7 Characters We’d Love to See on Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi Series

Audiences first met Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, a role which he reprised in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. While the merits of the prequel trilogy are highly debated among fans, one prevailing trend is that audiences approved of McGregor’s take on a younger version of Alec Guinness’ Jedi Master. In the years since his last appearance in the galaxy far, far away, fans have been clamoring for McGregor to return, an opinion the actor himself shares, with recent reports seemingly confirming that all of our wishes have been granted.

Lucasfilm has yet to make things official, but multiple reputable trade outlets revealed earlier this week that McGregor would be starring in a series as Obi-Wan Kenobi which will debut on Disney+. Few other details have been confirmed, such as whether the series will focus specifically on Kenobi or if it will explore a number of characters and with Kenobi being a key member of the cast. If McGregor is involved in the project, we can only assume that the series will take place around the time of the prequel trilogy or after Revenge of the Sith, which spans a large gap in the character’s history.

Disney’s D23 Expo kicks off next weekend and, with Star Wars having a presence at the convention, we could see the official reveal of McGregor’s return. While some projects in the Star Wars saga aim to focus on new characters, there are a number of familiar faces who could appear in the series. Scroll down to see the characters we’d love to see return for the new series!

Ahsoka Tano

In one of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first appearances in Star Wars: A New Hope, he made mention of the Clone Wars, piquing fan interest in such a conflict. Decades later, Attack of the Clones set the stage for the battle, only to end before depicting the mayhem in live-action, instead being seen throughout the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In addition to chronicling the war, fans were introduced to burgeoning Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who has become one of the most beloved characters in the franchise.

With fans having already been given six seasons depicting the Clone Wars, with a seventh and final season on the way, we doubt a live-action series would spend much time in the midst of the war. However, whether we saw the two characters’ adventures after the events of Revenge of the Sith or we were given flashbacks of some of their more exciting endeavors, seeing Ahsoka in a live-action project would be a major thrill for fans.

Maul

Much like audiences met McGregor’s Kenobi in Phantom Menace, we also met Darth Maul, who had a near-fatal encounter with the Jedi. Some fans may have thought that Maul was a goner, but Clone Wars confirmed that Maul survived the encounter, grabbed some robotic legs, dropped the “Darth” moniker, and became a major figure of the underworld.

Fans witnessed a reunion between Kenobi and Maul in Star Wars Rebels, leading to a fatal result, but were they to have had earlier run-ins after their iconic bout, it could help further the hatred they had for one another. In last year’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, actor Ray Park returned to the Maul role for the first time since Phantom Menace, leading audiences to speculate this was only the first of many Maul appearances. With that franchise seemingly stagnating, it would leave the door open for Park to return to face off with Kenobi in the series.

Solo Stars

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story became the first live-action Star Wars film to shift focus away from the Skywalkers, while Solo depicted the origins of an iconic smuggler. The mere notion of the film built excitement that we could get an Obi-Wan spinoff film, only for those plans to shift course.

Solo‘s financial disappointment dashed our hopes of getting a sequel, but it did introduce us to a number of new and exciting characters that we’d love to see more of. With that film taking place in the time period a Kenobi series would likely explore, incorporating a character like Qi’ra, Becket, or even Dryden Vos could be a great way to see more of these characters without Lucasfilm having to commit to an entire film.

The Ghost Crew From Star Wars Rebels

The first new animated series to debut after Disney purchased Lucasfilm, Star Wars Rebels took place before the events of the original Star Wars as it followed the Ghost crew and their exploits for the Rebel Alliance. In addition to debuting multiple exciting new characters, the series also saw the return of Ahsoka Tano, delighting fans who had wondered about her fate following the unexpected (and now merely temporary) cancellation of The Clone Wars.

Kenobi has already appeared in Rebels, confirming that he was out and about at the time of the series, though he wasn’t an active part of the Rebellion. Whether we were to see run-ins with the Ghost crew before his appearance in the series or if he possibly assisted them in the timeframe after the series concluded, fans would surely love spending more time with the Ghost crew.

Jabba the Hutt

Obi-Wan Kenobi spent quite a bit of time on Tattooine in exile, but, as depicted in various Star Wars comics from Marvel, the Jedi had his fair share of run-ins with Jabba the Hutt. A direct encounter with the gangster might not be entirely eventful, as Jabba’s appearance in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi confirmed that he managed to rule the underworld successfully for years, we wouldn’t necessarily need to see Jabba’s exploits so much as we’d like to see Kenobi allowing himself to embrace his heroic nature to thwart petty criminals.

What could make this seem more feasible is that, prior to the release of Solo, reports claimed Lucasfilm was developing a film based on the Mos Eisley cantina, potentially allowing Obi-Wan to appear in such a project. If those ideas were repurposed for this series, we could potentially see Kenobi serve as a local peacekeeper as opposed to becoming a full-blown “hero” for the people. 

Luke Skywalker

Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker didn’t officially meet until the events of Star Wars, only offering the characters a limited amount of time with one another in corporeal forms. With Luke being a somewhat naive farm boy at the time, spending more time with the character who was even younger than he was in his debut might not lead towards the most exciting series.

Were Luke to have any presence in the series, we could get an Obi-Wan like the one we read about in 2016’s Ahsoka from writer E.K. Johnson. The book saw Obi-Wan embracing his exile, using his time alone on Tatooine to further explore the ways of the Force, communicate with his former mentor Qui-Gon Jinn, and keep an eye on the young Luke. This might not make for the most action-packed series, but would depict a fascinating exploration of a beloved character.

Jar Jar Binks

Jar Jar Binks has earned a divisive reaction from the Star Wars fandom, but he’s definitely a character who many audiences felt was denied a fulfilling sendoff. After playing a prominent role in Phantom Menace, his role was reduced in the subsequent films, denying fans any time with the character other than a handful of shots in Revenge of the Sith.

While the novel Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End confirmed that Jar Jar had become a street performer and while a recent Star Wars comic book offered the Gungan an opportunity to wield a lightsaber, reuniting Obi-Wan with Jar Jar for an episode of the series could give not only the character a more definitive fate, but it would allow performer Ahmed Best to portray the character one last time. Focusing an entire series on Obi-Wan and Jar Jar’s exploits might not be sustainable, but having him make one final appearance would satisfy a large number of fans, no matter what the character’s fate might be.