All 10 Movies (& TV Shows) Featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi in Order
As one of the most beloved, most popular, and most recognized characters in Star Wars history, Obi-Wan Kenobi has appeared in ten different canon Star Wars projects, from the original trilogy to his own standalone TV series on Disney+.
In this article, we’re breaking down all 10 of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s appearances in movies & TV shows, in both release and chronological order. Bear in mind, the character did appear in many other projects, such as the 2003-2005 2D animated series ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ – but seeing that the show is not a part of the official canon, I’m not including it on the list. Enjoy!
Movies & TV shows featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi in order by release date
If you want to go right ahead and watch every canon project that included Obi-Wan Kenobi from the start, here’s the correct release order of all ten of those projects:
- ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ (1977)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008) [Animated movie]
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008-2020) [Animated series]
- ‘Star Wars Rebels’ (2014-2018)
- ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ (2021)
This is the definitive list of every Star Wars canon movie & TV show that includes the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi, ordered by their release date. However, that doesn’t mean they are chronologically ordered.
Throughout the rest of the article, I’ll explain how each of these movies is connected and how watching all of these in chronological order makes a huge difference in viewership experience. You should note that we’ll probably have spoilers ahead, so if you are a ‘Star Wars’ newbie and don’t want anything spoiled, stick to the list above and stop reading this article further.
Are all Obi-Wan Kenobi movies & TV shows connected? What’s the best order to watch them?
All of the shows and movies on this list belong to the official Star Wars canon, established by Disney after buying Lucasfilm in 2012 (and later establishing the official canon timeline in 2014). Therefore, all these movies are connected in a chronological timeline of events.
Add that to the fact that we’re talking about a specific character here, and the answer is quite evident – yes, all Obi-Wan Kenobi movies and TV shows are connected to each other. When put together, they display a clear and evident timeline of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, from his young Padawan days with his Master Qui-Gon Jinn up to his death and afterlife as a Force Ghost.
Of course, these movies and shows aren’t connected solely by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life and death – in fact, he is only a minor character or even a cameo appearance in several of these entries. However, he is integral to the grand ‘Star Wars’ storyline.
Kenobi mentored young Anakin Skywalker, who eventually fell to the Dark Side. Obi-Wan felt enormous grief and guilt over that fact but still looked after Anakin’s son, Luke, and mentored him, playing a crucial part in Darth Vader’s eventual defeat in ‘Return of the Jedi.’
What’s the best order to watch movies & TV shows featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Now, if you watch all of these movies and TV shows as listed above – that is, by their release date – you’ll still be able to piece everything together. For Star Wars fans that grew up as these movies and shows were coming out, there was no other way of watching. However, today, we benefit from ordering our watch list as we see fit.
And the best order to watch all Obi-Wan Kenobi movies and TV shows is definitely by chronological order. If we were talking about any other Star Wars character – or the Star Wars franchise in general – I’d give you the same answer – you can watch by release order. Still, it’s best to watch everything chronologically now that we can do so.
That way, you don’t have to organize the overall timeline yourself. You’ll have a clear idea of the course of events that transpired in the galaxy. Also, I found it very interesting how the writers and producers of these shows and movies still tried to fit each character’s growth and development into the particular era of the ‘Star Wars’ timeline, regardless of when the movie/show was actually released.
I’m trying to say that by watching all Obi-Wan Kenobi movies and shows chronologically, I believe you’ll get the most out of the character. You’ll follow Kenobi as he grew up and grew old, how he matured from a young, brash Padawan to a wise, noble Jedi Master, despite all the hardships he endured in between.
If you want to learn more about the chronological order of these films and series, the next subheading will explain it in detail.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s movie & TV show appearances in chronological order
As we have mentioned earlier, the best way to watch all Obi-Wan Kenobi movies and TV show appearances is in chronological order. That way, you get to follow the character throughout his life through all the battles, tough decisions, and heartbreaks he had to go through.
That will eventually lead you to understand the character and his motivations better, especially once you get to the last chronological appearances of Kenobi – which were, in fact, his first appearances when watching by release order.
The list of all Obi-Wan Kenobi’s movie and TV show appearances in chronological order looks as such:
- ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008) [Animated movie]
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008-2020) [Animated series]
- ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)
- ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ (2021)
- ‘Star Wars Rebels’ (2014-2018)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ (1977)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
- ‘Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
In ‘Rebels,’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ and ‘Return of the Jedi,’ Obi-Wan has a minor role – an appearance in a few episodes of ‘Rebels,’ and a couple of Force Ghost appearances advising young Luke Skywalker in the two above-mentioned films.
However, they are still an important part of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s journey, as they clearly depict his undying fidelity and fondness for Luke, protecting him and keeping him safe, even from the shadows or even from the world beyond our own.
Where to watch the above-mentioned movies & shows?
Remember how we mentioned that Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012? Well, since they launched their own streaming platform, Disney+, all of these shows and movies are available for streaming on that platform with a regular subscription.
Naturally, you can buy/rent the movies through the usual channels, such as Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or Roku, but Disney+ is by far the most affordable, straightforward, and easiest way to watch all of these in one place.
Not only that – you get to watch a ton of additional Star Wars content, both canon and Legends. I highly recommend checking out ‘The Bad Batch’ for Star Wars canon content and ‘Visions’ for Legends content.
Will there be more movies or TV shows featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Right now, there are no official confirmations of canon projects that may include Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his storyline is seemingly completed with his own mini-series on Disney+. However, seeing how popular the character is and how well-received the show was among fans, it’s not out of the question that Obi-Wan could return at some point in the future.
However, at the 2023 Star Wars Celebration event, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said that ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Season 2 – or any other project, for that matter – is not currently in development, although she also said that
‘Ewan McGregor really wants to do another,’ and ‘we’ll turn our attention to that again, maybe, down the road.’
So, who knows? Maybe Kenobi’s story will get even more profoundly fleshed out in the future. Never say never, guys.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
