Top 10 Things We Want to See in the Obi-Wan Series

With Order 66 and Palpatine’s successful government takeover, the Galactic Republic died and the Galactic Empire was born. It was a fairly decisive victory for Palpatine and his supporters, but as we see when the original trilogy kicks off, a dedicated resistance continues to fight against this tyrannical government in the form of the Rebel Alliance. The “Star Wars Rebels” TV series does a pretty good job of fleshing out this period of time and exploring how various resistance cells came together. But seeing bits and pieces of this in a live-action format would help put Obi-Wan’s story in a wider galactic context, even if he isn’t directly involved.

With time, fans have largely come to embrace the prequel trilogy, despite the many faults and questionable creative choices. One of the elements that remains hardest to swallow whenever revisiting these films, however, is the dialogue. There are many lists dedicated to ranking the most memorably awful lines delivered by various characters. Ewan McGregor was arguably among the best casting choices made for the prequel trilogy, but he was obviously fighting an uphill battle in terms of the material he was given to work with. Considering what the character has now been through, we expect a soberer Obi-Wan Kenobi by the time we catch up with him. Hopefully, he’ll be armed with dialogue worthy of an actor of McGregor’s caliber.

We have high hopes for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. With its more than capable lead - and what we can only imagine will be a sizable budget - it has the makings of a truly great addition to the “Star Wars” canon. Here’s the thing though… while Obi-Wan seemingly spent decades in seclusion, we’d prefer that this series be kept short and to the point. This should be a personal and reflective journey for the Jedi-in-hiding. Dragging it out with multiple seasons (which is tempting should it prove a hit) feels like it would be a disservice to the character and the logic of the universe. In an ideal world, this will be a miniseries with a satisfying and a definite conclusion.

If you’ll recall, the Jedi Council was very resistant to the idea of Qui-Gon Jinn taking on Anakin Skywalker as an apprentice due to the boy’s age. Jedi begin training when they’re very young to avoid worldly attachment. Qui-Gon was insistent, however, and when he passed on, his dying concern was that Obi-Wan train Anakin. That’s a lot of pressure and considering the atrocities that Anakin would go on to commit after his fall to the dark side, we can only imagine that the fate of his apprentice weighs heavy on Obi-Wan’s mind. We’d like to see this reflection play a significant role in Obi-Wan’s personal journey.

As we’ve previously mentioned, we’d really like for the Obi-Wan series to serve as a concise and insightful look into the exiled Jedi’s experience after the rise of the Empire. With that being said, we think that a great way to tie this story into the larger universe - as well as add some action - would be for the series to employ flashbacks. This narrative technique can feel cheap or downright irritating if handled in a clumsy manner. But… if done right, it could provide deeper insight into the pivotal moments in Obi-Wan’s life than we’ve ever seen before. His life in exile is surely one of contemplation. Here’s hoping we get a front-row seat inside his mind.

How’s a middle-aged Jedi living in isolation and trying to avoid detection by the Galactic Empire supposed to fill his days? We’re guessing a lot of meditation! But the whole reason that Obi-Wan settled on Tatooine was to keep an eye on Anakin Skywalker’s young son, Luke. Given that we see these two meet for the first time in “A New Hope,” they can’t interact, but Obi-Wan could interact with the Lars family. What we’d most like to see is Obi-Wan serving as Luke’s guardian angel, saving him from youthful perils as the boy explores Tatooine without ever even realizing that Obi-Wan is watching over him or intervening. This has actually been explored in the comics and we think it could work quite well on-screen.

This kind of goes hand in hand with the earlier argument for keeping it short. If Obi-Wan starts jetting around the galaxy or goes on an endless slew of grand adventures, keeping himself and Luke hidden from the Empire begins to feel far-fetched. Don’t get us wrong, we relish the opportunity to see Obi-Wan use his Jedi abilities to take down some local threats - or just get into a cantina scrap or two. But anything bigger than that (especially off-planet) feels like it’s prioritizing spectacle over realistic world-building. Plus, the prequel trilogy gave us plenty of Obi-Wan action… what we really want from this is a character-driven story.

Before his time was cut short (cut in half), this Sith apprentice was easily among the coolest aspects of the prequel trilogy. Thankfully, the fan-favorite character got a second lease on life in “The Clone Wars” animated series. Over the course of multiple seasons, Maul’s potential as a character was fully realized. Then, in “Star Wars Rebels,” he finally met his fate at the hands of an aging Obi-Wan Kenobi. His story has been told and told well. Sure, a part of us wishes that final confrontation had been saved for this series, but to recreate it feels cheap. If, however, the showrunners can find an organic way to fit him into the story that doesn’t feel redundant or contradictory, we’re all for it.

Not to sound like a broken record… but it’s crucial that the Obi-Wan series not do anything to mess with the logic and chronology of the core films. As such, a confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan feels like a non-starter. With that being said, we think that the Obi-Wan series could show us snippets of events happening off-planet, including Vader’s hunt for the surviving Jedi. And after seeing Vader in action at the end of “Rogue One,” we’re desperate to see more of the iconic Sith Lord in his prime. His animated appearances in “Star Wars Rebels” are all well and good, but there’s nothing quite like seeing him tear through rebels in a live-action medium.

Though it’s rare and extremely challenging, light side Force users can keep their consciousness alive after the death of the body, surviving as a Force spirit. At the time of his death, Qui-Gon Jinn had been in the process of learning this unique Force ability, but given that his training was incomplete, he was seemingly only able to manifest as a voice, rather than take a physical form like Obi-Wan and Yoda later do with Luke. After his death, however, Qui-Gon Jinn continued to train and eventually learned to fully manifest as a Force ghost. With that in mind, we can’t think of better company for Obi-Wan to keep during his years of solitude on Tatooine!