Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Won't Be Eligible For This Year's Emmys

The most-anticipated Star Wars TV series to-date is finally set to arrive this month, but it will be quite a while before it's able to even be considered for television's biggest awards. Obi-Wan Kenobi will see Ewan McGregor reprise his beloved Jedi role from the three Prequel Trilogy films, filling in the gaps between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope. Hayden Christensen will also be returning to play Anakin Skywalker, who has taken on the mantle of Darth Vader. The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are debuting on May 27th, which means that the series won't be eligible for this year's Emmy awards voting. 

According to Variety, a limited series like Obi-Wan Kenobi needs to release all of its episodes before June 16th. The Disney+ series is set to conclude on June 22nd, meaning that the eligibility window will be pushed to the 2023 awards. 

Both Star Wars and Marvel Studios shows have had solid success at the Emmys, with shows like The Mandalorian and WandaVision getting a lot of recognition. It wouldn't be surprising to see Obi-Wan earn some nominations once it become eligible.

McGregor and Christensen are joined in Obi-Wan Kenobi by Kumail Nanjiani, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Maya Erskine, Sung Kang, Benny Safdie, Simone Kessell, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, and Indira Varma. With the exception of Obi-Wan and Vader, all of the roles are new and being kept under wraps. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. After the rise of the Empire, Obi-Wan went into hiding on Tatooine, keeping watch over Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, from afar. After the death of Padme, and Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, newborn twins Luke and Leia were split up. Luke was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, under the watchful eye of Obi-Wan, while Leia was adopted by Senator Bail Organa.

"We finished shooting our series, and it was really, really good fun. I really enjoyed working with [director-executive producer] Deborah Chow, and I think it will not disappoint," McGregor said earlier this year. "The new technology that we employed doing it is cool, and it was a different experience than making the original three films that I did." 

Are you looking forward to the debut of Obi-Wan Kenobi later this month? Let us know in the comments!