Obi-Wan Kenobi boss teases how the Disney Plus series fits into the Star Wars timeline

Ewan McGregor peers round a corner as Obi-Wan Kenobi for the upcoming Disney Plus series
Obi-Wan Kenobi will explore the gap between the prequel and original trilogies. (Image credit: Lucasfilm)

We've known for an awfully long time now that Obi-Wan Kenobi would be slotting into Star Wars canon as a bridge between the prequel and original trilogies.

That's not a huge surprise, given Obi-Wan is rather famously defeated by his former Padawan right in front of Luke Skywalker's eyes in A New Hope. However, given that the Jedi Master has had plenty of other adventures outside of the movies, Obi-Wan Kenobi showrunner Deborah Chow still had to be very mindful of exactly where the upcoming series fits in.

Speaking to EW, Deborah Chow has just revealed how she and the writing team approached the fact that they'd be altering Obi-Wan's current backstory with the new series. 

"It was definitely something we were very mindful of", said Chow. "And for me also taking on [George Lucas'] legacy, it's an honor to take these characters and be able to tell a new story with them. So I wanted to be very respectful to what exists and not change anything that George intended originally or anything like that."

Nevertheless, the fact that the series is set years after Obi-Wan defeated Anakin on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith does mean there's a decent period of the characters' lives left to explore. As such, the show is bound to have an impact on what we've already seen involving Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.

"Obviously there is room for interpretation here," Chow continued. "And telling [the story] that they did have these 20 years, and obviously something happened in these 20 years, and that there are some things from our series where there's going to be a little bit more room for interpretation on."

In the same interview, Ewan McGregor (who's returning to play Obi-Wan) heaped praise on how Deborah Chow has handled the creative process. "Deborah Chow is unbelievable", he said. "What an amazing director. And what an amazing leader for us in the show. It's so great working with her. Just so exciting.

"She has got such quiet authority and she's really, really on it. She really knows this world backward and inside out, and there was never a moment where she didn't know exactly what was going on, what she wanted, what she needed. It was brilliant working with her."

In other recent news, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen revealed how they prepared to dive back into Star Wars, and Liam Neeson has downplayed the popular Obi-Wan Kenobi rumor that he might make a cameo appearance in the new series.

Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres exclusively on Disney Plus on Friday, May 27. 

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin is a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produces a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. 

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.