How Obi-Wan Kenobi Finale Sets Up Season 2

Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s finale brings the major character and story arcs of the limited series to a powerful close – while still leaving the door propped open for more. Indeed, there’s been a lot of speculation about whether or not Disney and Lucasfilm will actually limit this “limited series,” or if Obi-Wan Season 2 is in the works. As stated, there are definitely some clear ways that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ending leaves room for a Season 2 arc.

(WARNING: Obi-Wan Kenobi SPOILERS Follow) 

Obi-Wan’s finale puts the necessary Star Wars canon in proper order for the story of A New Hope. Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) faces Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in a full-fledged rematch duel; Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) is returned home safely to Alderaan, and Reva (Moses Ingram) has to make the ultimate decision between the light and dark by choosing vengeance against Vader by taking out his son, Luke Skywalker, or showing the boy mercy she never got. 

With everything wrapped in a neat bow, and the larger Star Wars timeline intact, Obi-Wan Kenobi could’ve left things there – but instead, the series included its own kind of “button scene” with Liam Neeson making his Star Wars return as Qui-Gon Jinn (in Force ghost form). 

Obi-Wan communing with Qui-Gon’s Force ghost was always a subplot running through the series – so on the one hand, this scene with Qui-Gon could be seen as the last bookend needed to establish the version of Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi we meet in A New Hope. Other works of Star Wars canon (comics) have actually filled-in more of what this period of Obi-Wan’s life was like, so it’s not “necessary” for a live-action series to attempt any more. 

On the other hand, Neeson’s dialogue about he and Obi-Wan having ‘a long way to go’ seems like it could just as easily be groundwork for where Season 2 could begin. Obi-Wan’s growth in understanding of the Force is still its own viable story arc – a road that could take him to all kind of places in the galaxy, and bring him into contact with more Star Wars icons (like Yoda). Long story short: there are still enough years of Obi-Wan’s life to play with for Season 2 of the show. 

Obi-Wan also told an expansive story that introduced us to character like Reva and Roken (O’Shea Jackson). Both are characters that can help flesh-out Obi-Wan Season 2 and setup larger connections to other Star Wars characters and franchises (the start of the Rebellion, the fall of the Inquisitors) that have not been established before. None of that would upset continuity in the least. 

“…I think if there’s huge engagement and people really want more Obi-Wan, we’ll certainly give that consideration because the fans, they speak to us,” Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy said in an interview. “And if we feel like, ‘OK, there’s a real reason to do this; it’s answering the why then,’ then we’ll do it. But we’ll see.” 

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Season 1) is now streaming on Disney+.