Obi-Wan Kenobi (miniseries): Difference between revisions

''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' premiered on May 27, 2022, with its first two episodes. The other four episodes were released weekly through June 22. The series received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards McGregor's performance, the action sequences, John Williams's new main theme, the character-driven narrative, and the series' emotional weight, although the writing received some criticism. It also received multiple accolades, including winning [[Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation|Best Limited Event Series for Streaming]] and [[Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television|Best Guest Starring Role on Television]] (for Christensen) at the [[47th Saturn Awards]], as well as a nomination for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series|Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series]] at the [[75th Primetime Emmy Awards]].

 

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The series is set after the events of the film ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith]]'' (2005), during which the [[Jedi Order]] was purged with [[Order 66 (Star Wars)|Order 66]] and Jedi Master [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]]'s apprentice, [[Anakin Skywalker]], became the [[Sith]] Lord Darth Vader. After remaining in hiding for the next ten years on the planet [[Tatooine]], watching over Anakin's son [[Luke Skywalker|Luke]], Kenobi is called on a mission to rescue Anakin's daughter [[Princess Leia|Leia]] when she is kidnapped by the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]]'s Jedi-hunting Inquisitors in a plot to draw Kenobi out.<ref name="LucasfilmProjects" /><ref name="InvestorDayDescription" /><ref name="LeiaPremise" /> This brings Kenobi into conflict with Vader,<ref name="InvestorDayDescription" /> who he believed to be dead, forcing Kenobi to face his traumatic past and guilty feelings.<ref name="RejwanSFXMagazine" /><ref name="EWHaroldKenobi" />

 

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|footer=[[Ewan McGregor]] and [[Hayden Christensen]] reprise their roles as [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] and [[Darth Vader|Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader]], respectively.<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" />}}

 

* [[Ewan McGregor]] as [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]]:<br />A [[Jedi]] Master who survived [[Order 66 (Star Wars)|Order 66]] and now lives in exile, under the name "Ben", on the planet [[Tatooine]], watching over young [[Luke Skywalker]].<ref name="InvestorDayDescription" /><ref name="AnnouncementD23" /> McGregor was excited to play a version of the character closer to [[Alec Guinness]]'s portrayal from the [[Star Wars original trilogy|original ''Star Wars'' trilogy]] than his own younger version from the [[Star Wars prequel trilogy|prequel trilogy]],<ref name="McGregorOct2019" /> with Kenobi beginning the series "broken, and faithless, and beaten, [having] somewhat given up".<ref name="VarietyTrailer" /> Executive producer [[Michelle Rejwan]] described Kenobi as being in a "pretty traumatic moment" following his losses in ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith|Revenge of the Sith]]'' (2005), including his apprentice Anakin's fall to the dark side of [[the Force]]. Kenobi left Anakin for dead on [[Mustafar]] at the end of the film and feels guilty for doing so,<ref name="RejwanSFXMagazine" /> with director [[Deborah Chow]] being intrigued by the idea that Kenobi might still care deeply for Anakin.<ref name="VanityFairMay2022" /> Head writer [[Joby Harold]] said the series would relate the "very emotional" version of Kenobi in the prequels to Alec Guinness's "zen master" in ''[[Star Wars (film)|A New Hope]]'' (1977).<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> McGregor was part of the conversations about Kenobi's characterization in the series,<ref name="RejwanSFXMagazine" /> and rewatched the [[Skywalker Saga]] films to prepare. He also read science fiction novels, including those written by [[Iain M. Banks]], for the role.<ref name="EWPreparation" />

 

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* [[Rupert Friend]] as the [[Grand Inquisitor (Star Wars)|Grand Inquisitor]]:<br />A member of the Pau'an species from Utapau who is the highest-ranking Inquisitor of the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]].<ref name="VarietyTrailer" /> He was once a member of the Jedi Order, serving as a Jedi Temple Guard. Friend said the character enjoyed the sound of his own voice and naively believed himself to be "on a par" with Darth Vader, wishing to replace him as Emperor [[Palpatine]]'s apprentice. Friend was excited to bring the Grand Inquisitor to live action and wanted to remain faithful to his characterization in the animated series ''[[Star Wars Rebels]]'', though he, Chow, and ''Rebels'' co-creator [[Dave Filoni]] did not want Friend to do an impression of original actor [[Jason Isaacs]].<ref name="FriendEW" /><!-- 101, 102, 105, 106 -->

* [[O'Shea Jackson Jr.]] as [[Kawlan Roken]]: A leader in The Path network who helps Jedi escape the Empire.<ref name="/FilmCast" /><!-- 104, 105, 106 -->

 

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* [[Benny Safdie]] as Nari: A Jedi hiding on Tatooine who escaped Order 66 as a Youngling.<ref name="DoGCast" /><!-- 101 -->

Additionally, Ming Qiu, a stunt performer from the ''Star Wars'' series ''[[The Mandalorian]]'' and ''[[The Book of Boba Fett]]'', portrays Jedi Master Minas Velti during the Order 66 flashback,<ref name="DoGCast" /> Grant Feely appears as [[Luke Skywalker]], Anakin's son,<ref name="THRDarthMaul" /><!-- 101, 105, 106 --> and [[Anthony Daniels]] reprises his franchise role as [[C-3PO]] while [[Temuera Morrison]] appears as a homeless veteran [[clone trooper]] after playing the clones in previous ''Star Wars'' media.<ref name="DoGCast" /> Ewan McGregor's daughter Esther-Rose McGregor plays Tetha Grig, a spice dealer that Kenobi encounters on the streets of Daiyu.<ref name="EstherRoseMcGregor" /> Dustin Ceithamer portrays the droid NED-B.<ref name="Ceithamer" /> [[Liam Neeson]] reprises his role as [[Qui-Gon Jinn]], Obi-Wan's deceased master, in an uncredited [[cameo appearance]].<ref name="IanMcDiarmidLiamNeeson" />

 

[[Disney]] CEO [[Bob Iger]] announced the development of several ''[[Star Wars]]'' standalone [[List of Star Wars films#Standalone films|spin-off films]] in February 2013.<ref name="EWFeb2013" /> [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]] was the overwhelming winner of a poll by ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' in August 2016 that asked which ''Star Wars'' character deserved a spin-off film.<ref name="THRPoll" /> [[Ewan McGregor]], who portrayed Kenobi in the [[Star Wars prequel trilogy|''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy]], had informally expressed willingness to reprise the role, which led to a formal meeting with [[Lucasfilm]] so the company could gauge his interest in returning to the character for a spin-off film.<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> Development on such a film soon began, with [[Stephen Daldry]] entering talks to direct the project in August 2017.<ref name="Daldry" /> McGregor was set as a producer on the project.<ref name="VanityFairMay2022" /> Daldry was expected to oversee the development and writing with Lucasfilm,<ref name="Daldry" /> and contacted [[Hossein Amini]] about writing the film. Amini joined the project in late 2017.<ref name="AminiDiscussingFilm" />

 

In May 2018, the film was reportedly titled ''Obi-Wan: A Star Wars Story'', with a plot involving Kenobi protecting a young [[Luke Skywalker]] on the planet [[Tatooine]] during tensions between local farmers and [[Tusken Raiders]].<ref name="TMZMay2018" /> Production on the film was expected to take place in Northern Ireland under the working title ''Joshua Tree'',<ref name="TMZMay2018" /><ref name="NorthernIrelandFilming" /> beginning in 2019 at [[Paint Hall Studios]] in [[Belfast]] once production on [[Game of Thrones (season 8)|the final season]] of ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' ended in late 2018.<ref name="BelfastFilming" /> However, Disney cancelled their planned ''Star Wars'' spin-off films, including the Kenobi film, following the financial failure of ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]'' (2018). Lucasfilm's focus changed to making series for the streaming service [[Disney+]], such as ''[[The Mandalorian]]''.<ref name="McGregorSeries" /><ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> In August 2018, McGregor said he had been asked about a Kenobi spin-off for "years and years" and was happy to be involved but said there were no plans for such a film at that time. He was interested in exploring the character in the time between his portrayal in the prequel films and that of [[Alec Guinness]] in the [[Star Wars original trilogy|original trilogy]],<ref name="McGregorViewAug2018" /> and wanted to see the story of "a man who's lost his faith" that could show how his version, who "always has a funny line to say or always seems to be calm and is a good warrior", becomes a "broken man" and has to get "back together again" to match Guinness's portrayal.<ref name="VanityFairMay2022" />

 

McGregor entered negotiations to star in a television series for Disney+ centered on Obi-Wan Kenobi by mid-August 2019.<ref name="McGregorSeries" /> Later that month, at Disney's [[D23 (Disney)|D23]] event, Lucasfilm president [[Kathleen Kennedy (producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]] and McGregor officially announced that the actor would be reprising his role as Kenobi in a new series for Disney+, set eight years after the events of ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith]]'' (2005).<ref name="AnnouncementD23" /> Filming was scheduled to begin in July 2020,<ref name="AminiDiscussingFilm" /><ref name="AnnouncementVariety" /> and scripts for the six-episode [[Limited series (television)|limited series]] had already been written by Amini at the time of the announcement.<ref name="AminiDiscussingFilm" /> McGregor said the announcement was a relief, explaining that he had been lying about his involvement in a Kenobi spin-off for four years.<ref name="McGregorMensJournal" /> A month later, Kennedy announced that [[Deborah Chow]] would direct the Kenobi series after impressing Kennedy with her work directing episodes of ''The Mandalorian''.<ref name="ChowAmini" />

 

''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was conceived as a limited series, with Chow describing it as "one big story with a beginning, middle, and end". Despite this, Kennedy said there was a chance that more of the series could be made due to the enjoyable time the cast and crew had creating it, as long as there was a compelling story reason to return to the character,<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> with both McGregor and Christensen expressing interest in making another season.<ref name="S2EW" /><ref name="Tassi 2022"/> In April 2023, Kennedy noted a second season was not considered an "active development" for Lucasfilm, reiterating Chow and McGregor's interest in more, and stating the company might return to the character and storyline "down the road".<ref name="KennedyApril2023S2" />

 

According to Chow, the story went through "significant changes" after Harold's hiring,<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> though some story elements conceived by Amini are included in the first three episodes and the finale, with Amini and [[Stuart Beattie]] receiving writing credits for those. [[Hannah Friedman]] and [[Andrew Stanton]] were additional writers on the series.<ref name="WGACredits" /><ref name="SeriesWriters" /> Harold wanted to explore what happened between McGregor's portrayal of Kenobi and that of Alec Guinness in the original trilogy, and noted that the series takes place when the Empire is "in the ascendancy" and the Jedi have been wiped out, with any remaining survivors being on the run and in hiding.<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> He stated that Kenobi's past, particularly his relationship with Anakin, makes him a "man who's very much defined by that history, whether he wants to be or not". He added that a crucial part of Kenobi's journey will involve "reconciling that past and coming to understand it and coming to understand his place in it", and also the "places he has to go emotionally as well as physically, and some of those battles he has to fight", which ultimately have "to do with facing that past and understanding who he was, his part in his own history, in the history of others".<ref name="EWHaroldKenobi" />

 

Long discussions were held before it was decided to include [[Darth Vader]] in the series,<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> and Chow said this decision was "not made lightly... Anakin and Vader are a huge and very profound part of [Kenobi's] life. We ended up feeling that he made sense in telling this story."<ref name="ChowGamesRadar" /> Chow had championed the idea of including Vader in the series when executives at Lucasfilm were unsure whether they should.<ref name="VanityFairMay2022" /> Similar to Kenobi's character in the show, Chow stated that Vader's character "isn't quite as fully formed as ''A New Hope''",<ref name="EWChowVader" /> and she added that Vader's appearance in the series re-contextualizes the character's scene with Kenobi in ''A New Hope''.<ref name="VanityFairMay2022" /> The series also features the live-action introduction of Vader's Inquisitors, who are tasked with hunting down the remaining Jedi, after appearing in other ''Star Wars'' media.<ref name="EWMar2022CoverStory" /> The way that Vader appears in the series and the idea to introduce the Inquisitors were both suggested by Filoni.<ref name="THRDarthMaul" /> The original scripts featured different villains, including [[Darth Maul]],<ref name="THRDarthMaul" /> but Chow decided not to use him as she felt it would be "a little bit much" to have both Maul and Vader due to the large impact that the latter has on the story. She also acknowledged that Filoni had already told the story of Kenobi and Maul in this time period in the animated series ''Star Wars Rebels''.<ref name="ChowGamesRadar" />

 

Along with the series' announcement at D23 in August 2019 came confirmation that McGregor would star in the series, reprising his role as Kenobi from the prequel trilogy.<ref name="AnnouncementD23" /> By the time the production shut down in January 2020, [[Ray Park]] was preparing to reprise his role as Darth Maul and an actor had been cast to portray a young Luke Skywalker. Both left the series after Maul was written out of the new scripts and production was delayed.<ref name="THRDarthMaul" />

 

[[Ian McDiarmid]] and [[Liam Neeson]] reprise their roles as [[Palpatine]] and [[Qui-Gon Jinn]] in the series finale in [[cameo appearance]]s. Although Neeson had previously expressed hesitation to reprise the role in a TV series because he prefers films,<ref name="IanMcDiarmidLiamNeeson" /> he agreed to appear out of respect for Lucas and because he did not want Qui-Gon to be recast.<ref name="NeesonReasons" />

 

[[Doug Chiang]] and Todd Cherniawsky were the production designers for the series,<ref name="Cherniawsky" /><ref name="Chiang" /> with [[Suttirat Anne Larlarb]] as costume designer.<ref name="Larlarb" /> Chiang, who is the vice president and executive creative director of Lucasfilm overseeing the designs of all the projects, said the biggest challenge of the series was bridging the designs of the prequel and original trilogies together and remaining faithful to the films while adding new elements. For instance, the designs of Tatooine remain consistent with the films but they were able to bring new elements to the series for the town of Anchorhead, which had first been referenced in ''Star Wars'' (1977) but had never been portrayed on screen before.<ref name="Chiang" /> Chiang and Cherniawsky collaborated to create a design and achieve the "balance" that Chow desired.<ref name="ProductionBrief" />

 

Propmaster Brad Elliott rewatched all the films in the prequel trilogy to prepare for his work on the series. He was influenced by resources [[Pablo Hidalgo]] brought for the creative team, [[Ralph McQuarrie]]'s work on the original trilogy, and techniques prop builders used in the original trilogy.<ref name="Props1" /> He chose to keep some of Kenobi's belongings, such as his macrobinoculars, holoprojectors, and datapad from the prequel trilogy. He felt "It made sense that Kenobi would take a few items with him to watch over Luke" and explained that he kept the holoprojector in case Bail Organa had contacted him. Creating Kenobi's lightsaber was challenging for the prop builders, as prop designers from the prequel and original trilogies did not use the same hilt designs, requiring the prop team on the series to merge the two iterations together "into something new that still felt authentic". He further explained that the hilt's visual aesthetic was primarily inspired from the prequel trilogy, but the team had upgraded the emitter to imitate Guinness's lightsaber in ''Star Wars''.<ref name="Props2" /> When creating the lightsabers for the Inquisitors, Filoni advised they imagined that the animated version was an "exaggerated version" of the live-action. Elliot says this helped the team keep the overall form of the lightsabers from ''Rebels'', in which the Inquisitors first appeared, but change the proportions for human contact. The team customized the diameter of the lightsabers to accommodate the actors.<ref name="Props1" />

 

Filming was expected to begin in April 2021,<ref name="Mar2021Cast" /> in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]],<ref name="LAFilming" /> with Deborah Chow directing;<ref name="LucasfilmProjects" /> Filming began on [[Star Wars Day|May 4]], 2021.<ref name="McGregorFilmingStartConfirm" /> [[Chung-hoon<!-- AS CREDITED --> Chung]] served as cinematographer for the series,<ref name="Chung" /> and the series uses the [[StageCraft]] [[video wall]] technology, which was previously used for ''The Mandalorian'' and ''[[The Book of Boba Fett]]''.<ref name="StageCraft" /><ref name="MandoConnection" /> The series also filmed in The Volume set, the stoundstage on which StageCraft is implemented, at the Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles.<ref name="VolumeFilming" /> Chow chose Chung as the cinematographer as she liked his visual style, and felt that "he had done things that were smaller, that were emotionally intense with a strong visual identity, but he also had done huge commercial projects".<ref name="ProductionBrief" />

 

McGregor did costume tests for ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' on the set of ''The Mandalorian'',<ref name="McGregorMandoCostumeTests" /> and said the StageCraft technology allowed him to enjoy working on the series more than he did on the prequel films due to the latter's extensive use of [[Chroma key|blue and green screen]].<ref name="StageCraft" /><ref name="McGregorFilmingEndConfirm" /> Chow also stated that her experience in directing episodes for ''The Mandalorian'' helped the production team to utilize the technology better.<ref name="ProductionBrief" /> Actor [[Rupert Friend]] had completed his scenes by that August.<ref name="FriendWrap" /> Filming had [[Wrap (filmmaking)|wrapped]] by September 19.<ref name="McGregorFilmingEndConfirm" /> Nicholas De Toth and Kelley Dixon.<ref name="DeToth" /><ref name="THRHaroldLeia" />

 

[[Natalie Holt]] was hired to compose the series' score, making her the first woman to score a live-action ''Star Wars'' project.<ref name="Holt" /> Recording for her music was reported to have been taking place for several months by mid-February 2022, when [[John Williams]] recorded the main theme for the series with an orchestra in Los Angeles.<ref name="Williams2" /> Holt herself later told ''[[Star Wars Insider]]'' that she was hired as composer in "late December" and "had to record in early March."<ref name="Holt Insider 217">{{cite magazine |author=Brandon Wainerdi |date=December 6, 2022 |title=Parallel Lines |number=215 |url=https://titan-comics.com/m/117-star-wars-insider-215/ |magazine=[[Star Wars Insider]] |publisher=[[Titan Publishing Group]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410212616/https://titan-comics.com/m/117-star-wars-insider-215/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Williams previously composed the scores for the main ''Star Wars'' films, and originally wrote a theme for Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977) which later became associated with the Force in general.<ref name="Williams" /> Williams approached Kennedy about composing a new theme for the series because Kenobi was the only major character from the original film that he had not written a standalone theme for, and Holt said the new theme was reflective, wistful, and had an "element of hope" which "embodies the spirit of the show entirely".<ref name="Holt" /> This was the second time Williams had written a theme for a ''Star Wars'' project for which he was not the main composer, following ''Solo'', and was the first weekly television series for which he composed the theme since ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'' in 1985.<ref name="Williams" />

 

Chow flew to London to meet with Holt and do a "two day intensive immersion" into the unfinished footage for the series. Holt then developed themes for the new characters and wrote an original score that she said had its "roots in the ''Star Wars'' tradition" more than [[Ludwig Göransson]]'s ''Mandalorian'' music did. As with previous ''Star Wars'' scores, Holt took influence from real-world cultural music to represent different planets in the series, including using [[Latin music]] for one planet and more "Eastern" sounds from [[Music of Thailand|Thailand]] and [[Music of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] for another. Holt used a [[hunting horn]] and some unusual percussion instruments played by Brian Kilgore to create the sound of the Inquisitors, which she said "stirs your guts. It's so haunting... It's that jarring, rhythmic texture". Göransson's recording engineer, [[Chris Fogel]], worked with Holt on engineering the score for ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' at Göransson's studio. Holt completed her work for the series by late April 2022.<ref name="Holt" /> Williams' "[[The Imperial March]]", "Force Theme", and "Princess Leia's Theme" are quoted in the score for "Part VI".<ref>{{cite web|first=Kevin|last=Erdmann|url=https://screenrant.com/darth-vader-imperial-march-new-meaning-kenobi/|title=Darth Vader's Imperial March Gains A Whole New Meaning After Obi-Wan|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=June 24, 2022|accessdate=March 19, 2023|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319105512/https://screenrant.com/darth-vader-imperial-march-new-meaning-kenobi/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

A short sizzle reel was released on November 12, 2021, as part of the [[Disney+ Day]] celebration, which included concept art, and McGregor and Chow discussing the series.<ref name="Disney+DaySizzle" /> The first trailer for the series was released on March 9, 2022, during Disney's annual shareholder meeting.<ref name="CNNTrailer" /> The use of Williams's score in the trailer was a notable highlight,<ref name="THRTrailer" /><ref name="DenOfGeekTrailer" /><ref name="/FilmTrailerMusic" /> with Zack Sharf of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' saying the "most awe-inspiring moment" of the trailer was its use of "[[Duel of the Fates]]" since it is "one of Williams's most bombastic pieces of score music" and featuring it in the trailer "points to a reunion of friend [Kenobi] and foe [Anakin Skywalker] in the new series".<ref name="VarietyTrailer" /> Daniel Chin of ''[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]]'' also praised the trailer, stating that it "delivers a rush of ''Star Wars'' prequel nostalgia" and also noted the use of "Duel of the Fates", which he felt set the tone and stakes of the series.<ref name="TheRingerTrailer" /> A second trailer was released on May 4 to commemorate [[Star Wars Day|''Star Wars'' Day]], with ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]''{{'s}} Ryan Parker describing it as "intense".<ref name="DeadlineTrailer2" /><ref name="THRTrailer2" /> Many commentators highlighted the appearance of Darth Vader in the trailer.<ref name="THRTrailer2" /><ref name="PolygonTrailer2" /><ref name="SyfyTrailer2" /><ref name="VarietyTrailer2" /> Michael McWhertor from ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]'' felt it gave "a glimpse at the intensity of the Empire's hunt for one of the last remaining practitioners of the Force".<ref name="PolygonTrailer2" /> Meanwhile, Joss Weiss of ''[[Syfy]]'' wrote that it depicts Kenobi dealing with "shameful mistakes of his own past".<ref name="SyfyTrailer2" /> However, Angela Watercutter from ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' expressed skepticism based on the trailer, and opined "everything ''Star Wars'' just feels like it's on auto-pilot".<ref name="WiredTrailer2" />

 

The series was promoted at [[Star Wars Celebration|''Star Wars'' Celebration]] on May 26, including an advance screening of the first two episodes and a live performance of the main theme by the [[Pacific Symphony]] orchestra, conducted by Williams.<ref name="CelebrationScreening" /><ref name="CelebrationOrchestra" /> In May 2022, [[Volkswagen]] released a commercial promoting the series and its electrical car model, [[Volkswagen ID. Buzz|ID. Buzz]], featuring R2-D2, C-3PO, and McGregor. Two editions of the car, inspired by ''Star Wars'', were created in a collaboration between designers from Volkswagen and Lucasfilm, and later shown at the 2022 ''Star Wars'' Celebration.<ref name="VolkswagenPressRelease" /> The "Obi-Wan Wednesdays" product program, which reveals toys, apparel, action figures, accessories, books, and comics related to the series following an episode's release, started on May 25 and concluded on June 29.<ref name="OWWProductProgram" />

 

''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' premiered on Disney+ on May 26, 2022, with its first two episodes. They were released three hours earlier than expected, at 9 p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PDT]], rather than at 12 a.m. PDT on May 27.<ref name="ReleaseDate" /><ref name="Episodes" /><ref name="FirstEpisodesEarlyRelease" /> A content warning was added to the first, fifth, and sixth episodes due to the similarities between scenes depicting violence involving children during [[Order 66 (Star Wars)|Order 66]] and the [[Robb Elementary School shooting]] from May 24.<ref name="ContentWarning" /><ref name="Ep5ContentWarning" /> The series' other four episodes were released weekly on Wednesdays from June 1 until June 22.<ref name="ReleaseDate" /><ref name="Episodes" /> It was originally set to premiere on May 25, the 45th anniversary of the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977.<ref name="OriginalReleaseDate" />

 

''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was released on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray]] and [[Blu-ray]] by [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]] on April 30, 2024, with [[SteelBook]] packaging and concept art cards. Bonus features include featurettes and commentary from Chow.<ref name="PhysicalMedia" />

 

According to [[Whip Media]], ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was the most anticipated new television series of May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prange |first=Stephanie |date=2022-04-28 |title=Disney+'s 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Top New Show, Netflix's 'Stranger Things' Top Returning Show Anticipated in May |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/disneys-obi-wan-kenobi-top-new-show-netflixs-stranger-things-top-returning-show-anticipated-in-may/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Media Play News |language=en-US |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007190345/https://www.mediaplaynews.com/disneys-obi-wan-kenobi-top-new-show-netflixs-stranger-things-top-returning-show-anticipated-in-may/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Disney announced that ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was the most-watched series premiere for the streaming service in its opening weekend.<ref name="MostWatchedPremiere" /> According to the streaming aggregator [[JustWatch]], ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was the most streamed TV show across all platforms in the United States, during the week ending May 29, 2022,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gruenwedel |first=Erik |date=2022-05-31 |title=JustWatch: 'Top Gun,' 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Top Weekly Streamed Content |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-top-gun-obi-wan-kenobi-top-weekly-streamed-content/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Media Play News |language=en-US |archive-date=October 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031144352/https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-top-gun-obi-wan-kenobi-top-weekly-streamed-content/ |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as during the week of May 30, 2022 to June 5, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gruenwedel |first=Erik |date=2022-06-06 |title=JustWatch: 'Top Gun,' 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Again Top Weekly Streaming |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-top-gun-obi-wan-kenobi-again-top-weekly-streaming/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Media Play News |language=en-US |archive-date=October 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031140335/https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-top-gun-obi-wan-kenobi-again-top-weekly-streaming/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was the most streamed TV show across all platforms, during the week of June 11, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haysom |first=Sam |date=2022-06-11 |title=The 10 most streamed TV shows of the week. The top 2 are easy to guess. |url=https://mashable.com/article/most-streamed-tv-shows-what-to-watch-june-11 |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Mashable |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004152905/https://mashable.com/article/most-streamed-tv-shows-what-to-watch-june-11 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Samba TV]], "Part I" was viewed in 2.14 million U.S. households from May 27–30, surpassing the premieres for ''The Mandalorian'' [[The Mandalorian (season 2)|second season]] (2.08 million) and ''The Book of Boba Fett'' (1.5 million).<ref name="SambaMay27–30" /> During June 22–26, the ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' finale was watched in 1.8 million households, up 20% from ''The'' ''Book of Boba Fett''{{'}}s 1.5 million.<ref name="FinaleViews" /> According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' was the 2nd most streamed television series and the 3rd most streamed program across all platforms, during the week of June 22, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reelgood: Hulu Drama Series 'The Old Man' Topped Weekly Streaming Through June 22 – Media Play News |date=June 24, 2022 |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/reelgood-hulu-drama-series-the-old-man-topped-weekly-streaming-through-june-22/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |language=en-US |archive-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005180613/https://www.mediaplaynews.com/reelgood-hulu-drama-series-the-old-man-topped-weekly-streaming-through-june-22/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Connellan |first1=Shannon |last2=Haysom |first2=Sam |date=2022-06-25 |title=What everyone's watching: The most streamed TV shows this week are thrillers |url=https://mashable.com/article/most-streamed-tv-shows-what-to-watch-june-25 |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=Mashable |language=en |archive-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005180618/https://mashable.com/article/most-streamed-tv-shows-what-to-watch-june-25 |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

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According to Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo, [[George Lucas]] was consulted regarding his thoughts of the project, and Lucas praised the miniseries highly, considering it one of his favorite new Disney ''Star Wars'' productions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morrison|first=Morrison|date=2024-05-10|title="One Of His Favorite Things": George Lucas' Thoughts On Obi-Wan Kenobi TV Series Revealed By Lucasfilm Exec|url=https://screenrant.com/star-wars-obi-wan-kenobi-george-lucas-reaction/|access-date=2024-05-10|website=[[ScreenRant]]|language=en-US|archive-date=May 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510022715/https://screenrant.com/star-wars-obi-wan-kenobi-george-lucas-reaction/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

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By May 2022, Disney and Lucasfilm had decided not to submit the series for consideration at the [[74th Primetime Emmy Awards]] because to meet the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]'s criteria they would have to make all of the series' episodes available to Academy voters by June 15, 2022, which would require the final two episodes of the series to be released early.<ref name="74thEmmysRace" />

 

For her role as Reva Sevander, Moses Ingram said she received hundreds of [[Private message|direct messages]] on [[Instagram]] containing death threats and racist abuse which she revealed examples of on May 31, 2022. This prompted Disney and her colleagues, including [[Ewan McGregor]], to defend her.<ref>{{cite web |last=Asmelash |first=Leah |date=June 1, 2022 |title='Star Wars' calls out racism after attacks on Moses Ingram |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/31/entertainment/moses-ingram-obi-wan-kenobi-racism-cec/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602002617/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/31/entertainment/moses-ingram-obi-wan-kenobi-racism-cec/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pulliam-Moore |first=Charles |date=May 31, 2022 |title=Star Wars stands with Obi-Wan Kenobi's Moses Ingram amid racist fan backlash |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23148468/star-wars-obi-wan-moses-ingram-third-sister |website=The Verge |language=en |access-date=June 1, 2022 |archive-date=June 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601000344/https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23148468/star-wars-obi-wan-moses-ingram-third-sister |url-status=live }}</ref> McGregor, in a video posted to the official ''Star Wars'' social media accounts, called the abusive messages "horrendous" and said that "if you're sending her bullying messages, you're no [[Star Wars fandom|''Star Wars'' fan]] in my mind".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cain |first1=Sian |date=June 1, 2022 |title=Disney and Ewan McGregor condemn 'horrendous' racism sent to Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jun/01/disney-and-ewan-mcgregor-condemn-horrendous-racism-sent-to-obi-wan-kenobi-star-moses-ingram |website=The Guardian |access-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-date=June 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601184003/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jun/01/disney-and-ewan-mcgregor-condemn-horrendous-racism-sent-to-obi-wan-kenobi-star-moses-ingram |url-status=live }}</ref> Ingram went on to win a Saturn Award for her performance as Reva.<ref name="IngramSaturnAward" />

 

In August 2022, Disney announced the documentary special ''Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return'' which premiered on September 8, 2022, [[Disney+ Day]]. The documentary explores the making of the series, and the returns of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.<ref name="AJedisReturn" />