Two-and-a-half years in, it’s safe to say Disney’s grand venture into a televised Star Wars universe has been something of a mixed bag. The Mandalorian succeeded against the odds, with Grogu / “Baby Yoda” instantly becoming the galaxy’s most popular new addition in decades. The Book of Boba Fett started out aimless and tedious, before essentially abandoning its premise – and lead character – halfway through and transforming into another season of The Mandalorian. Obi-Wan Kenobi, released on Disney Plus on Friday, offers a slight change of tack: a self-contained story, centring on one of the saga’s most familiar characters. Judging by the first two episodes, it feels like it’s pulled it off.
The six-episode miniseries sees Ewan McGregor reprise the role of the droll, bearded Jedi he inhabited in George Lucas’s prequel trilogy. Ten years have passed since the events of Revenge of the Sith – though what’s a year, really, on a planet with two suns? – and we re-meet Obi-Wan lying low on the planet of Tatooine, watching over a young Luke Skywalker from afar. It’s a miserable and thankless task for Obi-Wan, who is being sought by a trio of inquisitors: former Jedi who work for the Empire as Jedi hunters.
