Ewan McGregor gave Star Wars fans renewed hope for a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi, revealing that Lucasfilm is currently “exploring” options for a potential Season 2. That doesn’t necessarily mean Season 2 is happening just yet, but then again, there was a time we never thought we’d see McGregor reprise the Obi-Wan role after Revenge of the Sith.
The question remains, though - what would a second season of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi be about? How do you spin another big adventure out of an era when Obi-Wan is supposed to be lying low and keeping a watchful eye on young Luke Skywalker? Are we going to find out Obi-Wan and Darth Vader had another reunion the movies never told us about? Let’s explore the options and take a closer look at why there’s still plenty of story left to be told in Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season 2.
Obi-Wan Season 2: Tatooine
The big hurdle with any Obi-Wan Kenobi story set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is that it’s inherently limited by the Star Wars canon. This is a 20-year period where Obi-Wan is devoted to a single mission - watching over Luke Skywalker and waiting for the day when the son of the Chosen One can embrace his destiny in the Force. There’s not much room in there for Obi-Wan to abandon his mission, leave Tatooine, and jetset across the galaxy.
The first season got around that hurdle by introducing a conflict great enough to justify the idea of Obi-Wan leaving Tatooine and confronting Vader and the Empire. There, it wasn’t Luke who needed protecting, but his twin sister Leia. Season 1 manages to dance between the raindrops of the movies, showing us a new confrontation between Obi-Wan and Vader and establishing a previously unknown connection between Obi-Wan and Leia without completely breaking the canon.
There’s no reason to assume Season 2 can’t do the same. All it takes is clever writing and some outside-the-box thinking. But does a second season necessarily need to go as big as the first? Is it possible we could see a season set entirely on Tatooine this time?
That’s generally been the approach with the various novels and comics that have explored Obi-Wan’s life during this era of the timeline. For example, John Jackson Miller’s 2013 novel Star Wars: Kenobi (which is now part of the “Legends” timeline) details Obi-Wan’s first weeks on the desert planet, as he’s reluctantly drawn into a conflict between a group of farmers and a roving band of Tusken Raiders. Jason Aaron’s Star Wars comic features a recurring series of interludes framed as entries in Obi-Wan’s diary, as Luke continues his education and learns more about the Jedi Master’s exploits on Tatooine.
The idea is that Obi-Wan is still a Jedi at the end of the day, and he can’t allow himself to idly sit by while injustice plays out nearby. Maybe he was able to ignore the wider world around him during those first 10 years leading up to the events of Season 1, but now he’s experienced a reawakening in the Force and a renewed sense of purpose. If we’ve learned anything about Tatooine over the decades, it’s that this world is full of scum and villainy. It’s not hard to imagine a story where Obi-Wan is cast as the wandering gunslinger who arrives to help a struggling village survive against bandits, smugglers, or other intergalactic riffraff. Season 2 could put its own spin on iconic Kurosawa samurai films like The Seven Samurai or Yojimbo.
The real question is whether there’s enough meat on that type of story to justify another big-budget streaming season. It’s one thing to do an Obi-Wan-centric Western as a book or comic. It’s another thing to actually bring McGregor back into the fold. The Mandalorian has already done the “Star Wars Meets Kurosawa” trope, and The Book of Boba Fett tested fans’ patience with a series mostly set on Tatooine. There’s surely a story to be told with Obi-Wan battling evil on Tatooine. But is it a good enough story to justify a Season 2?
The Legacy of Duchess Satine
When considering the possibility of an Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season 2, it’s best if Lucasfilm operates with a few core questions in mind. What would a new season add to Obi-Wan’s story? What loose ends are left over from the Prequels and The Clone Wars? How would returning to this era of the Star Wars timeline enrich Obi-Wan as a character?
Season 1 found (mostly) satisfying answers to those questions. Again, it established a relationship between Obi-Wan and Leia we never knew existed, one that retroactively enhances our enjoyment of A New Hope. It showed us how Obi-Wan struggled with a loss of faith and found it again. And perhaps most importantly, it showed us what happened when Obi-Wan discovered the truth about Darth Vader and realized his former pupil was truly lost to the Dark Side.
So what’s left for Season 2 to explore? If there’s any loose end from the Clone Wars days that deserves to be followed up, it’s definitely Obi-Wan’s relationship with Duchess Satine Kryze. In that animated series, Satine is the ruler of Mandalore, one determined to lead her society into a more democratic future despite the raging Clone Wars conflict and the interference of Paz Vizsla and his Mandalorian fundamentalists. The series establishes that Satine and Obi-Wan have a history together, one that seems to surpass mere friendship and enter into romantic territory.
Ultimately, we only learn so much about that relationship before Satine loses control of her world and is killed by Darth Maul. Just how close were Satine and Obi-Wan when they were younger? Did Obi-Wan violate his Jedi vows by carrying on a relationship with her? How much is he haunted by the memory of her death while exiled on Tatooine?
Those are questions we’d love to see explored in Season 2. It would be great to gain more insight into the Obi-Wan/Satine dynamic. Perhaps Satine could be the catalyst for drawing Obi-Wan off-world again. Maybe her surviving family members are put in danger? Or what if we learn that Satine had Obi-Wan’s child and kept them secret? That would certainly justify the idea of Obi-Wan leaving Tatooine all over again. Just picture a Season 2 built around the idea of Obi-Wan racing against the Empire to track down the long-lost son or daughter he never knew he had.
Ideally, a Satine-focused Season 2 would also include flashbacks to the Clone Wars era. Season 1 gave us one flashback in the form of the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel in Episode 4. Season 2 could spend even more time in the past as it fleshes out this pivotal but little-understood relationship in Obi-Wan’s life.
Could Darth Vader Return?
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season 1 defined expectations by finding a way to include Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader and chronicle a rematch between master and apprentice without violating Star Wars canon. It’s safe to say that their duel in Episode 6 and the subsequent “unmasking” of Anakin was the highlight of the series for many viewers. Could Season 2 repeat that feat? Is there a way to include the Dark Lord of the Sith again without running roughshod over the series’ timeline?
Frankly, it might be a taller order this time around. Season 1 ends by effectively closing the book on the Vader/Obi-Wan rivalry. Vader is forced to put his obsession with Obi-Wan to one side after Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine reminds him to focus on his true priorities. And for his part, Obi-Wan seems content with the knowledge that there’s nothing left inside Vader to be redeemed. It’s difficult to see how another reunion would have anything to add to their relationship. Plus, Vader specifically points out in A New Hope that he hasn’t sensed Obi-Wan’s presence in a long time, so at some point, the franchise needs to ensure the two characters keep their distance.
If Vader were to appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season 2, it would have to be in a more limited capacity. We could see him putting in a small appearance as he commands his Inquisitors again. And there’s certainly nothing stopping Christensen from reprising the Clone Wars-era Anakin role in flashbacks. But as for Vader serving as the series’ main villain again, we can’t see it happening.
If any character from Season 1 seems poised to make a return appearance, it’s Moses Ingram’s Reva. In Season 1, we saw Reva relentlessly pursue Obi-Wan and betray her fellow Inquisitors, all as part of her ultimate plot to kill Vader. When last we saw Reva, she had abandoned her backup plan of killing Luke. What becomes of Reva after that decision? Does she try to start a new life for herself or continue her plot to kill Vader by other means? That’s something we wouldn’t mind seeing explored in Season 2.
Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul
Darth Vader may not be in a position to return as the main villain of Season 2, but we could easily see another Sith Lord stepping in to fill those boots. If Vader was Obi-Wan’s primary nemesis in Season 1, it only makes sense to have Darth Maul rise to the forefront in Season 2.
Maul’s rivalry with Obi-Wan is easily one of the most compelling plotlines in The Clone Wars. Over the course of the series, we learn that Maul survived being sliced in half on Naboo, clinging to life through the power of his hatred for Obi-Wan. Maul returns to form the underworld alliance known as the Shadow Collective and claims vengeance against Obi-Wan by murdering Satine. That said, Maul made it pretty clear he’s not going to be happy until he actually kills Obi-Wan, something that ultimately culminates in Star Wars Rebels.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Maul’s story between the final season of The Clone Wars and the events of Rebels. The first season of Obi-Wan Kenobi was set smack dab in the middle of that period, so that makes the series a logical place to flesh out this murky period in Maul’s life. We know from Solo: A Star Wars Story that Maul is currently reigning over Crimson Dawn. But as for how he loses control of that organization and winds up marooned on the Sith world of Malachor in Rebels, we still don’t have an answer.
Season 2 could fill in those blanks. And especially if the new season delves deeper into the relationship between Obi-Wan and Satine, it only makes sense to bring Satine’s killer back into the picture. In fact, Maul was reportedly set to play a major role in the first season before it was reworked to focus on Vader and the Inquisitors. Why not try again?
The only issue here is that, like with Vader, there’s nothing in the established canon that suggests Obi-Wan and Maul encountered one another during this era. Maul may have been doggedly looking for any trace of his old nemesis, but as far as we know, he never tracks down Obi-Wan until the events of the Rebels episode “Twin Suns.” But again, all it takes is some clever writing to find a way to make this unlikely reunion happen. And if Lucasfilm is reluctant to cast Ray Park again given the actor’s recent controversies, we think Maul’s voice actor Sam Witwer would excel at playing the role in live-action for the first time.
The bottom line is that Obi-Wan and Maul are both characters with more story left to be told. So why not kill two birds with one lightsaber?
What do you most want to see out of a second season of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below:
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
