Obi-Wan Kenobi returns, along with Tatooine in the titular Disney+ Star Wars show. Tatooine is one of the Star Wars saga’s most important worlds, and old Ben Kenobi has a specific reason for residing on the planet which, in-universe, is often dismissed as a desolate wasteland. Following the fall of the Jedi Order in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi chose to live on Tatooine to play the long game, ensuring the defeat of the Sith and the return of the Jedi.

Tatooine is an obscure desert world in the Star Wars galaxy’s Outer Rim Territories. It was once a world of vast oceans and other biomes if Legends material is any indication, but it eventually became a world of harsh deserts and extremely deadly fauna, with a population ranging from benevolent moisture farmers to some of the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals. Tatooine is the homeworld of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, serving as a key locale in both of their journeys towards Jedi Knighthood or Sith Lordship.

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When the Jedi Order was all but destroyed by Darth Sidious and his conspiracy to convert the Republic into the Empire, two of the few surviving Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, created a long-term plan to protect Darth Vader’s two children and ensure the future of the Jedi. Leia would be raised as royalty by House Organa on Alderaan while Luke would live on Tatooine with Anakin’s relatives. Obi-Wan, who adopted the given name “Ben,” opted to watch over Luke, waiting for the right moment to train him as a Jedi Knight who’d defeat the Empire. This will be the premise of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Various non-movie material in both canon and Legends have explored Kenobi’s time on Tatooine between the prequel and original Star Wars trilogies, showing the Jedi Knight protecting Luke from criminals, Tusken Raiders, and Tatooine’s many other threats. As shown in Star Wars Rebels, this even included the former Sith Lord Maul who, unlike his Legends counterpart, survived his bisection on Naboo and returned to menace Kenobi during the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War. Obi-Wan slew his longtime enemy to protect Luke, but Obi-Wan Kenobi will show him facing other threats.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi will not only have Ewan McGregor return to his beloved role as the Star Wars hero, but it will also have Hayden Christenson reprise his role as Darth Vader, with the two dueling at least once in the series. Concept art reveals that Kenobi may also face an Imperial Inquisitor, one of the Empire’s dark side-trained agents tasked with assisting Vader in hunting down surviving Jedi. These encounters will most likely not take place on Tatooine, as they’d jeopardize both the continuity of A New Hope and Kenobi’s mission on the desert world.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda are not in exile during the original trilogy. Unlike Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy, the two Clone Wars veterans are not willfully allowing evil to succeed through inaction, but rather protecting the remnants of the Jedi Order and planting the seeds of its return. In Obi-Wan Kenobi’s case, this means remaining on Tatooine to protect Luke Skywalker until the time is right to train him, as the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi will show.

Key Release Dates
  • Rogue Squadron (2023)Release date: Dec 22, 2023
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David Miller
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David Miller is a staff writer for Screen Rant, indie comic writer, and life-long lover of all things Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. He was born and raised in New York and has a degree in English from Rider University. He relates to Peter Parker maybe a little too much.

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