All six episodes of Star Wars’ latest series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are now available to watch on Disney+. The epic miniseries saw the return of Ewan McGregor in the title role nearly 20 years after he last played the character in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. Also returning is Hayden Christensen, this time more as Darth Vader than Anakin, although he did get an opportunity to play Skywalker in an incredible flashback sequence in Part V. The two had their rematch of the century, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy described it in late 2020 at Disney Investor Day, and Obi-Wan’s character was greatly expanded upon, thus further informing the original trilogy and A New Hope specifically.
Star Wars is currently in the midst of a prequel renaissance of sorts. Projects like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi all include elements (to varying degrees) from the earliest-set trilogy in the main saga. With the sequel trilogy now concluded, the franchise has seemingly returned to the prequel era for fresh ideas and content, especially as the general opinion on the three movies has changed so drastically in the past few years. Before all of this, though, there was the sequel trilogy, consisting of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Although the latest trio of films has seemingly been left to sit for a while as the franchise expands beyond the Skywalker saga, some key themes and ideas remain and have found their way into other Star Wars titles. This is especially true of Obi-Wan Kenobi, as the title character’s emotional journey largely mirrors that of Luke Skywalker’s in the sequel trilogy, particularly in the film The Last Jedi.
To the shock of many at the time, Luke didn’t appear in 2015’s The Force Awakens beyond the final scene, where he looked onwards at Rey but never said a word. This caused immense speculation as to what exactly was going on with Mark Hamill's character. The genius of this decision from JJ Abrams was that it automatically generated buzz and excitement for the next movie. Why the Jedi was on the island planet of Ahch-To, or what happened to him in the years after Return of the Jedi, were questions that were left unanswered until The Last Jedi. Episode VIII was, and still is, extremely divisive to say the least. The film is an attempt to take the franchise in a new, fresh direction, and director Rian Johnson valued twists and turns far more than any other movie set in a galaxy far, far away.
Amidst the shock and awe of certain decisions in his film, Johnson did answer those questions about Luke, revealing that he was isolated on the remote world because of his failure with his former apprentice, Ben Solo. A moment of weakness saw him attempt to murder his nephew, before quickly pulling away, but it was too late at that point. Luke’s temple was gone and, as he says, he was left with shame and immense guilt over his nephew's turn to the Dark Side. The way in which the galaxy returned to a similar state as in the original trilogy, with an Imperial government and Rebels to combat them, was in some ways because of Luke's decision and his failures.
Eventually, as The Last Jedi documents, Luke is able to overcome his demons to help save the Resistance and inspire the next generation of Jedi and Rebels. He is still haunted by the past, clearly, and he seems determined to have Kylo Ren feel the same way by promising to visit him frequently as a Force ghost (something that, strangely enough, never happened in The Rise of Skywalker). However, he put those events to the side on Crait to help his friends and, in doing so, guided young Rey to become the future of the galaxy.
All of this closely resembles what Obi-Wan went through in his new series. Obi-Wan is clearly scarred in the first few episodes of the show. He is haunted by the events of the final film in the prequel trilogy, particularly those of Order 66 and his battle against Anakin on Mustafar. These feelings are compounded by learning that Anakin is still alive, and despite needing to face him once again, Kenobi is eventually able to put those past events to the side in order to save Leia and keep the galaxy’s hope alive. In doing so, he also saves Reva in a way, as the compassion he shows her appears to contribute to her decision to not kill Luke and instead forego her red lightsaber. Obi-Wan’s journey reflects Luke’s, and Rey and Leia mirror each other in that they were both inspired by and saved by the two Jedi.