If you’re like us at Of Blades and Kings, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat (speaking if Edge did anyone see his return in the Royal Rumble? Dope) just waiting for any news about the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV show.
During Disney’s D23 Expo in August 2019, Ewan McGregor came on stage with Kathleen Kennedy and announced he would be returning as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Que the thunderous applause! This was a Star Wars fan’s dream, Ewan played Obi-Wan so well in the Prequel trilogy, he quickly became a consistent favorite across all three films.
Sadly, it was announced in January that this project was put on hold and was decreased from 6 episodes to 4 episodes. The reason why? Kathleen Kennedy didn’t like any of the stories put in front of her. They were too much like The Mandalorian and she felt they needed a fresher perspective. I agree with her mindset on this, Obi-Wan deserves his own story that is unique to his character. However, this was the same woman who signed off on the new trilogy’s story and I’m not all too confident in her Star Wars decision-making. Rogue One, Solo, and The Mandalorian? All great, so for me, she’s 50-50. Which isn’t too bad, when you put it in that perspective.
What worries me, more than anything else, is the 4 episode count. At that point, I’m wondering why even make a TV show? If it’s only going to be 4 episodes just make it into a really long movie. Or add on another hour and some change and make 3 movies. Its Obi-Wan Kenobi, I don’t care how long it is, I just don’t want it to be too short. And I want it to be good.
Now, on to one of my ideas for the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV show.
I just thought of this so, be gentle. It features a character that is not, to my knowledge, apart of the cannon, but it’s someone who I feel deserves to be. Before I reveal who, let’s set the scene.
Tattoine, sometime after Obi-Wan has returned Luke to his aunt and uncle. Possibly 15-20 years. During that time Obi-Wan has been receiving teachings from Qui-Gon Jinn (enter Liam Neeson) and helping protect villagers from particularly bad bands of Tuskian Raiders, bounty hunters, and other scum and villainy that prospers there. You can pull alot from the Kenobi book and the comics (From the Journals of Old Ben Kenobi).
We know that Obi-Wan would help those around him, but something had to happen to make him go so far into hiding that he’s an afterthought by the time A New Hope takes place. Perhaps the Empire learns about a mysterious savior on Tattoine, after all, this is Vader’s home planet. Vader would want to investigate, but The Emperor has bigger plans. Vader can only send an operative that’s been training for moments like these.
Enter Starkiller.
Many of you remember Starkiller from The Force Unleashed video games, he was a secret apprentice of Vader’s who would be sent on missions to hunt down and kill the last Jedi survivors. All this was taking place before the Rebellion began, in fact, Vader tasked Starkiller to create an organized Rebellion with the promise to use the Rebels as a distraction and overthrow The Emperor. It all turned out to be rouse, no matter how many times Starkiller put his faith in Vader he was always betrayed. Throughout his journey Starkiller wrestled with the light and dark sides of the force. Ultimately, he choose the light side and sacrificed himself for the Rebellion.
How does this all fit into Obi-Wan’s timeline? It might take some reworking, but if we agree the news of a “savior” on Tattoine would attract Vader’s attention, the growing Empire might not allow him to act on his own. Therefore, he must send someone else, which would introduce Starkiller. This would be a huge reveal for the fans and give Obi-Wan a high profile opponent. This storyline could replace The Force Unleashed story or take place before Starkiller begins training as a Jedi. For Starkiller, the most important part of battling Obi-Wan would be the beginning of his journey to the light side. For Obi-Wan, who must be struggling with the failure to save his own apprentice from the dark side, the most important part of battling Starkiller would be the opportunity to right his past wrongs.
It’s a long shot, one that probably will never come to fruition due to age of the actors and the projected timeline of Obi-Wan’s show. Regardless, as someone who’s poured hours into those games it’d be great to see Starkiller become cannon, even if it alters the video game stories a little bit. No matter what you change, Juno Eclipse can still be his pilot, Proxy can still be his training buddy, and General Rahm Kota could still be his fulltime master down the road.
We dream big here at Of Blades and Kings, but anything is possible. Let us know what you think, is this idea even worth entertaining or do you have a better one?
As always, thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed reading.
Remember, not all those who wander are lost.
– The Wandering One
Of Blades and Kings 