Star Wars Just Surprise Released a New Anakin and Obi-Wan Story

Audible has a new, podracing-centric story from Smallville's Bryan Q. Miller.

starLucasfilm and Smallville writer Bryan Q. Miller have released a new Star Wars story on Audible, which centers on Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi and takes place in the time following Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Narrated by Kevin Kemp, the story -- titled Star Wars: Padawan's Pride -- runs around four hours long and was released without any advance notice or promotion. Besides being a prequel-era story, the adventures in Padawan's Pride are specifically crafted to appeal fans of The Phantom Menace, in that the story centers on a young Anakin having to infiltrate the podracing circuit where there's a criminal conspiracy going on.

According to the official synopsis, which you can see below, there's the A plot of trying to infiltrate the podracing circuit, and then a B plot where Anakin and Obi-Wan are struggling to get along together...until Obi-Wan is called away, leaving Anakin alone and wishing he had someone there to back him up.

This story comes not long after a recent interview, in which Ewan McGregor said he hopes he will get to come back to the Star Wars universe again following the events of the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries.

"I really do hope we get a chance to do another one," McGregor said. "Between where we ended off in the series and when Alec Guinness comes on screen with Luke Skywalker, I think there's another few stories to tell in there."

McGregor's Star Wars co-star Hayden Christensen is also all for the actor returning as Obi-Wan Kenobi, both if it means he'd get to work with him again and just to see him take on the role once more from a fan's perspective.

"If it means that I got to do more with Ewan, then that's a no-brainer, but I really hope that he continues with the character," Christensen said. "Just as a fan, it's so exciting to get to watch him play Obi-Wan — he's just so good at it."

You can get the story here. Here's how Audible describes it:

Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker star in this thrilling galactic adventure set three years after the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

When a Republic spy goes missing on the Moons of Varl, the Jedi Council asks Obi-Wan and Anakin to infiltrate an underground podracing circuit run by a crime boss believed to be holding the spy prisoner. With Anakin posing as a hotshot racer and Obi-Wan as his attendant, tensions between the two threaten to run even higher than usual.

But when Obi-Wan is forced to leave Varl, Anakin is on his own as he faces a series of increasingly treacherous races that will determine his fate-and that of the spy.

Master and apprentice must use all their Jedi skills in this action-packed tale of cutthroat competition, deadly deception, and, ultimately, what it means to be a Padawan.

Star Wars: Padawan's Pride is available now.