For Star Wars fans of all ages, the excitement over the release of the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most unifying focuses of the fandom. After Ewan McGregor’s exemplary debut during The Phantom Menace, the popularity grew quickly from the distanced and jaded Obi-Wan in the original trilogy to one of the most iconic and well-received characters in the prequels. With appearances in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels giving further depth to the story, and even the ending of Obi-Wan’s arch-nemesis Darth Maul, some may have assumed that we had seen everything there was to see. Fortunately, Lucasfilm has continued to add some depth to his story, with returning characters such as Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader, and the chilling Grand Inquisitor, we can tell that Obi-Wan’s story is far from over.

Editor’s Note: This piece was last updated on May 5 to add the latest trailer.

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Image via 20th Century Studios

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When Is the Release Date of Obi-Wan Kenobi?

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Image via Lucasfilm

The miniseries is set to debut on May 27, 2022, on Disney+ in the United States. The show was originally set to premiere on May 25. If you thought that date reminded you of something important, you would be right. May 25 will be the 45th anniversary of the release of A New Hope and continues the legacy of building upon the character's original storyline. Fortunately for the international audience, Obi-Wan appears to be releasing worldwide on the same day, so everyone will be able to enjoy it at the same time.

When Are New Episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi Releasing?

So far the exact length of the six-part series is not fully known, but we do know that it will be released weekly on each Friday following May 25, and running through April 29, 2022. Each of the six-part series is supposed to be around 45 minutes in length, but some episodes may be up to an hour and 20 minutes based on rumors. Either way, the result should be an additional 4.5 hours of Star Wars content. As the original plan for the miniseries was for it to be in a movie format, fans can be thankful that we are likely receiving a few extra hours' worth of content.

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Watch the Obi-Wan Kenobi Trailers

So far we have received a few tantalizing looks at the upcoming series. The first has some commentary on the upcoming series from Ewan McGregor himself and the series director Deborah Chow. Chow also worked on a few episodes in the first season of The Mandalorian and explains where we see the character begin. McGregor's comments on the casting of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, and even implies that we may get a chance to see them fight before Obi-Wan’s sacrifice on the first Death Star.

The second glimpse we got was a short teaser trailer released by Disney on March 9, 2022. Again we see that Obi-Wan seems to have given up, but in this trailer, we get the return of composer John Williams with "The Duel of the Fates" and some of his other iconic Star Wars pieces. We also get our first look at the series' villains with the new Inquisitor Reva being shown alongside the Fifth Brother, the Grand Inquisitor, and even the infamous breathing of Vader himself. This trailer sets up the show for tons of great action, and plenty of familiar faces that we have already seen in shows like Star Wars Rebels and the game Star Wars: Fallen Order. Most recently, we got another new trailer on Star Wars Day (May 4) 2022 with a first look at Kumail Nanjiani's character.

Who Is in the Cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Obi-Wan Kenobi would have a star cast even if it stopped at Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. Luckily, the regular season cast is stacked with other talented cast members. Rupert Friend will be in all six episodes of the miniseries as the Grand Inquisitor. Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse will be returning to the Star Wars universe to reprise their roles as Owen and Beru Lars respectively, and they will be in all six episodes as well. Moses Ingram will be debuting as the new Inquisitor Reva and will be joined by Sung Kang as the Fifth brother, rounding out most of the regular season Inquisitors.

It should be mentioned that Kumail Nanjiani, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Maya Erskine, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. are all listed as season regulars appearing in all six episodes of the miniseries. It seems that the creators are keeping their exact roles hidden as much as possible, so hopefully, some future trailers may give us a clue about their identities. There have been some rumors such as a yet unnamed droid may be played by Kumail Nanjiani, which would follow Lucasfilm’s trend of casting comedians as droids in recent Star Wars projects.

We do know of a few guest characters that will be in Kenobi’s journey. Marisé Álvarez will be playing the mysterious Nyche. Indira Varma will be playing an Imperial officer named Tia as seen in the teaser trailer. Finally, we will be getting a glimpse into the life of the young Luke Skywalker portrayed by Grant Feely. While Luke may have started appearing in many of the other projects frequently, he will only be in a single episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Related:10 Things From The Obi-Wan Kenobi Trailer Star Wars Fans Are Geeking Out Over

What Is Obi-Wan Kenobi About?

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Image via Lucasfilm

We do have a sense of where most of the characters used during the miniseries will end up eventually, so it seems that this series is filling in some gaps for how the Inquisitors operated, and what exactly Obi-Wan was doing during his exile to the desert wasteland of Tatooine.

For those looking forward to seeing a Maul vs Obi-Wan rematch, I would highly recommend you go watch the excellent animated series Star Wars Rebels made by the same writer who helped with The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Dave Filoni. This narrative seems to be giving additional background to how the empire formed the Inquisitor movement. All the Inquisitors will be in every single one of the episodes, as will Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Additionally, several of the scenes in the trailer show the Fortress Inquisitorius (subtle, right?) on the moon Nur. The scenes seem to show the interior of the fortress before Cal Kestis’s fateful arrival as seen in Star Wars: Fallen Order.

While the show is primarily set on the desert planet we all know and love, you may have noticed a new location during the trailer. That new planet with the “Hong Kong” feel is the planet Daiyu. Not much is known about the planet yet, or what draws Obi-Wan there, but several cutscenes are shown about it. It is also a welcome break from Tatooine as recent Star Wars projects have spent a lot of time there.

How Do Other Star Wars Projects Connect to Obi-Wan Kenobi?

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Image via Lucasfilm

Obi-Wan Kenobi is at the crossroads of so many projects in the Star Wars universe. Aside from some of the previously mentioned ones, we know that the show is set before series such as Andor and Rebels. The new video game Star Wars: Fallen Order 2 could easily have connections to the series as well, with connections to the first game seeming plentiful, and we have even had snippets of Fallen Order in The Book of Boba Fett.

The new Star Wars series is at an important point in the new Imperial Expansion period, and with only the new second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch coming up anywhere close to the chronological timeline of Kenobi, it may seem like we can’t be taken by surprise by the series. After recent successes of other series, we can't be sure where this series is headed but it is certain to be an epic saga for everyone to enjoy.