Profile

Name: Ben Kenobi
Played by: Ewan McGregor
Species: Human
Status: Single, Jedi Knight
Age: 25 - 28 yrs old
Height: Unknown
Sex: Male
Homeworld: Tatooine
Political Affiliation: Jedi
Weapon of Choice: Lightsaber
Vehicle of Choice: Unknown
Quotes: "The council have granted me permission to train you."
"You will be a Jedi. I promise."
"Do not defy the council, Master, not again."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin. Without the approval of the council, if I must."

©1997 LucasFilm Ltd.

The Facts

Ben Kenobi

This comes from the back of the Obi-Wan figure which describes him (courtesy of Sir Steve's):

Legendary among heroes of the Rebel Alliance, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi is regarded as one of the greatest Jedi Knights ever to have lived. As a young Jedi who had just completed his training, Obi-Wan made a solemn pledge to train young Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Anakin became a Jedi, but then turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Many years later destiny would have an older and wiser Obi-Wan guiding Anakin's own son, Luke Skywalker, in the ways of the Force, and ultimately in turning Vader back to the light side.

Ben Kenobi Ben Kenobi

According to Rick McCallum in the #34 issue of the Star Wars insider, Ben will be 25-28 years old during the first prequel. Ewan McGregor said on UK television that he will be playing him in all three prequels. The CD "Behind the Magic" revealed that Tatooine is Obi-Wan's home world and Owen Lars IS his brother

Ben Kenobi
Ben Kenobi
©1997 LucasFilm Ltd.

Not much is known about Kenobi's youth. Obi-Wan has a brother: Owen Lars, known to us as Luke's "uncle" Owen. We don't know exactly at what age Ben began to train in the ways of the Jedi, but eventually he became a student of the Jedi Master Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn will be his mentor. During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan eventually became a general of the Republic and he served under Prince Bail Organa of Alderaan who became the Jedi's life-long friend.

"My pride had terrible consequences for the galaxy," Obi-Wan tells Luke in the Return of the Jedi novelization. He was referring to his past belief that he could train a powerful young Force-sensitive named Anakin Skywalker as well as a Jedi Master such as Yoda could. He was amazed at how strongly the Force was with Anakin, who was also already a great pilot, and he gave in to the temptation to make Anakin his apprentice. Anakin was not ready for the responsibility that came with wielding the Force, and as we all know he fell to the Dark Side.

Ben Kenobi Ben Kenobi

Somewhere in the films, late in Episode III according to when James Earl Jones said his voice would be needed, Ben will try to dissuade Anakin Skywalker from the dark path he has chosen, and the confrontation will result in he and Anakin squaring off in a lightsaber duel near a molten pit. Ben will defeat Anakin in the battle, and Skywalker will fall into the molten pit--his body broken and charred so that he requires the famous metallic structure of Darth Vader to sustain his life.


From Entertainment Weekly Jan 22-29, 1999 (scanned by T-Bone.)

Anakin did not know that his wife was pregnant at the time of his descent into the Dark Side, and Ben and Anakin's wife greatly feared for the safety of her unborn children. Towards the end of the prequel trilogy Ben will take baby Luke to his brother Owen and Owen's wife Beru on the desert planet Tatooine, where the couple will raise the galaxy's messiah in safe anonymity. Obi-Wan fades into the Jundland Wastes and becomes Ben "the crazy old wizard" Kenobi, waiting for the day when Luke is ready to become a Jedi.


Image by Mike Bastarache

Here are two quotes by Ewan McGregor in Details magazine:

"This guy looked me in the eye and said, 'Are you ready?' Then he opened up a brief case-sized box with eight or nine lightsaber handles. I picked up the sexiest one. I realized, I've been waiting twenty years to have my own lightsaber."

It's Ewan's turn to buy a round of drinks, but that doesn't stop everyone from mocking his Jedi haircut. "They're paying me a lot of money to keep my hair like this," he protests. Then he pulls out something surprising that he's kept tucked behind his right ear: a three-inch lock of hair."

Finally, Lucasfilm registered the domain name www.obiwan.net.

Ben Kenobi
Ben Kenobi

Unofficial Sources

Imperial Droid: Obi-Wan's hair will be spikey on top, with a braid in it. Ewan McGregor confirmed this in an interview with Details magazine! According to the Droid Anakin will adopt Obi-Wan's hairstyle by the end of the film (a sign that he idolizes the young Jedi.

Ben Kenobi

Rumors and Speculation

According to this particular rumor, in Episode I Obi-Wan is supposed to be a figure reminiscent of Han Solo. This rumor is supported by the fact that in Star Wars Insider #35 George Lucas calls Ewan McGregor both a young Alec Guiness and a young Harrison Ford. If you look at the cast references in context, Lucas compares the A New Hope cast with the Episode I cast and basically leads the reader to the conclusion that Padme is the Leia of the prequels, Anakin is the Luke, and Obi-Wan is the Han Solo of the prequels...which indirectly adds credence to the theory that Jar Jar is the Chewie of the prequels.


Image by Mike Bastarache

Love Triangle?: Ever since George Lucas mentioned in the Star Wars Screen Saver that the new trilogy would feature "betrayal amongst friends", fans have wondered whether Kenobi would be the cause of the falling out between Anakin and his wife, for one reason or another. A while back Chris heard that the rumors of a love triangle were true--only Ben wouldn't be a part of that triangle. It does make sense that the close friendship had by Kenobi and Skywalker would deteriorate over one major, personal event like the one this rumor suggests, thus opening Anakin to question the values that Ben passed down to him in the Force. Something like this would be very true to the Aurthurian legends or myths that inspired Lucas' writing. Whether this is valid remains to be seen.

The Clone Rumor: Ever since The Empire Strikes Back there has been a rumor that Obi-Wan Kenobi was actually a clone of the original man, Ben Kenobi. One piece of evidence supporting this rumor is that Owen Lars has seems to have no love for the crazy old hermit that lives out in the Jundland Wastes. Of course, that could easily be explained in that Obi-Wan wants to train Luke in the ways of the Force and Owen will not take the chance of Obi-Wan ruining the child he raised as his own boy the way the Jedi ruined Luke's father. One could also say that Owen had no love for the Kenobi out in the Wastes because that Obi-Wan Kenobi was not his brother Ben, but a clone of him. We don't buy this rumor.

More support comes from the fact that George Lucas disallowed Tim Zahn from using an insane clone of Ben Kenobi in his book trilogy (the character was replaced by an insane clone of Jedi Jorus C'Boath). The only time Lucas doesn't allow authors to do things in when it will bust up continuity. Hmmm. We still don't buy this rumor.


Image by Mike Bastarache

Is Obi-Wan Kenobi the member of a noble family?: A while back someone on the AICN Forum reported that she had a friend in costume design who said that Obi-Wan will be wearing a blue band around his arm that denotes his royal birth.