“Hello there.” Two words spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi that have since become synonymous with the infamous Jedi master of the Star Wars franchise, particularly after Revenge of the Sith. As the memes and quoting began, it seemed that the love for Obi-Wan did as well. Alec Guinness first played the character that personified wisdom and knowledge perfectly, but in recent years, the popularity has grown even more.
Fans are well aware of that history, from Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and Obi-Wan’s force ghost in the latter two outings, as well as Ewan McGregor in the Star Wars prequel films that told the origins of the Jedi, beginning with when he was a Padawan. Disney and Lucasfilm expanded this history even further with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ limited series. As fans know the main events of the life of Kenobi already, this series will help to fill in the gaps in the timeline of this character. Perhaps the only other part of Obi-Wan’s life that isn’t as well known as his appearances in the films, like Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, is the time before The Phantom Menace. In this period, there’s a surprisingly rich history of Obi-Wan prior to prequel trilogy.
Obi-Wan’s home world is Stewjon, a planet that hasn’t been expanded upon much in canon or legends. Kenobi was taken from Stewjon at around the age of three, and found a new home on Coruscant as a Jedi Padawan. Much like Anakin’s journey in The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan was recognized and identified as an individual with a high midi-chlorian count and had the potential to become a Jedi. Unlike Anakin, though, Kenobi was brought forth to the Jedi Council far earlier, but ironically was still older than many of the other Jedi when they first joined the program.
As fans will know, Obi-Wan was assigned to be Qui-Gon Jinn’s apprentice, yet also trained with Yoda at times as well, particularly early on. Qui-Gon taught Obi-Wan the basic skills of being a Jedi early on, like lightsaber dueling. Jinn even taught him how to swim, something that Kenobi put to use in The Phantom Menace when they traveled to the Gungan City deep in the ocean, below the capital city on Naboo.
One of the most interesting aspects of Obi-Wan’s time before The Phantom Menace was his time spent on Mandalore, a plot that was hinted at and mentioned in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This is when Kenobi’s relationship with Satine Kryze began, and as fans will know, the two have a romantic chemistry and a long history together that was referred to several times in The Clone Wars. Kenobi and Kryze fell in love on Mandalore, even amidst the military threat posing the Duchess’ family’s rule and the presence of Qui-Gon. They fought off bounty hunters and other assassins sent to defeat them in what was described as a treacherous and extremely difficult time for the Jedi. Still, Kenobi and Kryze even fell in love, but Obi-Wan opted to continue the follow the ways of the Jedi.
This serves an interesting what-if scenario, as it’s extremely similar to Anakin’s journey in the prequels. Skywalker met Padme Amidala at a young age, and the two fell in love eventually. They spent years apart before reuniting, and it was meeting again that proved to be the beginning of their true relationship. Just like Anakin, Obi-Wan met a young politician of royal background, reunited years later, and had love for her. Both Padme and Satine died under tragic circumstances too, leaving the two Jedi to mourn them greatly. Unlike Anakin, however, Obi-Wan continued on his Jedi path and resisted any attachment feelings, as is the way of the group that refer to themselves as the keepers of the peace.
The year-long mission on Mandalore was perhaps the most monumental event of Obi-Wan’s time before The Phantom Menace, especially as he fell in love with Satine while on the mission. Still, Obi-Wan still had other adventures after this mission. These tasks were often similar to the mission on Naboo at the very beginning of The Phantom Menace, in which Kenobi and Qui-Gon were sent to negotiate with the Trade Federation after they had placed a blockade around the planet of Naboo (a plot that continues to confuse some fans to this day).
One of these adventures was their trip to Pijal, in which a political argument had broken out and the Jedi were needed to ease tensions between two sides. What was initially a simple negotiation mission turned quickly into an investigation, as the leader of Pijal had an opposing group wreaking havoc on the planet, yet were actually under her orders, a fact that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon eventually uncovered. It’s a story that mirrors a classic political thriller in many ways, even equip with a surprising twist, which is exactly what George Lucas was aiming for when writing The Phantom Menace and, more broadly, the prequel trilogy. This story highlights how the history of Obi-Wan, and stories in the Star Wars galaxy overall, are very consistent with the films even as they appear in other media such as this, like comics and books.
Obi-Wan also had other political missions, such as trips to Bri’n to save the rulers of the planet from opposition forces intent on killing them and taking their power. Obi-Wan learned a big lesson here as he watched as Qui-Gon followed the Jedi code and opted not to interfere beyond what was necessary, despite his often rebellious ways that were seen in The Phantom Menace.
Prior to The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan had the chance to fight alongside his master Qui-Gon and the powerful Yoda as well. Closer to the events of Episode I, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were called to help Yoda, who was stranded on a planet filled with violent and extreme space pirates. The two were chosen due to their close proximity to the planet, as they just so happened to be nearby at the time of the incident that caused Yoda to call for help, but weren’t exactly needed in the end. Yoda had already defeated most of the pirates himself, demonstrating his strength and Force abilities despite his size, but still gave Obi-Wan the chance to see Yoda in battle and briefly fight alongside him, something that most Jedi had never experienced, as the little green hero rarely participated in combat in his later years and instead decided to stay mostly on Coruscant to train youngsters.
Of course, some of the key moments in Obi-Wan’s life came in and after The Phantom Menace, as Qui-Gon was killed on Naboo and Kenobi defeated (or so he thought) a Sith Lord in the form of Darth Maul, a character that he went on to destroy once and for all years later. Kenobi’s training of Anakin, fighting his apprentice, and hiding out on Tatooine before guiding Luke to the Death Star and dying at the hands of Vader in A New Hope, followed by Force ghost appearances later on, are all incredibly important events in the history of Obi-Wan. Still, he had some unique and interesting times prior to The Phantom Menace and the prequel trilogy, and one that ultimately helps further develop Obi-Wan Kenobi as a character.