Obi-Wan Kenobi

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.

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 Inquisitors just want to do a good job like everyone else. It's just a lot harder when the guy who signs your paychecks is a hate-filled cyborg behemoth ...

Ewan McGregor is stepping back into the role of Obi-wan Kenobi for his own miniseries too. There's a lot to learn about the iconic Jedi Master.

When Luke finds R2-D2 and discovers a message on it destined for an "Obi-Wan Kenobi," Luke pays a visit to the only Kenobi he knows, the old man in the desert. Obi-Wan gives the girl, Leia, to Bail Organa on Alderaan and takes the boy, Luke, to his aunt and uncle on Tatooine to keep them safe. When Anakin’s hubris leads to a mistake in judgment, Kenobi slices off his limbs, sending him sliding down to the lava’s edge. Despite the sacred Jedi code of non-attachment, Obi-Wan wished Anakin the happiness he had been denied. To save Palpatine, Anakin attacks his own superior, embracing the dark side and becoming Darth Vader. Meanwhile, the Jedi Council, including Yoda, are hesitant to believe Kenobi’s claims about a Sith Lord in the Senate. Armed with plans for a new weapon, the Death Star, he meets with his master, Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), and the two agree that things are going well. In 2002’s Attack of The Clones, Obi-Wan finds that a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) has been hired as the template for the clone army. Jinn is adamant and makes Obi-Wan promise to train Anakin with his dying breath. Queen and now Senator Amidala narrowly survives an assassination attempt, and Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi is assigned to track her would-be killer. As he's watching over a young Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely), the Empire sets their sights on Kenobi, and he's off to go on another adventure. Fans of the Star Wars franchise have overwhelmingly pined for an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off.

Star Wars: Obi Wan Kenobi reviews are here. So what are critics and fans saying about the Disney Plus series?

In what seems to be some rare negative reception, Deadline (opens in new tab) was not singing Obi-Wan Kenobi's praises. It’s going to occupy a very, very special place in the Star Wars pantheon. Radio Times (opens in new tab) took a slightly more novel approach, live blogging its reaction to the first episodes as they were being watched. CNET (opens in new tab) was especially positive about how Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't overly focused on Tatooine — a trap Star Wars has fallen into recently. I really enjoyed it in ways that I wasn’t expecting.Some big character moments and surprising plot lines drive it to set up a really intriguing start. The sorrow of the galaxy is center stage and felt everywhere. Comic Book (opens in new tab) has been a little more mixed in its review. The Independent's (opens in new tab) review is just as positive, pointing out that Obi-Wan Kenobi's self-contained story gives it "more purpose" than other Star Wars shows. We're seeing a trend here, as Metro (opens in new tab) gives Obi-Wan Kenobi another warm review — and a 4/5 score. The paper praises McGregor's return to the role, noting that it feels as though he never actually left. In a surprising move, Disney seemingly didn’t release Obi-Wan screeners to the press. Disney dropped the first two episodes of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus this morning.

"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.

The revelation that Princess Leia knew Obi-Wan Kenobi as a little kid is surprising. But this Star Wars canon twist doesn't create plot hole.

But, for the most part, the narrative focus of A New Hope is on Luke. What Obi-Wan Kenobi does is shift that narrative focus not only to Ben himself but also, to Luke’s sister. The new revelation that Leia was buddies with Obi-Wan when she was a kid isn’t just some cool canon twist. It also adds a tragic layer to everything that happens on the Death Star in A New Hope. Leia doesn’t get to reunite with Obi-Wan, and instead, just before escaping with Han and Luke, she sees him killed. However, when Luke breaks Leia out of her cell in the Death Star, he says “I’m here with Ben Kenobi,” and Leia doesn’t miss a beat. Leia is too smart to say “years ago, you rescued me from bounty hunters when I was a little kid.” Even after the fact, keeping Obi-Wan’s activities relatively secret, is still important. This is all an elaborate trap set by Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram) to capture Obi-Wan and bring him to Vader. However, it also establishes a relationship between Ben and Leia, which, prior to now, we never knew existed.

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.

Ewan McGregor is in top form as a broken and defeated Jedi facing a thrilling new adventure on Disney Plus.

Taking place between the end of Revenge of the Sith and the beginning of A New Hope, it's both a prequel and a sequel to a prequel. The story cleverly strips this beloved character back to a shell, and in the hands of an actor as good as Ewan McGregor it's a moving journey to watch. Where that borrowed from samurai classic Lone Wolf and Cub, the Obi-Wan series recalls Luc Besson's 1994 hitman classic Leon: The Professional. Which is surely deliberate, given that film starred Natalie Portman just a few years before she became the key character in the Star Wars prequels. But more than any recent Star Wars shows, it's built from Star Wars at its best (the original film) and Star Wars at its worst (the overblown, computer-effects-blighted prequel trilogy). And it follows the stodgy Book of Boba Fett, another tale of a familiar Star Wars mainstay which undid some of the goodwill around streaming hit The Mandalorian. It features Proper Movie Star Ewan McGregor wielding both a beard and a lightsaber, and focuses on one of the most engaging characters in the whole Star Wars saga. Obi-Wan Kenobi (the show) is an assured, pacey and exciting new series that knows just how to use familiar elements -- and, crucially, how to hold some back -- in a story that is, most importantly, character-driven.

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.

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.

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.

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 children who saw and loved the Phantom Menace have now grown up, and their feelings towards the prequel movies are different to those of the grouchy Gen ...

“I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me.” As Hayden Christensen commented recently, “I guess the moral of the story is patience.” And their feelings towards the prequel movies are very different to those of the grouchy Gen Xers who piled in the first time around. As Star Wars followers across the world tune in to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Millennials and Gen Zers will hope, then, that the series stokes the same wonder they felt watching the prequel trilogy as kids. The journalist then moved on to Jar Jar Binks and concerns within the Star Wars camp over his “annoying dialogue”. Instead, older fans of the franchise felt they had permission to be as ugly as they wanted about everyone involved in Lucas’ universe. Rather than stand behind Tran and her character, they quietly sidelined Rose in the next Star Wars feature. They grumbled about Lloyd’s performance and about Jar Jar Binks and his Barney the Dinosaur routine. For the first time, it is backing an actor, rather than giving in to the haters. They were largely fine with McGregor. The object of their derision was Christensen, a Canadian one-time soap star with boy-band good looks and a low-key acting style. He was not alone in feeling the wrath of fans. And it has fed the misogyny that bubbles up whenever the BBC casts anyone other than a white middle-aged man as Doctor Who.

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.

The Grand Inquisitor death in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 might have made Rebels non-canon.

Once the dust has settled, the Grand Inquisitor could be back on his feet – and on a one-way trip to appearing in Star Wars: Rebels. If not? Another wrote (opens in new tab), "He's alive in Rebels so.....what? I'm so confused." one viewer asked (opens in new tab), probably not without justification.

The comedian makes a memorable appearance in the new Star Wars series, 'Obi-Wan Kenobi.' Kumail Nanjiani plays Haja Estree in Episode 2 of the Disney+ show.

Unless Ben returns to Daiyu in a later episode, we probably won’t see Haja again in Obi-Wan Kenobi. It seems like his character arc was fully rendered by the start and end of Episode 2. The last we see of him is near the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2 after the Inquisitor read his mind in Daiyu. While that experience may have been jarring for Haja, we doubt it will stop him from continuing his Jedi con. It sounds like he’s found a lucrative way to help people, and it seems like it would take more than an alleyway confrontation to sway him from the grift. But before Ben even begins to threaten to out this deceitful business, Haja agrees to help Ben find Leia, and Ben has little choice but to trust the grifter. His appearance makes quite the impression, adding levity to a pretty dark show that follows the Galatic Empire’s Inquisitors hunting down and murdering Jedi. We break down Nanjiani’s new Star Wars character and his surprising twist at the end of Episode 2. Played by Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani, Haja Estree is a new addition to the Star Wars universe.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For Luke, it saw him abandon his duty. And in Disney Plus' new Obi-Wan Kenobi show, we see Ewan McGregor shoulder the devastating toll of living through ...

It’s layered and weighted, paving well-plotted pathways for what could be a very satisfying journey for the last(ish) Jedi. While not as accomplished in the action department as The Mandalorian, and (maybe) killing off one of its best characters a few episodes too soon, it’s already well on the way to telling one of the galaxy’s most well-balanced stories. 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. 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. 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. But while vital to the journey, the ongoing hunt for the final surviving Jedi is just the broad picture. 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.

Disney Plus' latest Star Wars spin-off arrives with a somewhat surprising appearance from a certain princess.

And hey, the episode ends with Obi-Wan learning from Reva that Vader is indeed still alive, and we get a hard cut to a wrinkled and roasted Anakin floating in a tub with a breathing mask on. Extremely precocious and cute, like a Star Wars version of Anya from Spy X Family, and I like that her precociousness actually becomes a problem for Obi-Wan when she immediately figures out that he’s a Jedi and that the bad guys are coming after her to get to him. The good news is that the second episode is a lot more interesting and exciting than the first one, with Obi-Wan using the Game Boy Advance he stashed in his secret Jedi box to track Leia to Los Angeles from Blade Runner, or at least the Star Wars version of it. This is where the show runs into a bunch of Star Wars canon problems that it just creates for itself out of a desire to give Obi-Wan something to do beyond sit in a desert until the events of the original movie. Obi-Wan initially refuses, but after seeing Nari dead and strung up in the middle of town he gives in and agrees to break his oath to keep an eye on Luke so he can go save Leia. “The time of the Jedi is over, he says.” But, like Reva said, he’ll have to scratch that itch eventually.

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

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Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi · Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker · Moses Ingram as Reva/The Third Sister · Vivien Lyra Blair as Princess Leia ...

The Jedi in the Order 66 scene is a new character named Minas Velti, played by Ming Qiu, who is best known as a stunt performer. It’s so nice to see Jimmy Smits back as Bail Organa. Smits first played the role in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith before reprising the role for Rogue One in 2016. You also know Nanjiani as Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals, but he’s popped up in tons of other nerdy things, including in the revival of The X-Files, a show he loves so much he even hosts a podcast about it. If you want to check out Edgerton in one of his best non-Star Wars roles, watch the 2017 psychological horror movie It Comes at Night. Sung Kang has a new family in Obi-Wan Kenobi, one even more dysfunctional than the one at the center of the other massive franchise adorning his filmography. Outside of Star Wars, Smits is best known for his TV roles in hit shows such as LA Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, and Sons of Anarchy. But it would be a shame not to get more of Friend’s menacing performance as the leader of the Inquisitors. While he’s almost unrecognizable under all that makeup, you’ve likely seen Friend plenty of times outside of Star Wars. He was regular on political thriller series Homeland, co-starred in Willem Dafoe vehicle At Eternity’s Gate, and just starred in Anatomy of a Scandal. Leia is played by the adorable Vivien Lyra Blair, who most recently played little Eleanor Roosevelt in the Apple series The First Lady. She’ll next appear in the adaptation of Stephen King short story The Boogeyman. Moses Ingram is an absolute powerhouse as the ruthless Reva, an Imperial Inquisitor who isn’t afraid to undermine and stab her own boss to get what she wants. He’s only on screen for about a minute, but yes, that’s little Luke running around the Lars homestead while Uncle Owen tries to teach him how to farm. In the latter two Prequels, he plays Anakin Skywalker, the conflicted young Jedi Knight who is destined to become the evil Darth Vader. Much has been said about his performance in those movies already, so we went dwell on it further here. Obi-Wan Kenobi brings back Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their iconic Star Wars roles, but the show also boasts a very strong ensemble cast beyond its central stars.

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.

UPDATED with Disney statement: Similarities between a horrible mass shooting at a Texas elementary school this week and a Jedi school massacre in Disney+'s ...

“In light of recent tragic events, we recognize there are certain scenes in this fictional series that some viewers may find upsetting and a content warning has been added to the show page,” a Disney spokesperson told Deadline today. The much-anticipated series dropped its first two episodes late Thursday, almost three days after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The inclusion of the warning comes one day after rolling out Obi-Wan at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim.

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.

Obi-Wan Kenobi starts off with a strong series premiere with Ewan McGregor fully dialed in as the exiled Jedi dealing with the trauma of the Clone Wars.

McGregor was so universally beloved for his take on Obi-Wan that it was just a win seeing him back in the role. This was a powerful scene and further bridges the Sith Obi-Wan with the New Hope Obi-Wan, who twists facts to pit Luke against his father. McGregor largely got to be the dashing hero in the prequel trilogy and this series is calling on him to show the world-weary, broken hero trying to get his mojo back. Their leader is acting on orders from Reva, who shrewdly deduces kidnapping the daughter of Obi-Wan’s friend will lure him out of hiding. It shows how merciless this opening salvo against the Jedi was and the trauma it left behind. We see another perspective from the Order 66 attack on the Jedi Temple. It’s a blisteringly intense scene.

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.

Disney+ has added a content warning to the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi following the tragic and horrific Texas school shooting in Uvalde that says ...

"In light of recent tragic events, we recognize there are certain scenes in this fictional series that some viewers may find upsetting and a content warning has been added to the show page,” a Disney spokesperson told Deadline today. There is no warning before the episode airs, and it only can be seen by going specifically to the details tab of the episode. Have a tip for us?

For too long — and probably still — Star Wars has been unable to quit Luke Skywalker. The hero of George Lucas' original films, portrayed by Mark Hamill, was a ...

As of the end of episode 2, Obi-Wan is driven by a new purpose: To once again face Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), either to appeal to any lingering good in him or battle him now, as Darth Vader. In episode 1 we see Obi-Wan almost fail to give in to that compulsion, telling the Organas that he must stay on Tatooine instead of going after Leia’s kidnappers. A de-aged Hamill (action performed by Max Lloyd-Jones) was a pleasant surprise in “The Mandalorian” Season 2, but overwrought when he became the ostensible purpose of “The Book of Boba Fett.” There’s an unshakeable but not overpowering awareness that this character is emotionally manipulating viewers, but she’s cheeky and charming and pairs nicely with McGregor’s Obi-Wan at this specific moment in his life — and look at that little braided bun, come on. After one scene in which Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) spies on him from afar, child Luke is seen no more. About 23 minutes into the premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” an old Star Wars friend shows up.

Bloodless violence has been a part of the Star Wars franchise since Grand Moff Tarkin showed off the might of the Death Star by turning Alderaan into space ...

A Disney rep also told Entertainment Weekly that the company is “also working to add an advisory in front of the series as quickly as possible.” This, coming as the nation is still in collective shock from the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, caused a bit of an understandable stir for a family-friendly television event. But as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the newest series from that galaxy far, far away made its debut this week on Disney+ and at Anaheim’s Star Wars Celebration pep rally, the timing wasn’t so hot for the first episode’s initial scene.

... but again the vocal minority roars, insisting the prequels aren't true to the original trilogy set in the space wizard political opera. But that's simply not true, because without the prequel trilogy, we probably wouldn't have Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It’s a nice reminder that this franchise is for absolutely anybody anywhere, that’s the whole point of being a franchise. Focusing on such an important character — in a time right between the two most consequential points in the Star Wars timeline (excluding High and Old Republic stuff because that’s its own monster) — allows director Deborah Chow to tell a story that welcomes newcomers and embraces returning fans. Some might scoff at the idea of a mini-series centered on a specific legacy character being a good entry point for newcomers, but Kenobi puts itself at a fairly nice advantage. But if Anakin Skywalker being Darth Vader is much of a surprise to anyone nowadays, that’s okay because it is to Obi-Wan too. A similar childhood vacationing in the galaxy far, far away, but a vocal distaste for the mediocre return to that galaxy and anyone who enjoyed the ride. Fans rush to theaters in droves on opening night, returning over and over to support the return of a franchise that just a little over twenty years ago engaged their childlike wonder. The recap serves as an occasional flashback for Obi-Wan, a traumatic nightmare of his past. The return of Ewan McGregor as Kenobi shows that Obi-Wan Kenobi acknowledges its legacy from the jump. The prequels, once the disdain of most, has now become the cult favorite of many — particularly the third and final film, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. An epic, tragic conclusion with a title that serves as a dark reflection of the original trilogy’s final chapter. Suddenly a mentor-type character has evolved into a lead, and one of the most beloved figures in Star Wars history. Fast forward to the better half of two decades and history repeats itself. All was worth it to be among the first to see Luke’s adventure come to a triumphant conclusion (for now).

Disney+ is the latest streaming service to add a warning label to some of its content in the wake of a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

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Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi shows its appreciation for the prequel trilogy in a number of ways.

Even stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen have rewatched those films through the eyes of fans, and their enthusiasm in honoring the prequels through Obi-Wan Kenobi absolutely shows. Obi-Wan’s nightmares are told through scenes from the prequels, both as we the audience have viewed them and as the character of Obi-Wan witnessed them. But the most direct ties to the prequels come in the form of actual footage repurposed as flashbacks that showcase Obi-Wan’s past traumas. But when Anakin is seduced by the Dark Side through Palpatine aka Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), Obi-Wan is forced to fight him, leading to the dissolution of their brotherhood. It was on that show that Chow started her professional career as a Star Wars director, which made her the perfect fit to head the new series, bridging the gap between the prequels and the original trilogy, specifically through the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi. After watching his master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) die at the hands of Darth Maul (Ray Park), Obi-Wan is tasked to train the boy (then played by Jake Lloyd) as a Jedi. Throughout the series, their older/younger brother relationship is explored through their quippy banter and friendly competition on their missions.

Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair form a fun double act as a broken Jedi faces a pacey new adventure on Disney Plus.

Taking place between the end of Revenge of the Sith and the beginning of A New Hope, it's both a prequel and a sequel to a prequel. The story cleverly strips this beloved character back to a shell, and in the hands of an actor as good as Ewan McGregor it's a moving journey to watch. The interplay between McGregor and feisty Vivien Lyra Blair are a lot of fun as the opening episodes set up the show along similar lines to The Mandalorian, in which our tough hero took Baby Yoda under his wing. But more than any recent Star Wars shows, it's built from Star Wars at its best (the original film) and Star Wars at its worst (the overblown, computer-effects-blighted prequel trilogy). And it follows the stodgy Book of Boba Fett, another tale of a familiar Star Wars mainstay which undid some of the goodwill around streaming hit The Mandalorian. It features Proper Movie Star Ewan McGregor wielding both a beard and a lightsaber, and focuses on one of the most engaging characters in the whole Star Wars saga. Obi-Wan Kenobi (the show) is an assured, pacey and exciting new series with a great cast, from creators who know how to use familiar elements -- and, crucially, how to hold some back -- in a story that is, most importantly, character-driven.