Obi-Wan Kenobi (miniseries)

The series is set after the events of the film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), during which the Jedi Order was all but destroyed and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After remaining in hiding for the next ten years on the planet Tatooine, watching over Anakin's son Luke, Kenobi is called on a mission to rescue Anakin's daughter Leia when she is kidnapped by the Galactic Empire's Jedi-hunting Inquisitors in a plot to draw Kenobi out. This brings Kenobi into conflict with Vader, who he believed to be dead, forcing Kenobi to face his traumatic past and guilty feelings. == Episodes ==

{{Multiple image |align=right |direction=horizontal |total_width=280 Starring • Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi:A Jedi Master who survived Order 66 and now lives in exile, under the name "Ben", on the planet Tatooine, watching over young Luke Skywalker. • Flea as Vect Nokru: A bounty hunter hired to kidnap Leia Organa. • Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa: Leia's adoptive father and Senator of Alderaan. • Marisé Álvarez as Nyche Horn: A refugee with a young son seeking transport from Daiyu to Corellia. • Rya Kihlstedt as the Fourth Sister: An Inquisitor. • Zach Braff as the voice of Freck: A transport driver for the Imperial mining facility on the planet Mapuzo. • Maya Erskine as Sully: A member in The Path network who helps Jedi escape the Empire. • Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine: The Dark Lord of the Sith and Darth Vader's master. Additionally, Ming Qiu, a stunt performer from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, portrays Jedi Master Minas Velti during the Order 66 flashback, Grant Feely appears as Luke Skywalker, Anakin's son, and Anthony Daniels reprises his franchise role as C-3PO while Temuera Morrison appears as a homeless veteran clone trooper after playing the clones in previous Star Wars media. Ewan McGregor's daughter Esther McGregor plays Tetha Grig, a spice dealer that Kenobi encounters on the streets of Daiyu. Dustin Ceithamer portrays the droid NED-B. Liam Neeson reprises his role as Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan's deceased master, in an uncredited cameo appearance. == Production ==

Background Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the development of several Star Wars standalone spin-off films in February 2013. Williams previously composed the scores for the main Star Wars films, and originally wrote a theme for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars (1977) which later became associated with the Force in general. In her interview with Star Wars Insider, Holt later said that "we didn't have very much time on Obi-Wan Kenobi", saying that was because it was "a very compressed process", which made work on the soundtrack "challenging" for her and Chow. == Marketing ==

A short sizzle reel was released on November 12, 2021, as part of the Disney+ Day celebration, which included concept art, and McGregor and Chow discussing the series. The first trailer for the series was released on March 9, 2022, during Disney's annual shareholder meeting. The use of Williams's score in the trailer was a notable highlight, with Zack Sharf of Variety saying the "most awe-inspiring moment" of the trailer was its use of "Duel of the Fates" since it is "one of Williams's most bombastic pieces of score music" and featuring it in the trailer "points to a reunion of friend [Kenobi] and foe [Anakin Skywalker] in the new series". Daniel Chin of The Ringer also praised the trailer, saying that it "delivers a rush of Star Wars prequel nostalgia" and also noted the use of "Duel of the Fates", which he felt set the tone and stakes of the series. A second trailer was released on May 4 to commemorate Star Wars Day, with The Hollywood Reporter Ryan Parker describing it as "intense". Many commentators highlighted the appearance of Darth Vader in the trailer. Michael McWhertor from Polygon felt it gave "a glimpse at the intensity of the Empire's hunt for one of the last remaining practitioners of the Force". Meanwhile, Joss Weiss of Syfy wrote that it depicts Kenobi dealing with "shameful mistakes of his own past". However, Angela Watercutter from Wired expressed skepticism based on the trailer, and opined "everything Star Wars just feels like it's on auto-pilot". The series was promoted at Star Wars Celebration on May 26, including an advance screening of the first two episodes and a live performance of the main theme by the Pacific Symphony orchestra, conducted by Williams. In May 2022, Volkswagen released a commercial promoting the series and its electrical car model, ID. Buzz, featuring R2-D2, C-3PO, and McGregor. Two editions of the car, inspired by Star Wars, were created in a collaboration between designers from Volkswagen and Lucasfilm, and later shown at the 2022 Star Wars Celebration. The "Obi-Wan Wednesdays" product program, which reveals toys, apparel, action figures, accessories, books, and comics related to the series following an episode's release, started on May 25 and concluded on June 29. == Release ==

Streaming Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered on Disney+ on May 26, 2022, with its first two episodes. They were released three hours earlier than expected, at 9 p.m. PDT, rather than at 12 a.m. PDT on May 27. == Reception ==

Viewership Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, calculated that Obi-Wan Kenobi was the most anticipated new television series of May 2022. Disney announced that the show was the most-watched series premiere for the streaming service in its opening weekend. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which monitors real-time data from 5 million users in the U.S. for original and acquired streaming programs and movies across subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services, reported that Obi-Wan Kenobi was the most-streamed series during the week of June 10. Analytics company Samba TV, which gathers viewership data from certain smart TVs and content providers, "Part I" was viewed in 2.14 million U.S. households from May 27–30, surpassing the premieres for The Mandalorian second season (2.08 million) and The Book of Boba Fett (1.5 million). According to the file-sharing news website TorrentFreak, Obi-Wan Kenobi was the sixth most-watched pirated television series of 2022. Luminate, which measures streaming performance in the U.S. by analyzing viewership data, audience engagement metrics, and content reach across various platforms, reported that Obi-Wan Kenobi accounted for 12.6% of total original series viewership on Disney+ between December 31, 2021, and December 29, 2022. It was the platform's second most-streamed show in 2022, with 6.5 billion minutes viewed in the United States. Critical response The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating and an average score of 6.60/10, based on 356 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "This won't be the Obi-Wan Kenobi some viewers are looking for, but Ewan McGregor's soulful performance and some refreshing twists make this a satisfying – if circuitous – addition to the Star Wars saga." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Matt Purslow of IGN gave the first two episodes an 8 out of 10, praising the storyline and Kenobi's character arc, but criticized the action sequences. He was hopeful for the rest of the series, calling it "a surprisingly emotional chapter in the larger Star Wars saga". Accolades By May 2022, Disney and Lucasfilm had decided not to submit the series for consideration at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards because to meet the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences's criteria they would have to make all of the series' episodes available to Academy voters by June 15, 2022, which would require the final two episodes of the series to be released early. McGregor, in a video posted to the official Star Wars social media accounts, called the abusive messages "horrendous" and said that "if you're sending her bullying messages, you're no Star Wars fan in my mind". Ingram went on to win a Saturn Award for her performance as Reva. == Documentary special ==

In August 2022, Disney announced the documentary special ''Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return'' which premiered on September 8, 2022, Disney+ Day. The documentary explores the making of the series, and the returns of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. ==Comic miniseries ==

In June 2023, StarWars.com announced that the comic miniseries Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi would adapt the series and was written by Jody Houser and published by Marvel Comics. The series began in September 2023. ==References==