There are a bunch of continuity errors between the original trilogy and the prequels, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is the source of many of them. From his lies about Luke’s parentage, to the fact that he’s wearing his Jedi robes when in hiding, a lot of things don’t make sense about the Jedi Master. 45 years on, however, and he’s about to get his own Star Wars spinoff, which allows for the franchise to finally iron out the character’s creases.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, screenwriter Joby Harold outlined his big mission statement for Obi-Wan Kenobi — to bridge the gap between Ewan McGregor’s version from the prequels, with Alec Guinness’ interpretation from A New Hope. Harold particularly wanted to explain how Kenobi’s personality and temperament change so much during his time living as a hermit on Tatooine, including how he becomes much more “zen.”
“When we last saw Obi-Wan in the prequels, he’s very emotional,” Harold said. “There’s a passion to him. And when we get to see him again in A New Hope, he is the Zen master. That was the story that I wanted to understand — what had happened to Obi-Wan between the guy that Ewan had brought to life and the guy that Sir Alec Guinness brought to life.”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Harold described McGregor’s post-Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan as a “broken man” who is ridden with guilt over the downfall of his former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, and the rise of Darth Vader. With Hayden Christensen also returning for the series, it seems like another confrontation with Vader will actually help Kenobi come to terms with his regret, and aid him in evolving into the Ben Kenobi who aids Luke in Episode IV.
Kathleen Kennedy also told EW that she wanted Obi-Wan Kenobi to be a “hopeful, uplifting story,” which is the reason for the creative changeup that saw original showrunner Hossein Amini replaced by Harold. There’s the potential for a dark spin on Obi-Wan, then, but this series will instead focus on the character letting go of that darkness. It sounds like we’re in for a strong story arc when the six-part limited run unfolds on Disney Plus, starting May 25.