First introduced inStar Wars IV: A New Hope, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi has been a constant figure in theStar Warsfranchise. Though the role he played in A New Hope seemed minor by comparison to Luke, Leia and Han’s adventure, it was Obi-Wan who helped Luke visualize the path he was meant to walk. Portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy, the role was reprized in 1999 byEwan McGregor, who began fleshing out the character as a 25-year-old padawan training under the guidance of Master Qui-Gon Jin (Liam Neeson) inStar War Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
McGregor’s visual portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi would also be seen in animated series likeStar Wars: Clone Wars(2003), the CGI-animatedStar Wars: The Clone Wars(2008),Star Wars Rebels(2014), and had a brief, non-speaking cameo in 2021’sThe Bad Batch. With Disney at the helm of the franchise, they’ve released numerousStar Warsseries over the last few years, includingObi-Wan Kenobi, which aired on Disney+ and followed the titular character on a mission to retrieve a young Princess Leia after she was kidnapped by the Galactic Empire in an effort to draw the Jedi out of hiding.
Over the years, Obi-Wan has been both apprentice and master, overseeingAnakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen)training when he was a padawan, and later training Luke Skywalker to tap into the Force before Kenobi’s untimely death in a duel against Darth Vader. Even though their time together was short, Obi-Wan left a lasting impression on Luke. Seeing his master die would put the young Skywalker on a path to bring the Jedi back into the spotlight after Order 66 pushed the Jedi into hiding.
Though his humor often felt dry, and at times he appeared far too serious when standing beside his unruly padawan, Obi-Wan was quite capable of making a joke, and even using the Force in ways that weren’t generally encouraged. He also left both his students and viewing audiences with a lot of wisdom to ponder.
10"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
InStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Obi-Wan came face to face with his former student-turned Sith lord,Darth Vader. As the pair engaged in their final showdown, Obi-Wan issued a warning Vader wouldn’t dare to heed. His death at Vader’s hands would put an eager, youngLuke Skywalkeron a focused course to become a Jedi and, at long last, bring balance back to the Force.
As petulant as he was when he was Obi-Wan’s student, Vader made his move and Obi-Wan disappeared as his robes dropped to the ground. His death definitely lit a fire under Luke, who made the journey to Dagobah to study under Master Yoda and become a Jedi.
9"Only a Sith deals in absolutes."
Star Wars: Episode VI - Revenge of the Sith, saw student and master come to blows in one of the franchise’s most epic one-on-one battles. When Anakin told Obi-Wan that if he wasn’t with him, he was against him, it provoked his master to point out that it was a Sith attribute to force one’s hand. Anakin always struggled to see anything outside his personal scope, and that narrow-minded purview only increased with Darth Sidious' twisted influence.
8"Have you ever been afraid of the dark?"
While Obi-Wan traveled with a young Princess Leia Organa in Disney +‘sObi-Wan Kenobi, Leia often engaged him in curious questions about Jedi and the Force, which had become the stuff of legends thanks to Order 66. When asking him what the Force felt like, Obi-Wan asked her, “Have you ever been afraid of the dark? How does it feel when you turn on the light? It feels like that.”
There have been countless reflections on the nature of the Force, both within and beyond theStar Warsuniverse,but Obi-Wan’s thoughtful descriptiongives it a whole new meaning. The Force is comfort, safety, and life itself.
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7"Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"
While trapped on the Death Star inA New Hope, Han, Luke, and Chewy were all convinced they’d never make it out alive, to which Obi-Wan pointed out that in their own way, they were all fools. It’s a posh way of saying, “If Han and Chewy jumped off the bridge, would you jump, too, Luke?” Though, in the scene, even the wise old Jedi feels like a bit of a fool because of the situation they’re all in.
6"I have the high ground."
During the epic battle between Jedi-Master and former student-turned-Sith, Obi-Wan tried to appeal to Anakin, but he’d always been singularly focused and difficult to reach once he decided on something. Though he was standing on the high ground above Anakin, he was also talking about the moral high ground. Anakin could no longer see that to obtain what he wanted for himself, the cost to others around him would be immense, and if he did see it, he didn’t care. By that point, he was already lost, which broke Obi-Wan’s heart.
5"It takes strength to resist the Dark Side. Only the weak embrace it."
When captured by Lord Maul and Savage Opress, they tried to test Obi-Wan’s resolve and commitment to his path. He resisted them, of course, showing a display of strength while also pointing out their weakness for having chosen the dark path. One can’t help wondering if those words might have changed anything if he’d said them to his own apprentice before things with Anakin took a turn for the worse. Then again, Obi-Wan wasn’t one to avoid a good lecture when it was needed. Anakin simply chose to ignore his wisdom.
4"A Jedi’s goal is to defend life, not take it."
While he was training Anakin, the young padawan had an unquenchable thirst for victory that often boggled Obi-Wan’s mind. The dominating urge Anakin had to win came with an unhealthy urge to sulk and complain when he didn’t get his way. While almost aggressively pointing out why his Master’s strategy will fail, Obi-Wan scolds him for being too aggressive, reminding him of the Jedi purpose. They are protectors of life, not killers. It was a lesson Anakin never quite mastered, preferring victory no matter the cost.
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3"These aren’t the droids you’re looking for."
No one can ever say Obi-Wan Kenobi didn’t have a sense of humor. In fact, he was quite keen on using Jedi mind tricks to keep himself out of trouble. With Imperial Storm Troopers searching Tattooine for droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, Obi-Wan employed his skill with the Force against the Troopers to convince them the droids in the back of the speeder weren’t the ones they sought.
One of the most interesting things about this scene is that he focuses his energy on a single Storm Trooper, who relays the information to the others on patrol, suggesting he was so adept at using the force to create confusion and misdirection that it extended to all the other Troopers as well. It’s also possible Obi-Wan was meant to be hiding the trick from the others, and 1970s’ film crews weren’t sure how to achieve that.
2"You want to go home and rethink your life."
While Obi-Wan and Anakin were on Coruscant, a death-stick dealer named Elan Sleazebaggano asked if he wanted to buy some death sticks. Employing the Jedi mind trick, Obi-Wan told Elan that he not only didn’t want to sell him any deathsticks, he also wanted to go home and rethink his life. One could almost argue it was this type of behavior that turned the general populace away from the Jedi when the Empire took control, but it’s unlikely that was true.
1"A great leap forward often requires first taking two steps back."
When Anakin went into a frustrated rage about Padme andhis apprentice Ahsoka Tanobeing infected by the Blue Shadow Virus, he marches off throwing out ideas without really thinking. Obi-Wan chasing after him and telling him to calm down didn’t help matters much. Anakin did seem to take a moment to consider the situation again when Obi-Wan told him that sometimes to move forward, they have to take a couple of steps back to fully look at the circumstances that got them into the situation.
