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton), who well remembers how he ended up with the lad in his care. Those considerations aside, the Disney+ series presents subscribers what feels like a wonderful distraction, no Jedi mind tricks required.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's two-part premiere is a surprisingly weighty introduction to an emotional Star Wars story.

The whole two-part premiere is full of this intertwined scripting; the links between Obi-Wan, Leia, her kidnappers, and Reva all make for a show that feels nicely coherent and planned. But chase sequences and shootouts so far feel simple and workhorse compared to the best of The Mandalorian’s action direction. I really like that Kenobi’s emotional path is mirrored by his physical one, and the match cut between his and Vader’s face at the end of the two-part premiere provided the perfect chilling indicator of this. This moment is the first nudge; Obi-Wan needs to return to the ways of the Jedi. He needs to help people. She helps provide a little levity among an otherwise surprisingly serious slice of Star Wars. The same can be said about Kumail Nanjiani, who brings his usual charm to grifter Haja Estree. On Tatooine he refuses to help another Jedi escape from the inquisition because he doesn’t want to risk his semi-selfish mission of watching over Luke. That Jedi’s corpse is next seen strung up in the streets in a shot that highlights Chow’s ability to bring darkness without being inappropriately violent for this kind of show. This promises a real treat of an emotional and physical showdown later down the line, and I hope Obi-Wan Kenobi can deliver on that promise. The two-part premiere opens a series that is surprisingly complex and unexpectedly mature; a slice of Star Wars that feels heavy and layered. But while vital to the journey, the ongoing hunt for the final surviving Jedi is just the broad picture. Opening as Order 66 is initiated, this is a show about living amid the death of one age, and the start of a darker one. His new camp on Tatooine has been established not to watch over Luke because he represents hope for the future, but through an inability to let go of one of the remaining links to his fallen brother. George Lucas envisioned the Empire as a reflection of many things, but Obi-Wan Kenobi really leans into the Nazi parallels.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" starring Ewan McGregor premieres its first two episodes today on Disney Plus today (May 27).

The rest of the main cast includes Rupert Friend (The Grand Inquisitor), Moses Ingram (Seventh Sister), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), and Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker). Darth Vader will be a vital addition to the drama and speculation has run rampant that we'll see a confrontation with his former master, whose skills might be a bit rusty after ten years in exile. These heartless assassins report directly to the Grand Inquisitor and are headed up by Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister, who were previously introduced in "Star Wars: Rebels" Season 2.

It doesn't break new 'Star Wars' ground but Ewan McGregor is a Jedi sort of 'John Wick' in his galactic return in new Disney+ series 'Obi-Wan Kenobi.'

If "Star Wars" fans are going to see a new angle to things they know, it should be with a beloved familiar face. Fans will get a kick out of familiar characters (especially one in particular) who show up in “Kenobi"; more impressive are the subtle reflections of well-known scenes that add thematic depth. While it doesn’t break any huge new “Star Wars” ground, at least not yet – we’ll see what happens in the next four episodes (streaming weekly beginning Wednesday) – the series nicely bridges the gap between the prequels and the original trilogy and hints at some political intrigue within the evil Empire.

The dual-episode premiere of the first non-Mandalorian-based Star Wars Disney Plus series has arrived, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has expanded its name from just ...

Ewan McGregor is finally getting something to work with in terms of a script, an upgrade from the prequels. Leia rebels against her stuffy upbringing, and appears to be exhibiting at least mildly force-like symptoms where she can read people’s fears to a certain extent, disguised as being observant. The series was given to Mandalorian director Deborah Chow, and so far, it’s going pretty well.

Disney's latest Star Wars spin-off show has been hotly anticipated for the return of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi Knight – and it mostly lives up to the hype, ...

Obi-Wan Kenobi runs the same risk here, but justifies itself by being the first Disney+ Star Wars series to feel like a main Star Wars story, rather than some offcut, with its centring of lead characters from the films. The closing shot shows a burnt and scarred Vader in a bacta tank, giving us our first glimpse of the returning Hayden Christensen, who reprises his role as Anakin. It's no secret that they will fight again in this series, which has attracted some concern that it could undercut the significance of their duel in 1977's A New Hope – again, making the universe feel smaller. A recurring problem with Disney's era of Star Wars spin-off films and TV shows has been that the more gaps they fill in the overarching timeline, the more backstory of big characters that is illuminated, the smaller and less interesting the universe becomes. Whatever the reason for it, this reappraisal is evidently a driver for the latest Disney+ Star Wars show, Obi-Wan Kenobi, a slick six-part series that seeks to explore what happened to the Jedi Master after the harrowing events of 2005's Revenge of the Sith. The show even begins with a recap of the prequels. Obi-Wan is eventually forced into action by episode one's big surprise: the kidnap of a 10-year-old Princess Leia, played with an endearing precociousness by Bird Box's Vivien Lyra Blair. Obi-Wan, who is one of the few people in the galaxy aware of her importance, is approached by her adoptive father Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits reprising his prequel role) to rescue her. This, of course, could simply be a case of millennial nostalgia, although I would say it is also founded on a valid sense of appreciation for movies that – while undeniably flawed in execution – are rich in the kind of cohesion and ideas that Disney's sequel trilogy sorely lacked.

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains details of the first two episodes of Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The Force is not strong with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Which, no matter how much Lawrence of Arabia you mix in with the original Blade Runner, some Matrix and an unseen Home Alone sequel, wilts faster than an orchid under the grueling twin suns of Tatooine. A demise made all the more scorched by the fact that significant swaths of Obi-Wan have a mid-1990s syndication cheapness to them, with slightly better lighting. Debuting a few hours earlier than anticipated on Disney+, the first two episodes of the Ewan McGregor starring miniseries are almost all undiluted nostalgia with no wisdom to impart and not much of a story to tell. Yet, as George Lucas learned the lucrative way, a little bit of Joseph Campbell can be good for the myth but bad for the execution.

Is this the vindication prequel fans have been looking for? For years, George Lucas's Star Wars prequel trilogy has been subjected to derision, cast as the ...

If The Mandalorian sometimes erred on the side of self-conscious spareness and The Book of Boba Fett was more a playful feast of characters, creatures, and action than a well-organized and well-paced story, the first episode of Obi-Wan seems to try for a just-right mix of the two, merging the sense of isolation with a more clear narrative direction. You were once a great Jedi.” In fact, when it comes time for Obi-Wan to reunite with familiar faces, like Luke’s Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton) or Leia’s dad Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), the show actually becomes clunkier and less expressive. It’s probably too much to hope that a saga-centric, legacy-character Star Wars series could ever allow real detective-style detours, but Obi-Wan tracking down a young Leia at least gets him back on a case (albeit one that’s a mystery only to him). Instead, it looks toward Alderaan, where a 10-year-old Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) is already rebelling against her adopted parents, complete with her own sidekick droid, a nonspeaking Batteries Not Included–looking contraption called Lola. She’s soon kidnapped and taken off-planet for the first time in what turns out to be an attempt to lure Obi-Wan out of hiding. Despite being one of the longer episodes of Star Wars TV to date, this feels more like a complete (if obviously serialized) episode than much of Fett. And while none of these shows have really attempted to approximate George Lucas’s maximalism, Chow has a stronger command of quasi-western minimalism than Jon Favreau. But, hello there: Obi-Wan Kenobi is a whole other world of prequel affirmation, bringing back trilogy MVP Ewan McGregor and a number of other prequel actors to star in what is, essentially, a sidelong sequel to Revenge of the Sith. McGregor’s Obi-Wan has more breathing room, and the first chapter of his new story excels when it accumulates silent details and small interactions from his lonely routine. The Grand Inquisitor obviously enjoys speechifying to the citizens of Tatooine — he’s the one who coins the line about tracking a Jedi’s “trail of compassion” — while Reva has her sights set specifically on terrorizing her way toward Obi-Wan for reasons that are as yet unclear but thoroughly irritate her bosses. (The filmmakers were probably aiming for a jumble of imagery showing both their brotherly closeness and tragic outcomes, but I like to imagine Obi-Wan still wakes up in a cold sweat over Anakin’s reckless, sick-making pilot moves. Take Nari, for example, the excitable young lightsaber-wielder played by Uncut Gems filmmaker Benny Safdie: He’s mostly there to serve as a cautionary tale as he’s ferreted out by the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and his Jedi-hunting team, including the mysterious Reva (Moses Ingram), who takes her job very seriously. The connection is made explicit from the very first scene of Obi-Wan, which might as well be a particularly elegant deleted scene from Sith. Full-series director Deborah Chow (who helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian, among other big-name TV projects) opens with a previously unseen sequence of clone troopers attacking a Jedi and her youngling students. Yet through a combination of younger fans who grew up on these films and a general thirst for big-canvas fantasy movies with evidence of someone’s, anyone’s, personal sensibility, the trilogy has begun something of a reputational turnaround in recent years.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney Plus, and the six-episode-long series fills in the gaps between the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequels.

The dude looks rough (though better than I would after a decade of hard desert living), and one of the show’s highlights so far has been watching him wrestle with the hard-wired instinct to be a hero. This, it turns out, is all part of the Third Sister’s plot to lure Obi-Wan out of hiding by appealing to his inherent need to help people. Eventually, her propensity for running off gets her in trouble when a gang of outlaws (the leader of whom is played by Flea, the bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers) kidnaps her. She has no interest in the royal life, though, and spends most of her time shirking responsibilities to play with a cute droid named Lola in the woods. You don’t have to worry about midi-chlorians or Watto. All that matters is the tumultuous and tragic relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin. After the recap, the show then shifts to the tragedy at the Jedi Temple so that you remember why Obi-Wan is hiding. And for the first two episodes, at least, it works — Obi-Wan is playing the hits, reminding me why I actually care about Star Wars to begin with.

Fun character dynamics, solid motivations, and Prequel nostalgia make the Obi-Wan Kenobi series a Star Wars treat.

And while this show’s budget clearly pales a bit in comparison to even the Prequel flashbacks, Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s inventive embrace of the Star Wars spirit leaves me ready for more. (Shoutout to Temuera Morrison as the down-on-his-luck clone.) Blair’s impeccable delivery (“Where’s the army?”) makes her a more-than-worthy addition to the Star Wars slate, too. Bail suggests that Obi-Wan’s vigil on Tatooine isn’t about Luke at all, but about Obi-Wan’s feelings of having failed to save Anakin. As much as hiding from the Empire is a practical move, it’s also a way for Obi-Wan to run from what he sees as his mistake. “Part II” is full of fun action, including bounty hunters inspired by the Original Trilogy, such as 1-JAC, the droid modeled after 4-LOM, and the big-headed dinosaur guy who might as well be a puppet from Return of the Jedi. While some of the action feels floaty and like very obvious wire work, Ingram’s Third Sister is firmly established as a juggernaut, and her aggression contrasts nicely with the other Inquisitors’ more alien, patient menace. As the Inquisitors say, a Jedi’s “compassion leaves a trail” in a way that tends to make Obi-Wan’s life harder. Instead of inventing a change of heart for the main character like The Book of Boba Fett‘s Tusken arc did, Obi-Wan Kenobi draws directly from the Prequels, using 20 years of history to tell a story with a clear through-line. A glimpse at Christensen as the heavily scarred Vader at the end of the second episodes promises a long-awaited confrontation to come. Even in this time period, not all is well in the house of Alderaan. Pirates working for the Inquisitors capture Leia, so Bail sends a distress call to Obi-Wan. Despite not wanting to raise his head above the sand, Obi-Wan does follow the princess’ trail to a seedy city on the planet Daiyu. It’s there, in “Part II,” that the series gets up to speed, with faster-paced storytelling and some remarkable one-off characters. McGregor utterly sells Obi-Wan as both kind and haunted, playing a mix between his own Prequel adaptation of the character and Sir Alec Guinness’ original performance. While Luke (played by Grant Feely) is just a glimpse from afar, the show delights in showing Alderaan royal life in detail (including the return of Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa). Little Leia is headstrong, precocious, and clearly adores her parents, all of which endears — and reminds us, tragically, that Alderaan has about another decade of existence left. With the sort of cast reunion the Sequel Trilogy provided for the children of the ’80s, McGregor and Hayden Christensen are poised to stoke the same fervor for fans who grew up in the early 2000s. Obi-Wan is also feeling lost in regards to his dead mentor, Qui-Gon, who refuses to talk to him from beyond the grave despite Obi-Wan training to speak to Jedi ghosts.

The acting's better than the prequels (although it was a low bar), the Daiyu mission's a Blade Runner-channelling joy and Disney have nailed the Inquisitors ...

And who are the people he sent Obi-Wan to meet? As the old Jedi, not in fighting shape, had no choice but to get stuck in against much younger opposition, while taking care of a slightly annoying youngster, I was once again reminded of a cowboy movie, this time perhaps True Grit. To the episode proper, and we returned to the Jedi Temple during the events of Order 66. A quick jump 10 years in the future, and two shots of cold exposition from the barman later (Yes, people watching who haven’t seen Star Wars Rebels, those people with the strange hats are Inquisitors, and they hunt Jedi), we were reunited with Nari, one of the five escapers. Not to damn the whole thing with the faintest of praise, but this is his best Star Wars performance yet. Welcome to the first of our Obi-Wan Kenobi episode recaps.

How do you keep up the suspense in a story, when the audience already pretty much knows how it ends?

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

The episodes were released days after the mass shooting that killed 21 at an elementary school in the Texas town.

In deleted scenes that have since been leaked online, Monica and Chandler get detained at an airport after Chandler makes a joke about a bomb on the plane. Some fans of the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary took to Twitter in the wake of the tragedy to request that a school-shooting episode be written, which was quickly shut down by the show’s creator and lead Quinta Brunson. “people are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they've elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment,’” she tweeted. “I can't ask ‘are yall ok"’ anymore because the answer is ‘no.’ ”

We are in an era of increasing reliance on familiarity to sell new movies and TV shows. “Remember how much you loved this!?!? Please love it again!

Explore this universe (and, to be fair, the second episode does a little of that setting shifting and yet still comes back to a few "High Noon" stand-offs in the street.) On the one hand, the ensemble is up for the challenge of telling a new story instead of just a familiar one. Everything changes for Obi-Wan when Leia Organa ( Vivien Lyra Blair) is kidnapped from her home planet of Alderaan by a group of bounty hunters (that includes Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers!) Leia’s guardians—Breha ( Simone Kessell) and Bail Organa ( Jimmy Smits)—reach out to Obi-Wan and ask him to track down the missing child. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” opens ten years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” Kenobi ( Ewan McGregor) is basically in hiding on Tatooine, keeping an eye on young Luke from a distance, while Jedis are hunted around the galaxy under Order 66. Please love it again!” The Disney+ Marvel and Star Wars shows have been criticized as fan service before but the two-part premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” struggles more than any other property to date to develop its own personality outside of the two famous trilogies it seeks to connect (and even a hit Disney+ Star Wars show in its protector/child dynamic). However, this is a case wherein reviewing a show like director Deborah Chow and showrunner Joby Harold’s blockbuster series after only two episodes is almost impossible. One hopes that the first two episodes have gotten the callbacks out of the way and that the program will develop its own personality now, but there’s little evidence here that this will actually happen.

With a promise to reunite Kenobi with the Sith Lord Darth Vader, and introducing Vader's Inquisitorius into live action, fans are in for a thrilling story. The ...

The first two episodes are now streaming, with subsequent installments of the six-episode season premiering every Wednesday in June. - Get a refresher on the history of the character withObi-101 Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new limited series set between the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope, has arrived on Disney+! With a promise to reunite Kenobi with the Sith Lord Darth Vader, and introducing Vader’s Inquisitorius into live action, fans are in for a thrilling story.

InIn Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi Master Yoda tells Luke Skywalker not to judge others based on appearances, which is a little rich coming from ...

The Mandalorian set the example for a huge first episode reveal in Star Wars TV — something the Western monthly-publishing comics industry has embraced as simply the best way to start a serial story — and also did so by introducing a tiny version of a character from the original trilogy. It boggles the mind that Lucasfilm and Disney teased Luke’s appearance in Obi-Wan rather than Leia’s. Unless, of course, they thought the audience was more interested in Luke for … some reason … It’s not the only way that Obi-Wan, or at least the first two episodes of it, commits to showing instead of telling. In the first episode of its two episode premiere, Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals that it is something significantly different. Blair’s delivery alternates smoothly between age-appropriate naïveté and the sureness of the leader of a hard-core national student protest movement — which is, of course, what her character will essentially be in just a few years. After the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi, viewers might be feeling a similar mix of emotions.

The new 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' series features a couple of hilariously unconvincing chase scenes.

How hard is it to deliver a solid chase scene in an adrenaline-packed space opera? This is the first time we’ve seen spent any significant time with young Leia, and she’s as whip-smart and sassy as her adult self. The first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi shines a light on young Princess Leia, played by Lyra Blair, giving fans a glimpse of her life on Alderaan, which is doomed to be incinerated by the Death Star in the original trilogy.

How do you keep up the suspense in a story, when the audience already pretty much knows how it ends?

Star Wars fans may still fall in love with a show that returns to a beloved fictional universe to tell an exciting new chapter. (Another bit of stunt casting, using the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea as a thuggish kidnapper, didn't work quite so well.) Even though he looks like he'd gleefully squash any being on Tatooine dumb enough to get in his way, The Grand Inquisitor constantly heckles Sevander for being too impulsive and harsh. And don't get me started on how the Jedi Knights' robes, spirituality and lightsabers all feel like they were originally lifted from Asian culture without including many Asian characters. But when Sevander threatens Owen's life and the lives of his family, promising to kill them all if the community doesn't reveal where Kenobi is, we know that's not going to happen. Some of the mistakes are small.